Neighbours' dog
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You say the dog is tied up outside when the owners are not in the house. That to me suggests they don't want the dog to roam about indoors when they are not there and get into things it shouldn't.
They may regard you as a busybody if you're watching your neighbours garden to the extent that you seem to be, and given their apparent coyness about their living situation they would not want any authorities to come knocking on their doorstep.
A difficult one. It's like when someone is bringing up their child in a way that you don't approve of and that may be detrimental to the child, but which doesn't count as abuse per se.0 -
Hi,can I ask the condition of the dog?,my shitzu needs groomed every 8 weeks,she matts if left longer and this can be painful,shitzus don't cast.i would have no hesitation in reporting this poor souls miserable existence.0
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elliesmemory1 wrote: »You should report this asap. In freezing temperatures the dog could die.
The rspca can and should do something about this.
The owners are not following the five freedoms which make up the animal welfare act.
Please report this today.
I have phoned the RSPCA and they were not really interested. Said the dog has food and water and shelter so not being mistreated!You say the dog is tied up outside when the owners are not in the house. That to me suggests they don't want the dog to roam about indoors when they are not there and get into things it shouldn't.
They may regard you as a busybody if you're watching your neighbours garden to the extent that you seem to be, and given their apparent coyness about their living situation they would not want any authorities to come knocking on their doorstep.
A difficult one. It's like when someone is bringing up their child in a way that you don't approve of and that may be detrimental to the child, but which doesn't count as abuse per se.
No, the dog is tied up outside when the family are home. When they go out they put him inside. I don't know for sure but I should imagine he is crated as it seems unlikely they allow him to be free indoors.
As I said, he doesn't get company as when the family are home he is outside on his own and then inside on his own when they go out. All the family just seem to ignore him. Not heard one of them ever speak to him.
I can see their garden clearly from upstairs and they can't see me looking unless they were outside and looking up.shazzablue wrote: »Hi,can I ask the condition of the dog?,my shitzu needs groomed every 8 weeks,she matts if left longer and this can be painful,shitzus don't cast.i would have no hesitation in reporting this poor souls miserable existence.
I have not seen him close to but he looks ok.
After speaking to the RSPCA and getting nowhere I don't now what to do now. I tried to speak to the woman next door (just a general "hello I'm (name)" and she wasn't interested. Just literally grunted at me and walked away.
I don't really want to knock on her door and confront her over the dog and I somehow doubt she would do anything anyway.
I have spoken to a few people locally (none of them know exactly where I live) and one or two have said they would be willing to come and snatch the dog and either keep him or take him to a rescue.
I don't think this would be possible though even if I thought it a good idea as the dog starts barking the minute he sees or hears someone. He is tied up fairly close to the house and the garden is quite long so it is likely the neighbour would be out before someone could snatch him.
I don't know what to do now. I know they rent their house but don't know who from (I thought of writing to the landlord but not sure they would be interested).0 -
horrid situation to be in,if they are not walking him or having him groomed his nails will also be long and could become painful,why do people persist in holding onto pets they don't care about...do any other neighbours comment on him?.0
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So .... the dog looks ok, is being fed & watered, has shelter, is taken inside on occasions .... so there is an element of care going on. im not so keen on the idea of it being outside but the reality is its not neglect and its really none of your business.
Confront your neighbours over this at your peril. Getting involved can cause more harm than good, not only your relationship with the neighbours themselves but also the dog .... If you force them to take the dog inside who knows how it will be treated behind closed doors ... It could be put in a crate all day, every day ... or worse. At least outside you can keep a bit of eye on it.0 -
So .... the dog looks ok, is being fed & watered, has shelter, is taken inside on occasions .... so there is an element of care going on. im not so keen on the idea of it being outside but the reality is its not neglect and its really none of your business.
Confront your neighbours over this at your peril. Getting involved can cause more harm than good, not only your relationship with the neighbours themselves but also the dog .... If you force them to take the dog inside who knows how it will be treated behind closed doors ... It could be put in a crate all day, every day ... or worse. At least outside you can keep a bit of eye on it.
Yes the dog is fed and has a bowl of water. His shelter is a shed so not much warmer than being outside and he is hardly a breed to live outside.
