Momma’s story went from heartrending blog post to passed legislation in less than a month.

Petworth News blogger Drew Schneider detailed the pitbull’s complicated plight in early January, explaining how dismayed neighbors were caught in a legal limbo trying to help the shivering, underfed dog left outside in frigid temperatures. After an outcry from residents, Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd quickly introduced emergency legislation to establish better protections for dogs in similar cases. It passed today unanimously and will take effect upon the mayor’s signature.

The legislation “fills critical gaps in existing law that were exposed when Momma was left outdoors in frigid temperatures for days,” Todd said at a press conference today.

For many months, neighbors tried to help the young pitbull and her predecessor, Princess, contacting the Humane Society and various other D.C. agencies and councilmembers about what they considered to be animal abuse. Neighbors were told to stop feeding Princess, otherwise officers couldn’t remove her, and received conflicting information about the legal requirements that had to be met to constitute animal cruelty.

As the temperature fell below freezing earlier this year, neighbors again sought help for Momma, who was left outside in a small, fenced-in pen behind a house in the 1300 block of Randolph St. NW, with a thin wooden box as her only protection from the elements. But Humane Rescue Alliance officials were unable to remove Momma from the home because the box technically constituted protection from the weather.

“Because this did not violate the law, we were limited as to what actions we could take,” the Rescue Alliance said in a statement at the time. “People should rest assured that when laws are violated, we seize animals. In fact, during this past weekend, we have seized two dogs from two different locations who were being kept outside without proper shelter.”

Todd’s emergency legislation amends the law to clarify what “protection from the weather” entails, namely that the space protects the dog from the elements and ensures that the shelter is raised off the ground, includes a heat-retaining material, and provide cover from the wind. The requirements must be met whenever the mayor declares a cold emergency. And if it had been in effect at the time, Momma’s owner could have been fined $250.

The law will expire in 90 days, but the councilmember is working on permanent legislation to address a variety of additional animal welfare concerns. “It is our government’s responsibility to protect our four-legged friends who cannot protect themselves,” he said.