INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — With temperatures in the teens and lower quickly approaching Indianapolis, it’s time to think about the safety of our furry friends.

Temperatures are set to drop below 20 degrees starting Saturday, and experts say it’s crucial to bring pets inside to avoid life-threatening conditions.

Patty Spitler, host of “Pet Pals TV,” and Darcie Kurtz, executive director of Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside (FIDO), stopped by News 8 “Midday” on Thursday to talk about what pet owners need to know during colder temperatures.

Spitler said about pet owners who don’t take responsible actions, “We’re doing what we can to correct it. There are ordinances we need to talk about, and, if you see something, you can do something. Don’t handle it yourself, but make sure you call the right people.”

Kurtz laid out some important facts. An ordinance in Indianapolis prohibits leaving dogs outside when the temperature hits 20 degrees or below, and it’s not just a suggestion — it’s a matter of safety. Dogs need to be brought into a temperature-controlled space kept between 40 and 80 degrees.

“Cold weather is coming fast, and pet owners need to be proactive,” Kurtz said. “If dogs are left out in these conditions, the outcome can be deadly.”

Short-haired breeds like pit bulls are particularly vulnerable to the cold. FIDO has helped countless dogs in dire situations, including some who tragically froze to death. But, it’s not just the extreme cases. Even less severe exposure to cold weather can cause harm.

Spitler also pointed out that while some breeds like Bernese Mountain Dogs are more tolerant of the cold, they still need to come inside eventually.

For people who can’t bring their pets indoors, Kurtz recommends providing insulated doghouses with straw bedding and a cover over the entrance if the temperature is between 20 and 40 degrees.

For anyone who sees a dog left outside in dangerous cold conditions, Kurtz shared a few tips on how to help: “Wait about 30 minutes to see if the situation persists. Look for signs that the dog is living outside — food bowls, water bowls, a doghouse. If it’s clear the dog is being neglected, report it.”

Indianapolis Animal Care Services is responsible for enforcement. You can submit an online report or call the Mayor’s Action Center at 317-327-4622.

FIDO also offers assistance. Reach them at 317-221-1314. FIDO is open from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday for dog owners in need of assistance.

Kurtz shared that FIDO has been doing this important work for almost 20 years. It provides resources to help pet owners bring their dogs inside, avoiding the need for the ordinance’s enforcement.

Also on Thursday’s “Daybreak” segment, Spitler surprised Kurtz with one of her books, with all proceeds going to rescues and shelters.

“Pet Pals TV” every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. with more tips on how to care for your pets.

Below is the seven-day forecast for Indianapolis, issued on Jan. 2, 2025.

The Indianapolis Colts complete their season when the Jacksonville Jaguars visit in NFL Week 18.

The Colts (8-9) were eliminated from playoff contention last weekend in a 45-33 loss to the New York Giants. The Jaguars (4-12) have one win outside the AFC South. Jacksonville got its first win of the season in Week 5, 37-34 over Indianapolis.

Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (back, foot) may return after missing the Giants game. Mac Jones has led Jacksonville in the wake of a Trevor Lawrence shoulder injury.

The Jaguars enter the finale with the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, though there are five 4-12 teams. The Colts stand 12th in the draft order, but there are two other 7-9 teams.

Want more Colts coverage? Nate Atkins, Joel A. Erickson and Gregg Doyel track the team, and sign up for IndyStar’s Colts newsletter.

‘Something I shouldn’t have said’: Coach to address controversial podcast with Zaire Franklin, E.J. Speed

NFL Week 18 picks, predictions: Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Gregg Doyel, IndyStar: What’s the point?

“The Colts will win, unless it’s the Jaguars. Like it matters.”

Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: Colts 23-10

“How bad are the Colts? Lose this one, and the answer is, ‘Pretty bad.’”

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: Colts 27-14

“This is a game featuring two teams playing for nothing. The Colts were awful in losing to the Giants last week. Jacksonville beat the Titans, but big deal. When two bad teams play with nothing at stake, take the home team. Colts win it.”

Brent Sobleski, Bleacher Report: Colts 30-21

“Snapping a three-game skid against a division rival may not be enough to save anyone, but the Colts have clearly reached a crossroads where owner Jim Irsay could go in any direction. General manager Chris Ballard, members of the coaching staff and plenty of the roster need this victory to try and somewhat calm the waters. Desperation is a powerful incentive.”

