Some states are making it a serious crime to leave your pets out in the cold

“Arctic blasts” are bursting back into the headlines. Temperatures are dropping below freezing in the Northeast and below zero in the Upper Midwest. Winter is almost here, and our pets are just as affected by the weather as we are.

All 50 states have felony animal cruelty laws, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund. What they may not have, though, is a provision that defines leaving your pet out in the cold as “cruelty.” But it’s something more states are passing.