Queen Anne’s County passes law to protect dogs from extreme weather

The Eastern Shore been experiencing the harsh heat these past couple of days, and just like people, dogs need to cool off too. Recently Queen Anne's County passed a law making it illegal to leave your dog outside in extreme weather. The new law requires any dog to be brought inside a home, building, or shelter within 30 minutes of the onset of extreme weather conditions that include temperatures above 90 degrees and below 32 degrees. Officials say owners who do leave their dogs outside in these extreme weather conditions can face up to a $1,000 fine.

"It's really nice to have just a place for law enforcement to be able to enforce people bringing their animals inside. If the law isn't there then there's nothing to go against so unfortunately it has to be done that way," said Operations Manger for the Baywater Animal Rescue Jayme Schatz.

Officials also say if you do see an animal outside in extreme weather you shou.ld contact your local authorities immediately.