Tom Blair, NFL.com: Colts 24-21

“This one has caused me more stress than I thought it would. I almost went with the Jaguars, entranced by their steady-eddy mediocrity behind Mac Jones, and indeed could still swap in an entire blurb here justifying that choice. Over the past five games, Jacksonville has basically performed at replacement level, going 2-3 while generating yardage and point differentials close to zero (plus-39 and minus-4, respectively). Jones and Co. don’t get too high, they don’t get too low and they seem to always be within one score of winning. We can’t say the same for Indy, especially if Joe Flacco (who is 0-3 with a TD-to-INT ratio of 4:6 over his past three games) ends up starting again for Anthony Richardson. This is about where I was going to originally end my take — until I thought longer about the lift Jonathan Taylor (who missed Flacco’s narrow loss to Jacksonville in Week 5) can provide, and further weighed the likelihood that the Jaguars can sweep a second AFC South opponent (after going 2-0 against Tennessee) with a win on the road. So instead, I have talked myself into backing a messy former fringe contender by writing way too many words about a Week 18 game between two sub-.500 teams.”

Bill Bender, Sporting News: Colts 31-22

“The Colts were eliminated from playoff contention after a shocking loss to the Giants in Week 17. The Jaguars are in contention for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Is a Week 18 shootout between Mac Jones and Joe Flacco just what we needed? The Colts have won five of the past six home meetings.”

Marcus Mosher, 33rd Team: Colts 24-17

“It’s impossible to know how (the Colts) will play in Week 18 after such a massive disappointment. But the Jacksonville Jaguars are far from a juggernaut with Mac Jones as the quarterback. Take the Colts to have some pride and get a win in Week 18, but don’t expect this to be a pretty victory, either.”

Pro Football Network: 2 picks for the Colts, 3 for the Jaguars

“It’ll be interesting to see Shane Steichen’s reception from fans Sunday after the Colts’ playoff hopes died in North Jersey last week. The Jaguars are playing for draft positioning in what could be head coach Doug Pederson’s final game.”

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Colts 15-11

“The Colts keep finding ways to lose playoff-implication games, and it doesn’t get any more embarrassing than allowing 45 points to the Giants. It’s the third time in four years the Colts have lost a game that could have propelled them into the postseason.”

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts preview NFL Week 18

The Jaguars have worst time of possession in the NFL (26:52), have the fewest takeaways (9) and allow the most passing yards (257.7).

Mac Jones has completed 65.7% of his passes for 1,447 yards, 7 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Tank Bigsby has 727 rushing yards (4.7 yards per) with 6 TDs. Rookie Brian Thomas Jr. has been Jacksonville’s breakout player, with 80 catches for 1,179 yards (14.7 per), 10 TDs and 16 catches of 20+ yards.

Devin Loyd has 107 tackles, Travon Walker 9.5 sacks and Montaric Brown 8 passes defended. Cam Little is 24-of-26 on field goals, with a long of 59 yards.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars preview NFL Week 18

The Colts are a top-10 rushing team (134 yards per game, No. 8) but struggle passing (56.2% completions, 32nd; 19 interceptions, 31st). Indianapolis allows 69.8% completions (32nd).

Anthony Richardson has completed 47.7% of his passes for 1,814 yards, 8 touchdowns and 14 interceptions; he has run for 499 yards (5.8 per) and 6 TDs. Joe Flacco has completed 66.8% of his throws for 1,497 yards, 11 TDs and 7 INTs.

Jonathan Taylor has 1,254 rushing yards (4.7 per) with 10 TDs and 11 carries of 20+ yards. Alec Pierce averages 21.9 yards per catch, with 6 TDs and 12 receptions of 20+ yards. Michael Pittman Jr. has 63 catches (11.7 yards per) and 3 TDs.

Zaire Franklin has 165 tackles, 10 for a loss. Kwity Paye has 7 sacks. Kenny Moore II has 3 interceptions, and Jaylon Jones has 12 passes defended. Matt Gay is 27-of-32 on field goals, perfect inside 50 yards, but 3-of-8 on tries of 50+.