He has no exercise, is never walked as far as I can see. He is tied on a short lead tied to a piece of string. He can only walk a small distance, cannot really run. The garden is large and, I think, pretty secure, but he never has the run of it.
He has no company. He is outside on his own when his family are in. The minute they go out he gets put inside (probably crated). He does sleep inside over night (probably crated) but is taken in fairly late at night and shoved outside at about 8am. I have never once heard him being spoken to even when being picked up to be taken inside.
None of them, even the children, ever play with him in the garden. They may play with him indoors although I doubt it. The walls are pretty thin and I can hear them talking, their tv etc and don't hear anything which sounds like playing with the dog. I am sure they can hear me and OH talking to and playing with our dogs all the time.
I feel it is neglect and many people agree with me. I also feel, as an animal lover, that it is my business. No dog should just exist with no exercise, play etc0 -
monkeychops wrote: »Yes the dog is fed and has a bowl of water. His shelter is a shed so not much warmer than being outside and he is hardly a breed to live outside.
He has no exercise, is never walked as far as I can see. He is tied on a short lead tied to a piece of string. He can only walk a small distance, cannot really run. The garden is large and, I think, pretty secure, but he never has the run of it.
He has no company. He is outside on his own when his family are in. The minute they go out he gets put inside (probably crated). He does sleep inside over night (probably crated) but is taken in fairly late at night and shoved outside at about 8am. I have never once heard him being spoken to even when being picked up to be taken inside.
None of them, even the children, ever play with him in the garden. They may play with him indoors although I doubt it. The walls are pretty thin and I can hear them talking, their tv etc and don't hear anything which sounds like playing with the dog. I am sure they can hear me and OH talking to and playing with our dogs all the time.
I feel it is neglect and many people agree with me. I also feel, as an animal lover, that it is my business. No dog should just exist with no exercise, play etc
I think you will find in the eyes of the law it is not neglect .... and by interfering you risk making the dogs life worse. Be very careful how you approach this is.0 -
monkeychops wrote: »Yes the dog is fed and has a bowl of water. His shelter is a shed so not much warmer than being outside and he is hardly a breed to live outside.
He has no exercise, is never walked as far as I can see. He is tied on a short lead tied to a piece of string. He can only walk a small distance, cannot really run. The garden is large and, I think, pretty secure, but he never has the run of it.
He has no company. He is outside on his own when his family are in. The minute they go out he gets put inside (probably crated). He does sleep inside over night (probably crated) but is taken in fairly late at night and shoved outside at about 8am. I have never once heard him being spoken to even when being picked up to be taken inside.
None of them, even the children, ever play with him in the garden. They may play with him indoors although I doubt it. The walls are pretty thin and I can hear them talking, their tv etc and don't hear anything which sounds like playing with the dog. I am sure they can hear me and OH talking to and playing with our dogs all the time.
I feel it is neglect and many people agree with me. I also feel, as an animal lover, that it is my business. No dog should just exist with no exercise, play etc
Its certainly not the sort of standard I think is acceptable in caring for an animal, but the law only calls for adequate, not good. It doesn't sound like they are breaking the law here, which means there isn't a lot that can be done.
Perhaps you could get involved with charities and groups campaigning for a change in the law?0 -
I think you will find in the eyes of the law it is not neglect .... and by interfering you risk making the dogs life worse. Be very careful how you approach this is.
May not be neglect in the eyes of the law but certainly is neglect.
Of course I will be careful how I handle it. The difficulty is because it is my next door neighbour. If not I would certainly have spoken to them about it before now as would my OH. We have intervened in the past over neglected animals
I cannot stand animal cruelty and this poor little boy has a pretty sad life. I guess if they started beating him his life would be worse but other than that I fail to see how it could be worse.
Looking at another poster's list of the RSPCA's five freedoms I would say the neighbours are failing on 4 and 5:
Freedom to express normal behaviour: by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind.
Freedom from fear and distress: by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.
He has very little space because of the fact he is tied up. He has no company either of his own kind or human. He has such a sad boring life I would be surprised if he is not suffering mentally.
I don't personally believe dogs should be kept outside but certainly not a Shih Tzu. He should be warm indoors, being played with and stroked.0 -
Poor little dog monkeychops, this makes my heart hurt. I really hope one of your neighbours does manage to pinch him out the garden and give him a lovely home.0
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