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Hello!
So, my next door neighbor has a dog. He's a pretty big guy from what I can see through little holes in my fence, and also when I'm walking past my neighbor's house. But I don't think he is getting the care that he needs. His fur is ungroomed, and he is always sleeping in the backyard. He does not get taken out for walks, because according to the owner, he pulls too much. Sometimes, I think he so desperately paws/digs at the backyard door because he wants to get out. I'm not sure if he is being fed, since I heard him digging through the trash or something.
I felt so bad that I contacted my local rescue center, and they said that the only thing that I can do is to contact the local shelter and ask to do a "welfare check". I haven't called the shelter yet because I'm afraid that it might cause some trouble between them and us. I do think that they will suspect us...I don't know what to do. I feel so bad for the dog but I also don't want to cause any trouble for myself and my family. Anyone have any ideas?? They also have two cats that they don't take care of........ I live in California, USA.
Call the shelter and explain your circumstances. Say you have concerns, but say you desperately need your input to be kept discreet, and see what they say. I can't imagine it's a rare occurance, and perhaps they might even have protocol for dealing with such circumstances. Is the dog visible to other parties for example? How secure is the yard?
Being sure the dog is in trouble is probably the best place to start. Being sure of that will probably take away the uncertainty of other issues too.
There might be other ways to deal with it too. If you're quite friendly with the neighbour, you could ask for their help. Say you're training your own dog and want to improve his socialisation with other dogs. OK, that's a bit transparent maybe, but there are loads of ways of getting more contact with the dog. Do you have kids? Have one of them offer to walk the neighbours dog for some pocket money. Maybe have a friend put together a flier for a dog walking service and see if the neighbour goes for it. If they do, then that's a 'win', and if they don't, at least your neighbour might be aware that somebody, (and that is somebody apart from you) is aware their dog isn't being exercised properly.
The only way I can see the dog is either through the holes in my fence, or when I am walking by because the section of the yard that the dog stays in is visible through a bar fence. The poor thing looks so miserable whenever I see him.
My neighbors are.......not the friendliest people. It is really intimidating because I hear them fighting and yelling at each other almost every night. The "kid method" sounds really nice, except I don't have any kids being that I'm only a college student.. I really wish I can get closer to the dog, to see if he is really being mistreated...Hmm..Time to brainstorm.
Yeah, if you're a student and 'dogless' Yummybagel, say you're really pining for your dog back home and ask them if they would mind if you just took their dog for a walk now and then.
Although that would solve one of this dogs problems, I don't think it's a 'solution' as such... and it might just make you even more sad every time you handed him back over. And if you were then to go on to report them, they might be more likely to think it was you that did the reporting. Can you report it anonymously? I understand you're in a tough place here, there is no easy answer
I live in California too, keep in mind that as long as the dog has food, shelter, and water then nothing more can be done for it (that is what is considered neglect in California). So if the dog doesn't have a dog house or access to water they can be fined but that’s about it. They can also be fined if their dog is not licensed with the county, (depending on county) for still being intact, and not having a rabies shot. If the dog is tethered in the backyard there could also be a fine because in all of California it is illegal to tether dogs in the front or backyard for more than a supervised short period of time. The only hope would be that it is a purebred dog, the owner gives it to animal control because it’s not worth the hassle, and a breed specific rescue takes the dog on. I have volunteered at an animal control and they would keep the complaint anonymous. The thing is that in some counties in California animal control must have permission to look. They can't just burst in the house; they can't even look over the fence, if the owner doesn't answer the door they just have to leave and try agian later. Look up whatever animal control serves your county, then on their page it should have animal laws or ordinances to see what laws your county has. If you have an SPCA in your county I would contact them because they are more likely able to take the dog, and may be more active in trying to take the dog or at least insuring the dog is taken care of.
If he ever gets out this would be the best thing, because you can take him and give him to the shelter. If he is not registered then the fee to get him out is really expensive, sometimes a few hundred dollars. So the irresponsible owners probably won’t pay to get their neglected dog out of the pound. Then he has a chance to get adopted. If the cats wander on your property you can also trap them and take them to the shelter(it is legal to trap a cat on your property as long as you then take it to the shelter), but I wouldn't do that unless they were in really bad shape because adult cats have little chance at getting adopted here.
If you are worried about him calling animal control on your dog in retaliation just make sure your dog is registered (unless you plan on keeping your dog intact) and it’s usually really cheap. If he complains your dog is barking, they must have more than one complaint from at least two different households to come issue a complaint. So if you want to alert animal control, then you should be safe from retaliation if they do figure out it was you. Also explaining to animal control that you complained about his dogs, and showing them your registered healthy dog, would probably make them ignore anymore complaints that come from your neighbor.
Lucyandbella, thank you for your detailed response!
I'm sure that the dog (I think his name was Cooper. I hear them shouring "Shut up Cooper!" from inside the house whenever he barks) doesn't have his own house. What makes me really sad is that he is forced to stay outside even when it's hot or raining. And their backyard is full of trash and destroyed furniture. It really didn't seem like a safe place to put him in. It really breaks my heart to see him soaking wet during the rainy seasons. I even thought about cutting their fence at night and taking the dog to Furry Friends Rescue, which I believe is a no kill shelter/rescue organization. But that would be highly illegal...Unfortunately. I would hate it for my neighbors to be fined and then just end at that. He deserves a better life. I'm pretty sure he's not licensed....The thing is, I'm going to be moving to LA because I am transferring school. I will be taking my Beagle, so if I report them just before I move out, I'm pretty sure they can't retaliate on my dog. But what I'm afraid of is that they might retaliate on my family somehow if they find out that it was me.
I do plan to call and ask to remain anonymous. Although they already know that I care alot about dogs...
minkee wrote:Although that would solve one of this dogs problems, I don't think it's a 'solution' as such... and it might just make you even more sad every time you handed him back over. And if you were then to go on to report them, they might be more likely to think it was you that did the reporting. Can you report it anonymously? I understand you're in a tough place here, there is no easy answer
I agree on what you said minkee. I kind of want to take him out of that house, since I will be moving in couple of months so I won't be able to walk him anymore once I move out.
I should say that they would fine the owners and give them a chance to fix the issue, if they didn't fix it (in this case giving the dog shelter, cleaning up the yard, and maybe a vet visit) they can impound the dog. You are allowed to have backyard dogs but this does sound like a neglect situation the more you describe it, which increases the chance that animal control would take this dog. If you are going to move soon and are worried about the dog I would at least call animal control and see what they would do about a neglected dog. Some animal controls are better than others unfortunately, but there is hope that if you report him as neglected he might get taken from the owners. Especially if they are neglectful and would rather not make the changes they would have to make for him. You may want to call an animal rescue like the one you mentioned to help though, because if animal control does take him it would be nice if a no kill rescue was willing to take him on.
I live in California, USA.
I really wish I can get closer to the dog, to see if he is really being mistreated...Hmm..Time to brainstorm.
