Is it safe for Husky/Shepard mix to stay out in 30-degrees?

[opus]

Hello all,

Me again, back about Champ again.

Since the last time I was here asking for advice about training methods, as my landlady no longer wants this very sweet one-year old, things have declined for Champ, and right now as I type this, I'm having stress pains in my heart from it all.

My landlady, L., has done absolutely nothing to locate a new home for Champ, nor has she done anything to improve his situation. She "said" she tried to work with him a couple of weeks ago, but when I mentioned to her that if you don't stay consistent that it does more harm than good, not a bit of it sank in.

Right now, we are having a cold snap with the weather dipping to 30-degrees at night. I've told L many times already that since he has NO doghouse (with no plans of her buying him one, as far as I know), and has been used to being inside, it's not good that he remain outside with the weather this cold.

She thankfully let him in the house last night (temps dipped to 24 F), and he was outside all day with the sunshine, but as far as I know (as I was unable to go downstairs today to check on him due to my Lupus), she hasn't even fed him today. There are some days when I do make it down to check on him, and he'll have been left outside in 70-degree sunshine all day with absolutely no water.

This is literally killing me. I don't know what to do. If I report her arse for abuse, which is what needs done, then she will automatically know it was me, because I've been helping her with him when I can. There just isn't any way for me to do it without her knowing, and since I was homeless for 18-months until I found her place on July 1, I absolutely cannot lose my home. I can't be homeless again--I just can't.

Three weeks ago I mentioned to her that his left hind dew claw was about 1/8" from growing back into his paw pad, and do you think she's taken him to the vet, after I mentioned to her she had *maybe* a week before it happened? Nope. She leaves him out on that porch most of the time, with no interaction, refusing to exercise him properly, in the dark, with no dog house. One night two weeks ago when it was cold, I clicked on the porch light and he was curled up in one of her deck chairs trying to sleep, visibly shaking like a leaf.

I'm SO torn up over this poor little guy, and am still trying desperately to find him a home, but no one has shown any interest in helping. Our only no-kill shelter is always full, and the Humane Society won't take new recruits if they are full, and they've been full for about ten years now.

So, my question is, will he be okay overnight outside? What is the safest temperature with no wind chill that his breed can endure? I try so hard not to treat them like people, but I'm so soft-hearted that I eventually crack and get too emotional over them (I'm crying right now as I type this).

We are in Nashville, TN, so if you can help me, PLEASE, PLEASE HELP--Champ needs you.

Thanks.

[Beckyyy]

If she's not going to listen to you, I would take to keeping regular checks on him. Leaving a bowl of water with him, and making sure he's in at night (even if it's only the hallway), feeding him when you know she hasn't, and you should be able to get hold of a pair of nail clippers quite cheap to go er his lng nails with. It's probably not ideal for you, but while the shelters are all full I think it might be the only option.

[***Melissa***]

How awful

I wish I had some advice to offer, but I don't.

Good luck!!

[maximoo]

Can you look for a rescue group?

In the meantime can you offer to let dog in your apt just at night to sleep until he is placed somewhere ? If not maybe you should cover him with a blanket while he sleeps on porch. Do you have a friend who can build a simple doghouse? 5/6 pieces of plywood & nails will be all thats needed.

Continue to call humane society daily--be a pest.

It is heartbreaking and you can only do what you are capable of.

Bless your heart and best of luck to Champ!

[Horace's Mum]

In an attempt to answer your question, I spent some time husky sledding in the North Pole, and all the huskies were arctic racers who are malamute/husky crossed with colllies or shepherds or anything else that would help them run faster!! They tended to have the thick husky coat which meant they could live out all year round - we had whiteouts and the huskies were tethered outside. This was temperatures of -30 celsius at night (sorry, I can't do farenheit!!). They would literally have ice growing on them, but they were toasty warm inside.

So if Champ has a reasonable degree of husky coat, and he is crossed with something else that has a good thick coat like a shepherd, then in theory he should be able to cope with the cold as long as he is being fed and is healthy, ie no illnesses.

Obviously that doesn't mean he should be, and if he is not used to being outside and then suddenly left he would feel it more for a while until he got used to it. I agree with the others just to keep doing what you can for him, and maybe you could find a blanket at least for him to snuggle into, but he should be ok - certainly better than many other breeds who don't have an adapted coat.

[emmabeth]

I think in your shoes I would be:

Trying to find somewhere else to live so you can report him;
Trying to find somethign to build him a dog house from (would he fit inside a clean plastic oil drum or similar? I have seen some very effective kennels built from large barrels and similar items).
Clipping his nails
Putting out water and food.

His breed mix suggests he ought to cope, however if he is underfed he will not have the energy he needs to stay warm - dogs can survive v low temps as Horus's mum says, but theres a big difference between the dry cold of a snowy area, especially with falling snow which will actually act as insulation, and the 'wet' cold of some areas and the biting icey winds of others.

I would also see if you can get his name down on a list at a shelter - keep ringing them and expressing how urgent it is!

Another thought is, is it at all possiblefor someone else, a neighbour or passer by to see the dog over the fence when heis outside? If so... then surely any of them could report him?