Dog Community

Should I do anything?

Posted : 6/16/2006 11:17:42 AM

I was walking panda through our usual rought (sp?) and part of that is taking a turn at the bayou on the grass high end, where there are a strip of houses there and as I passed one up, there were three dogs outside. One was chained to a pole, the other was roaming freely about the backyard, and the third one was tied to a 15-20 pound weight that he was just carring around. ;_; I thought it horrible... I don't know... >_>

Benedict

Posted : 6/16/2006 11:22:25 AM

Tied to a weight??? Ugh!

Did the dogs look healthy? Could you see if they had access to food and water?

To be honest, I am willing to bet this was not a one-time thing, but just to be certain I would walk that way again at a different time of day, if possible, and see if they are in the same situation. If yes, I would call animal control, or your local HS - whoever deals with such situations in your part of the world.

Kate

Mark R.

Posted : 6/16/2006 11:26:04 AM

That's horrible! I just feel a little wary of calling animal control, because wat if they took them to a bad shelter? ( I would want for them to have a No-Kill Shelter, or they'd be almost as bad off because they may have behavior/temperament issues due to bad treatment that need special care shoudl they be resolved)

Dario Medina

Posted : 6/16/2006 11:28:10 AM

I always take that same path, I never knew there were three dogs, I always saw one who seemed happy to see Panda, and the one tied to the pole, (I noticed yesterday the dog on the pole) but I had never seen the third one.

Today I just saw him running around looking at Panda with a chain to his neck tied to a weight. At first I wasn't sure what it was but it was a weight. His fur did look nice, and he was kinda chubbyish, not overweight but, kinda chubbyish. It looked like a pitbull mix so I wasn't sure if that is natural or he IS being fed a lot.

rwbeagles

Posted : 6/16/2006 11:47:02 AM

Hmm do you know the folks? If they seem kindly you can take the "concerned dog owner" approach and bang on their door and say "OMG I am SO glad you are home! Your dog's chain broke and now he's tangled up on somthing heavy....I wanted to tell you so you could untangle him..." That'd be a good way to gauge from their reaction what might be the next step? Is the collar loose? If you get closer and see a rub spot or worse an embedding then AC should be your next step regardless...good luck!

Dario Medina

Posted : 6/16/2006 12:00:22 PM

If you get closer and see a rub spot or worse an embedding then AC should be your next step regardless...good luck!

A rub spot? What would this look like?

rwbeagles

Posted : 6/16/2006 12:09:00 PM

Basically a thinning of the hair around the neck...easier to see in a dark dog with light skin. If a collar is weighted and loose...obviously the top will always be tight...due to the weight dragging it down...it may slide along the top of the neck and rub away the hair...eventually this works it's way into callous or if there's friction enough..a 'cut" type injury that leads to the collar digging into the skin and embedding itself. A snug collar will also embed in a dog that's not growing still if a weight is constantly dragging the collar down against the skin.

Now...if they are doing something like weightpull with the dog...it's common to place something around the dog but generally the smart ones use HARNESSES and they're removed after a certain time. If they are ignorant in the ways to properly train a weight pull dog they might attach it to the NECK....which is not good for the dog....but if it's on there say 30 mins per day...happens to be the time of day you walk by....well...it may look like it's on there all the time...still bad but not AS bad as constantly. EITHER way it needs to come off I sez...and maybe if they notice you noticed...lol! They will remove it? The rub spot or embedding will tell you a lot about how often the weight is attached...or the chain for that matter!

Mark R.

Posted : 6/16/2006 12:21:57 PM

definetly, if tey know that others know, they may stop... They may be worried it could get outh furthet, and stop it... I would also reccommend approaching at different times of days and that stuff liek everyone else has said, to see another side to it, IF there IS one.

rwbeagles

Posted : 6/16/2006 12:24:31 PM

Oh...and if you own a digital or camera phone...a few pics probably wouldn't hurt either, time and date stamped! Documentation...do as much of the AC's work for them as you can so they can't wriggle out of their responsibility lol!

spartanpele

Posted : 6/16/2006 1:25:48 PM

Contact the HS and ask them to do an anonymous investigation. If theres something bad going on, they'll be able to document and fix the problem. If the dogs leave the yard, then you can also call the police and complain.

Of course, if you want to be neighborly about it, you could simply knock on the door and say that you noticed their dogs were loose and one of them has something stuck around his neck. Think positive, but be prepared for a negative response.

Dario Medina

Posted : 6/17/2006 12:43:09 AM

I walked him again alittle bit ago and the went past the place, the same dog was still with the weight.

Dario Medina

Posted : 6/17/2006 5:15:36 PM

Hello guys, just letting you know, I did a directory search, and all the numbers I have called so far do not pick up. ;_;

Dario Medina

Posted : 6/17/2006 6:05:48 PM

Okay, I have their address! It is 2 blocks from where I live. The dog still has the weight around his neck. ;_;