According to North Carolina law animal control is not responsible for responding to cases of animals being left out in harsh weather conditions. A man I spoke with from the local Wayne County Animal Control nonchalantly told me that “Animals get left outside all over the state unfortunately. There is nothing we can do.” That’s not good enough. When a person leaves their animal outside in 30° and below temperatures for long periods of time, that is neglect, indisputably. I understand many people have outside dogs, but a lot of these animals may not have the proper dog shelters, dog coats, etc. to protect them from these harsh conditions. Therefore, animal control should still respond to these calls, and evaluate whether the animal is in imminent danger. It is animal control’s job to protect these animals when their owners are not. If you are a compassionate person, if you have animals of your own, if you care about the welfare of the animals in your community I beg you to sign this petition. All we can do is make our voices heard and hope these lawmakers will see how cruel this form of neglect is and how it should be taken more seriously.