Animals are sentient beings as well. But it doesn’t solely mean that they have a nervous system and perceive pain, for example when frostbite occurs on their skin under their fur or feather, but it also means that they have emotions. For instance they can feel joy, fear, sadness and love, as they have soul too.

“Yes, animals do have soul, and you put yours into a big danger, if you tie your dog in a forest at the beginning of summer…And those have to be mentioned here too, who let their pets die because of starvation and cold when winter is here.” (From Jean Prieur: The soul of animals)

Knowing this, we have to thoroughly consider whether to start keeping a horse, a goat, a dog, a cat, or any other animals, since circumstances aren’t always given. Or simply we need to learn and develop a lot to be able to take care of them with love.

However, if we decide to have pets, we have to accept being a responsible owner until the end of their lives, which is our duty, because if we domesticate them, they become vulnerable, and their existence and well-being will depend on us.

They need even more attention during the winter cold, because it can be extremely dangerous for them.

So what do we have to do when the minus temperatures are coming?

• Take our pets to a dry place, which is protected from the wind and where there is a thick layer of straw on the floor, and of course we need to give them fresh water and plenty of food regularly.

• If we haven’t done it before, now we should let our dogs into our house, where they can spend the night in a warm place, as outside they can even freeze to death.

• If we cannot keep them inside during the day, we should provide them an insulated wooden doghouse, which can be made by polystyrol with minimal costs. We better put a windbreak curtain in front of its entrance door, and some straw on its floor (which has to be changed often). We should keep in mind to make the size of the place big enough for the dog to warm it up with its own body temperature.

• Cats are feeling cold too, and whenever they can, they stay inside in the frosty weather. It’s unnecessary to worry about them bringing in some dirt, since they clean themselves on a regular basis. Let’s buy some cat litter, and we won’t have any problems with being potty-trained either, they will get used to it immediately.

• But if for any reasons keeping them inside constantly isn’t an option, we should put out insulated small-sized cathouses for them.

• Finally, if we can see any kind of pets in bad circumstances without a shelter in winter, when it’s freezing cold, it’s suggested to call the nearest animal welfare service. And we should take the dog or cat we found on the street to a place indoors until the help arrives. We can save lives with this.

Although we might not be able to save the whole world, but we can make changes at home even today. Well, let’s start it there. :)

These days, when there are minuses out there.

(The Hungarian translation is available on www.onbizalomfejlesztes.hu.)