I've been living in my new town for several months, and have been coming here for about a year and a half. As long as I've been coming here, a purebred Shiba Inu and purebred St. Bernard have been living outdoors, alone, in a smallish pen. The St. can take about 8 steps in any direction. They each have their own old doghouses. They bark constantly because they are so lonely. I've talked to the old timers in the neighborhood and apparently this has been going on for several years (the Shiba is newer, but the St. has been there basically since he was a pup) They are fed and the pen is kept relatively clean, the dogs are not starving but the St. has horrible coat quality. Dirty, matted, etc. They have no grass in their pen. It is just dirt/mud where they've run it. Nobody EVER walks them, plays with them, or does more than feed them. They aren't breaking any laws, I guess, but I feel like I need to try to help. I would offer to walk them, but if an excited St. decided to pull the leash and he takes off.... put it this way.... I don't want to give these people any power over me. If their dog gets sick they'd blame it on me.
So what does one do? How can I help without being directly involved? If I do have to get directly involved, is there anyway to protect myself from the owners if something goes wrong with the dog and isn't my fault?