Colts-Jaguars betting odds

via BetMGM

Favorite: Colts by 5 points

Colts are 9-7 against the spread; the Jaguars are 8-7-1 ATS.

Over/under: 44 total points

Eight Colts games have gone over, seven under, and one was a push; eight Jaguars games have gone over, eight under.

Moneyline: Colts -225, Jaguars +185

When do the Colts play the Jaguars in NFL Week 18?

1 p.m. ET Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

How to watch Colts vs Jaguars in NFL Week 18

Fox, with Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Brady Quinn (analysis) and Sarah Kustok (sideline reporting).

How to stream, watch Jaguars-Colts game for NFL Week 18

The Colts-Jaguars matchup will stream on the Fox Sports app at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. The app is available in the Apple App Store or on Google Play. Fans can also download NFL+ in the Apple App Store or on Google Play.

How to listen to NFL Week 18 Jaguars-Colts game on radio, streaming

Radio: 93.5, 97.1, 107.5 FM in Indianapolis, with Matt Taylor (play-by-play), Rick Venturi (analysis) and Larra Overton (sideline reporting)

Streaming: SiriusXM Channels 228 and 813

What a deal!: Watch Colts-Titans on Fubo

Colts-Jaguars common opponents

The Colts (5-6) beat the Bears, the Titans twice, Jets and Patriots. They lost to the Texans twice, Packers, Vikings, Bills and Lions.

The Jaguars (3-9) beat the Patriots and the Titans twice. They lost to the Dolphins, Bills, Texans twice, Bears, Packers, Vikings, Lions and Jets.

The Jaguars beat the Colts 37-34 in Jacksonville on Oct. 6.

Colts-Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium

At Lucas Oil Stadium: Tickets start at $9 on StubHub

Colts 2024 schedule

all times ET

Sept. 8: Texans 29, Colts 27

Sept. 15: Packers 16, Colts 10

Sept. 22: Colts 21, Bears 16

Sept. 29: Colts 27, Steelers 24

Oct. 6: Jaguars 37, Colts 34

Oct. 13: Colts 20, Titans 17

Oct. 20: Colts 16, Dolphins 10

Oct. 27: Texans 23, Colts 20

Nov. 3: Vikings 21, Colts 13

Nov. 10: Bills 30, Colts 20

Nov. 17: Colts 28, Jets 27

Nov. 24: Lions 24, Colts 6

Dec. 1: Colts 25, Patriots 24

Dec. 15: Broncos 31, Colts 13

Dec. 22: Colts 38, Titans 30

Dec. 29: Giants 45, Colts 33

Jan. 5: vs. Jacksonville, 1 p.m., Fox

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – We are eyeing a couple of systems that will bring us some snow throughout the next few days. Colder conditions this weekend with our first accumulating snow likely later in the weekend.

TODAY: Partly to mostly cloudy skies expected during the day. Clouds will increase later this afternoon ahead of our next system. This will be a quick moving clipper system that will bring us a little bit of some light snow later on this evening. High temperatures today will be into the mid-30s which is right around normal for this time of the year.

TONIGHT: Light snow develops overnight tonight and some locations especially north of Indianapolis may see one possibly up to 2 in of snowfall. Here in central Indiana into the city we will probably pick up maybe around an inch. Low temperatures will fall into the lower twenties.

TOMORROW: We may see a few slick spots early on your Friday morning. With the snowfall and temperatures being below freezing. Look for dry conditions for the afternoon on Friday, maybe a little bit of sunshine but cold. High temperatures only into the middle 20s. 

This weekend it will remain cold with high temperatures only in the 20s for both Saturday and Sunday .

All eyes will be on a system which will be more potent than the one we see later tonight. This one could bring us some significant snowfall accumulation and maybe even a little ice accumulation possible in southern Indiana. Right now the heaviest snow looks to be across parts of the I-70 corridor and the ice accumulation looks farther southward right along the Ohio River. Timing looks to be during the day on Sunday overnight and may linger into early Monday morning. This will create some rough travel conditions Sunday night and also into early Monday.

7 DAY EXTENDED FORECAST: Snow will continue heading into the first part of Monday. Winds will be brisk as well and temperatures will stay into the upper twenties .

Partly cloudy skies on Tuesday with those high temperatures continuing into the twenties. We may see temperatures fall even more on Wednesday with highs into the teens.