HAMILTON COUNTY — Social media lit up on Wednesday when Hamilton County residents say the dogs at Raebark Kennels were not being kept in safe conditions during the frigid cold temperatures.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said the kennel was not breaking any laws, and some folks say that needs to change.
"Bottom line is the Indiana laws are antiquated, they’re ambiguous," Mark Hanna, a Hamilton County resident, said.
Hanna is concerned the state laws aren't doing enough to protect the dogs at the kennel.
"There’s no light bulbs, there’s no straw," he said.
He's worried the dogs aren't safe in the frigid temperatures that hammered central Indiana, on Wednesday.
RTV6 reached out to representatives of the kennel for comment, however, the representatives declined to comment.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office says they've checked on the dogs and found them in good health and said the kennel isn't violating any laws.
"There are some discrepancies and some issues with how the state law is written," Hannah Fisher, a Boone County Sheriff's Office animal control officer, said.
Fisher is also the president of the Hoosier Animal Law Officers (HALO) working to reform training standards and animal welfare laws around the state.
Most local ordinances and state laws use words like 'adequate' or 'appropriate' when determining if an animal is in danger.
"It doesn’t really define what appropriate and what reasonable is," Fisher said.
Hanna wants Hamilton County commissioners to step up with an ordinance similar to the one in Marion County which requires dog owners to bring in their dogs when temperature drop below 20 degrees.
"Right now the difference between a Marion County dog and a Hamilton County dog is probably about a hundred degrees," Fisher said. "70 degrees in a house, negative 30 wind chill outside."
Jeannie Snay lives near the Raebark kennel and feels like the dogs are just fine outside.
"He takes really good care of all of the animals over there," Snay said. "I just think people kind of need to mind their own business sometimes, and let people live their lives on their properties, especially since they're in accordance with the laws."
RTV6 reached out to Hamilton County Commissioners to see if they were considering policy changes for animals related to extreme cold. We heard back from district three representative, Mark Heirbrandt, who said, "we will be investigating potential solutions and have already began discussions."
RTV6 also went to the kennel on Wednesday to try and get a response but they did not answer.
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