Dog left out in below-freezing temperatures at Wake County Animal Center
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Officials say Tuesday morning - when Raleigh was experiencing record-cold temperatures - someone came to the Wake County Animal Center after hours and tied up a dog outside.
Hundreds of people surrender their pets to the center every month, but not usually when it's closed and the temperatures are down in the 20s.
"When the first staffer came through, they saw the leash and a collar attached to it, but no dog," said Animal Services Director Dr. Jennifer Federico.
The leash was tied to a table and chair. It turns out the dog - now named "Spot" by staffers - managed to wriggle out of his collar to hide from the wind and cold by burrowing in some nearby leaves.
"One of our other employees - when she got to work that morning - saw the dog sleeping out behind our gate, opened the door, let him in and she brought him in," said Federico. "She said he was hunkered down and got right in the car."
Federico calls Spot lucky.
"Had he actually not been able to get out of his leash out there, he probably it could have been a lot worse for him," she said.
Officials say Spot already found someone to adopt him, but they're trying to find dozens of other dogs and cats warm new homes.
Learn more here: http://www.wakegov.com/pets/Pages/default.aspx
