Is this Animal Abuse?

[TromboneAl]

A new neighbor down the street (I haven't met him but have heard that he's an OK guy), has three dogs in a kennel in his garage (about 6' x 12'), and another dog loose in the garage. The back door of the garage opens to the backyard which is fenced in. The garage door is open about six inches.

I haven't seen the guy or his car since last Saturday morning (five days). I saw a long-term water feeder in the kennel. I don't know if anyone is coming by to check on the dogs.

It's a problem for us because sometimes the dogs bark at night or early in the morning.

Is that reasonable, or should I call animal control?

 

[Walt34]

After five days I'd think it reasonable to call either animal control on the police just to make sure the guy isn't lying at the foot of the stairs, had "The Big Ache", etc.. Maybe first check with the neighbors on either side to see if he said anything about going away for a while.

If the weather's mild and the dogs have food & water and are fenced in I wouldn't call it animal abuse though. A friend would leave his three cats for up to five days with long-term feeders and a couple of large litter boxes and they seemed fine.

 

[ERD50]

Another grow house? -ERD50

 

[haha]

Another grow house? -ERD50

Al's 'hood is problem prone.

Ha

 

[Sarah in SC]

Never hurts to put in the call to Animal Control, just in case. If the dogs have shelter, water, and food, they should be fine, but good to have AC check.

 

[martyb]

Agree. No harm in having somebody take a look.

 

[freebird5825]

Never hurts to put in the call to Animal Control, just in case. If the dogs have shelter, water, and food, they should be fine, but good to have AC check.

+1

I would never leave my 2 dogs alone in my garage for more than 2 consecutive days. Kenneling is expensive but I know they will be fed, watered, and cannot get themselves into any trouble (separation anxiety, i.e. chewing on things in the garage that could hurt them). No incessant barking to disturb the neighbors is an added bonus.

 

[sheehs1]

+1

I would never leave my 2 dogs alone in my garage for more than 2 consecutive days. Kenneling is expensive but I know they will be fed, watered, and cannot get themselves into any trouble (separation anxiety, i.e. chewing on things in the garage that could hurt them). No incessant barking to disturb the neighbors is an added bonus.

+1 and is the reason we board ours when we leave.

Then there is this so it might not hurt to call someone in to take a look. Why not the police to take a quick look rather than animal control on the basis you are worried about your new neighbor?

Pit bull attacks, kills owner - KSN TV, Kansas News and Weather

 

[Sarah in SC]

I usually arrange to have someone come out and do a once daily welfare check on our animals when we are out of town. We have 4 fenced acres and they have access to the house through a pet door. But with 5 of our own dogs plus the foster one, and 6 (well now 7) cats, we wouldn't consider boarding them. I often take the little dog with us if we are going off in the boat or the RV.

 

[Katsmeow]

I own 5 dogs that we keep in our barn so I could see myself in that situation. For example, one time we were going to go out of town a few days (ended up getting cancelled) and our son was going to come by twice a day and feed the dogs and check on them. It would appall me to imagine someone down the street thinking we weren't there and then calling animal control! What if they came by and didn't see my son there and thought we abandoned the dogs and seized them? That is a very scary thought.

My son btw when he was high school did some pet sitting for people with lots of pets where they couldn't just board them all on going out of town.

Have you knocked on your neighbors door to see if he is there, btw? Maybe his car is in the shop and he just isn't going out much?

I second the idea of checking with his closer neighbors to see if they know anything.

If it was me, if I felt I needed to check, I would call the police for a welfare check rather than animal control at this point.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Kats, in our area, the AC wouldn't seize the dogs unless they saw them without water or if their physical condition indicated neglect. And the cops would be the first responders anyway, because AC is stretched pretty thin.

 

[TromboneAl]

I left a note on his door, he came back today, and gave me a call. He had the typical response "Oh, yeah, I had to go to my cousin's wedding..." I let him know about the barking, and we'll see what happens.

 

[Nuiloa]

To answer your question about animal abuse..... IMHO the answer is yes.

Animals need to be able to move around. Leaving them in a kennel even for 24 hours seems cruel to me.

With summer coming (well, not in the Pacific Northwest, but maybe elsewhere), heat build up is another issue.

I have a friend who regularly leaves his dog in his van when he goes into stores, restaurants, etc. I've told him that I will be calling the SPCA the next time he does it - there's no excuse for that kind of stupidity.

Humans can generally take care of themselves - and many deserve whatever happens to them. There are more than enough organizations to look after vulnerable people. Animals need our help to protect them from morons. I would have called AC and the police.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

To answer your question about animal abuse..... IMHO the answer is yes.

Animals need to be able to move around. Leaving them in a kennel even for 24 hours seems cruel to me.

With summer coming (well, not in the Pacific Northwest, but maybe elsewhere), heat build up is another issue.

I have a friend who regularly leaves his dog in his van when he goes into stores, restaurants, etc. I've told him that I will be calling the SPCA the next time he does it - there's no excuse for that kind of stupidity.

Humans can generally take care of themselves - and many deserve whatever happens to them. There are more than enough organizations to look after vulnerable people. Animals need our help to protect them from morons. I would have called AC and the police.

It's a good thing you don't live in Al's neighbourhood. He usually has interesting stories involving neighbours and dogs....you would probably have AC and the police on your speeddial