El Paso Animal Services cites 70 owners who left pets out in the cold

EL PASO, Texas -- A winter storm rolled through the Borderland Sunday bringing snow and freezing temperatures into Monday. Around El Paso, pets were left outside to freeze causing Animal Services to issue 70 citations, according to a spokesperson.

Animal Services had 15 animal protections officers roaming the street and responding to calls Sunday and Monday.

"It has been hectic, but we knew with the cold front coming in, we knew we were going to get inundated with a lot of welfare checks, but it is expected and we were ready for it," said animal protection officer Francisco Rocha.

On Monday, ABC-7 rode along with animal services as they responded to calls. The first call was a welfare check on two dogs left outside.

No one was home, but officer Rocha was able to see the dogs from the neighbors yard. They had shelter and water, which meant no citation.

A note was left on the door and the officers will come back for a follow-up.

"Whenever we show up and we can educate the owners if they don't know about ordinances or they don't know what to do in these conditions, it feels great whenever we can help out an owner or a dog," said Rocha.

Although you won't receive a citation for keeping your dog out with shelter and water, Animal Services encourages you to bring them inside anyway.

If you see an animal in danger, you can call the city's 311 phone line.