Dog snapped sitting outside during huge blizzard just really loves snow

Worried animal lovers contacted police after spotting a dog sitting outside during a blizzard – but the pet’s owners insisted their animal just enjoys the snow. The large dog was seen outside a home in Sedalia, Colorado, on Sunday. It appeared to be tethered, prompting concern it would freeze to death.

Deputies from Douglas County Sheriff’s Office later took to social media to say they’d contacted the dog’s owner. The owner told deputies that their pet was a breed adapted to winter weather, and has constant access to food, water and shelter – but chooses to stay outside.

A spokesman added: ‘We are unable to physically check the dog today as the location is quite remote in the mountains and cannot be safely accessed. We were able to speak to the dog owner who confirmed that the dog still had full access to shelter, food, and water and often chooses to sit outside.’

Lawyer Amy Hunt was among those defending the animal’s owners. She wrote: ‘There are dogs that prefer outdoors even in conditions worse than this. Think the Great Pyrenees; working dogs that live outside.

‘They can run off and get lost, so restraining with access to shelter, food and water is not inherently cruel or evidence of bad dog ownership.’ Much of Colorado, including state capital Denver, was hit with the huge snowstorm over the weekend.

Denver saw 27.1 inches of the white stuff – the fourth deepest flurry on record – with more than 110 inches recorded in rural parts of the Rocky Mountains.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk

For more stories like this, check our news page