Expert: Robin Flynn - 8/16/2007

Question
My back yard neighbor has a german sheppherd that is around 6 mo. old at the most.  The poor dog has spends nearly 18 hours a day outside, even during the hot california summer days.  To make it even worse, they hardly ever pay attention to it.

Theres been several times that I have been watering my backyard and hear the dog clawing at the fence.  Several times I peeked over and met the dog jumping half way up the 6 foot fence.  Being a dog person and knowing this was not a viscous animal, I stuck my had over.  The dog proceeded to lick my hand and try to grab it with its paws looking extremely happy someone was actually paying attention to it.  I know from experience that German Sheppherds that get enough attention, do not take well to strange people looking over their fence as they are loyal and territorial.

My question is, is there anything that I can do to get this dog taken away?  They obviously do not care for their dog and there would be many other families or people (including me) who will treat it much better.  Is there anything that would allow animal control to take the dog?  I just feel so bad for the poor animal and I know it could have a much better life than a back yard trophy dog.

Answer
Hi Brooks,

I’m sorry for the tardy response, I set my vacation time (questions are diverted to other AR experts) at the same time you sent in this question, and therefore I didn’t receive until today.

I certainly understand the frustration you feel and I have seen this happen in my neighborhood as well. In my state you can’t leave a dog outside for a certain number of hours without shelter, if this puppy doesn’t have adequate shelter then you may have a case with the SPCA if California follows the same rules. I would suggest calling your local SPCA and ask them what you can do to help this puppy; they may visit the dog’s home to access the situation. Sadly, the laws don’t consider the emotional development of a puppy or whether or not it receives the attention it deserves. This breaks my heart because I love animals. We take these poor puppies away from their mother and families and then throw them outside to live a lonely life; it’s just unbelievable to me that people would consider this an acceptable life for a dog. I don’t know if the dog is chained but if he is you may want to visit this site below. It also gives tips on how to talk to a neighbor.
http://www.unchainyourdog.org/Talking.htm

The site states 2 goals to keep in mind.
1. Educate the owner so that he will think of the dog in a new light; as a living creature who needs love and attention and care. Hopefully, he will learn how to treat dogs better in the future.

2. Helping the dog a little is better than doing nothing at all. You may not be able to convince the owner to relinquish the dog. You may not be able to convince the owner to put up a fence. Even if all you can do is get a decent doghouse, a well-fitting collar, and some toys for the dog, that is a success and the dog’s life has been improved.

I also found this article about CA law that may be appropriate for this situation.

http://www.3apetsitting.com/pet-sitting-resources/pet-sitting-services-articles....

Another site with a list of organizations that you can contact in regards to laws that apply in your state:
http://pet-law.com/statelists.html

It may be that your neighbors never find the respect that their dog deserves but by educating them and letting them know you are watching, it may just push them to treat their dog better. If you have other dog lovers in the neighborhood you may want to approach them and ask if they are concerned with this situation. It might just get the ball rolling and help push the appropriate change in your neighborhood.

In a similar case in my neighborhood, a neighbor left a dog outside in the freezing cold for hours, I arrived home and heard this horrible barking up the street when I went out to investigate another neighbor told me that he had been barking for hours (I cant believe nobody did anything, I only had to hear his cries for minutes, he was freezing and standing on ice). We knocked on the doors but nobody answered. I convinced the police to come and investigate the situation but when they arrived they said there was nothing they could do. I decided to grab some blankets, food and water and bring it to the dog but when I got back with all of the supplies we could see that the dog was now inside. We were thankful that the dog was now warm but very upset with the neighbor for ignoring his own pet and us. The story didn’t end there. We {several neighbors} let this individual know that we would stand for this kind of treatment of an animal in our neighborhood – we left him a letter and all signed it. He chose not to respond to us. He received a  home visit from the MSPCA. It has been 2 years and we haven’t seen the dog left outside in the cold or unattended. If neighbors can’t take a friendly hint sometimes you need to resort to other methods. However, I firmly believe in a friendly approach first and if they aren’t convinced then you need to do what you can for the animal. I think when one person makes a stand for an animal many others will follow. It’s just that nobody wants to make the initial stand. I’m glad you are one us, a dog lover. The puppy next door is lucky to have someone watching out for him/her. I hope you receive some help from the SPCA sometimes that can be a hit or miss. If you need any additional answers I’m happy to help. Please provide me with as much details as possible.

For the animals,
Robin