Tulsa animal cruelty rises with heatwave

TULSA - The number of cruelty complaints coming in to the Tulsa SPCA have skyrocketed since the heat wave started.
    
Animal Cruelty Investigator Tim Geen had already responded to eight calls by 10 a.m. Thursday.

"The hotter it gets, the more calls we get," said Geen, the lone SPCA investigator for Tulsa County and seven other Northeastern Oklahoma Counties.

In an average month, Geen says he responds to about 80 to 100 calls. This summer, he's been receiving that many in a week.

"Food, water, shelter. Those three things you have to have," he said. "How in the world you can put an animal out in this heat without water -- I just don't understand that."

Pet owners who fail to provide their pets with food, shelter and water can receive a $200 fine, have the pets taken away or face criminal charges.

"I've got 50 to 60 horses that need more than what they've got. And I know a lot of horses are dying from the heat," Geen said. "People don't understand, animals go through the same thing people do. Only they are wearing a coat."