Recent cold temperatures can be dangerous for anyone, especially for pets left outside.
It's why one Wilson County woman rescued an abandoned dog in her area, but now she's facing charges because of it.
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Deputies in Wilson County charged Dason Garner with keeping a stray animal, failure to surrender and interfering with law enforcement after she rescued the dog and didn't turn it over to authorities.
According to Garner, she said she rescued the lost dog after seeing a video from a Ring doorbell camera of someone abandoning the dog on somenone's front porch after Saturday's snowstorm.
"It's very heartbreaking," Garner said. "I don't understand how you can do that something so lovable. She was so sweet."
Garner told WRAL News that she took the dog home and then contacted Animal Control, who demanded that she bring the dog in for an investigation. Garner claimed she couldn't do that, adding that the dog was in no condition to be in an animal shelter.
"In her condition, [and] as a vet tech and as a groomer, I don't foresee her coming like that," Garner said. "She wouldn't stand a chance in a shelter."
Less than 24 hours after Garner found the dog, she was connected with the dog's owner and the dog was returned after it had gone missing for two months. The Wilson County Sheriff's Office charged the woman who was on the video abandoning the dog, Ashley Baker, with abandonment of an animal.
Garner said the situation has left her with more questions than answers after she was also charged.
"I'm baffled. I'm confused." Garner said. "I have a lot of hard feelings right now. Unexpected court costs [and] lawyers' fees, all of this adds up. I mean, have a 2-year-old son, and I just started back to work."
A spokesperson to the sheriff's office said Garner was charged because she was told to surrender the dog multiple times, adding that they reached out to her family members as well.
Garner said that had she not rescued the dog, it likely would have died in the extreme cold, urging anyone considering abandoning an animal to reach out for help first, adding she would do it again to save an animal if she had to.
"Reach out to anybody. Anybody who has a heart for animals will gladly take them," Garner said.
WRAL News reached out to the dog's owner, who said she's extremely grateful that Garner saved her dog. Garner is due in court later in February on her charges.