PELL CITY, Ala. (AP) — Area officials agree education is the key toward combating animal cruelty through neglect.

“We see animal cruelty cases on a fairly continuous basis,” said Dr. Ken McMillan, partner and veterinarian at Pell City Animal Hospital. “But you have to define what animal cruelty is.”

McMillan said although he does see some malicious animal cruelty, the majority of cases involve individuals who don’t know how to properly care for an animal.

“A lot is an education problem,” he said.

McMillan said he sees puppies and dogs that suffered from ingrown collars, as well as dogs brought in by individuals who found the animal after it had been hit by a car.

“A fence is the most important thing you can do for your dog,” he said. “Fences are wonderful things. They keep your dog safe and other dogs out.”

McMillan said unconfined dogs tend to roam and will fight other dogs. He said merely confining your dog on your property with a chain won’t prevent other dogs from coming onto the property like a fence would.

“Keeping your dog in a fence also helps prevent the animal from getting and eating harmful things such as rat poison or antifreeze,” he said. “We are getting into the time of year where we see antifreeze poisoning cases.”

McMillan said antifreeze has a sweet taste animals like, and is very deadly, hard to detect, and expensive to treat.

“Be careful and clean up any antifreeze spills,” he said.

McMillan said other care issues such as flea and tick prevention are not cruelty issues but are issues pet owners still need to address.

“Pets are a privilege, and we must properly care for them,” he said. “They don’t need to suffer from fleas and ticks.”

McMillan said heartworm prevention is another important aspect that prevents against not only heartworms but also hookworms and roundworms that can be passed to children.

“Most of the stuff we see is avoidable with proper pet care,” he said. “Just do what you can to provide the best care for your pets. Pets deserve to be properly cared for.”

St. Clair County Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Connelly said the District Attorney’s office has dealt with several animal cruelty cases recently.