Irresponsible dog owners

[draggar]

THis made my stomach turn last night.

Around 4:30/5:00 PM I walked one of the dogs and I heard a dog barking. I didn't think much of it because it's common to hear a dog barking in the community behind us.

Around 7PM I walked another dog - I heard the same dog barking. Hmm, this isn't normal.

8:30PM I'm walking another dog and I hear the dog barking still so I go an investigate.

One of the units in the community behind us left their dog in a crate outside.

When I was first out it was in the high 80's, low 90's out and ery humid. By 8:30ish the temperature was still in the 80's - too hot for a dog to be outside (long term) and regardless - IMO it's cruel to leave a dog in a crate outside. The dog cannot fend for itself, and has no cover from the sun or rain.

I called the police.

They came and investigated. The dog did have a bowl, the officer assumed it was for water but the dog had turned it over (spilled out the water). The officer couldn't find the owner.

I went back into the house because it was hot out and I had Zorro with me.

This morning the dog was not in the crate - I'm on the fence on what I hope happened. The ideal situation would be the officer caught up with the owner, gave them a scolding and they learned their lesson (doubtful).

I'd hate to see the dog get picked up by the humane society - there is such a high kill rate that most shelters can't keep a dog more than a few days (unless it has some identification).

Edit: If you're not going to be responsible, don't get a dog. How about if I put YOU in the crate all afternoon?

[Red Panda]

I thought the humane society didn't kill non violent dogs. At least thats what Animal Cops seems to imply.

[draggar]

I thought the humane society didn't kill non violent dogs. At least thats what Animal Cops seems to imply.

No one would want to watch a TV show about people who bring animals to shelters to be euthanized - they want to hear happy "puppy finds a new home" (literally) stories. Too bad, too, because maybe people would realize how bad the situation is and more people would spay / neuter their pets and eliminate the chance of "oops" breedings.

The humane society shelter in Miami-Dade has the highest kill rate the country due to innundation. Most unidentifieable dogs have 72 hours there. I was there many times before opening (malinois rescue) and there were always dogs tied outside, cats in cages, and other animals. (Heck, even a plug for Spay USA would help - cheap spay / neuter ($25ish here?).

They were investigated many years ago due to their high rate and nothing wrong was found. I'd hate to be the vet who has to deal with this all day, eery day - I'm sure their rate at times rival those of some slaughterhouses.

Luckily (at least when we did malinois rescue) the rescue coordinator was awesome. The second an unidentifieable dog came in that could fit into a rescue group, she was on the phone with them. Rarely did a dog that ended up in malinois rescue was there more than 48 hours (Jax was the exception - they held him for an extra 4 days due to the fact that no one could get there for him - I pulled him 3 hours before his time was up).

I think Broward and Palm Beach counties has a high rate, too.

There are some no-kill shelters here but they are very small and have to be extremely selective on who they allow in.

[Hobbs]

I heard PETA had the highest kill rate...

[draggar]

I heard PETA had the highest kill rate...

Follow their money.

[insertNameHere]

I thought the humane society didn't kill non violent dogs. At least thats what Animal Cops seems to imply.

I guess it really depends on where you our. Our previous dog warden had a hard on for pitbulls and would have them put down any chance he was given. OF course there was community outrage at the amount of dogs the warden was putting down of course most of them were pitbulls and other vicious dogs from the inner city.

[Hobbs]

Thanks for the sage wisdom, Confucious

[draggar]

I haven't seen the dog outside the past two days. I really hope for the best case scenario (owners didn't know better - a chat w/ an officer and/or fine set them straight).

As for pit bulls, the breed isn't bad, they just tend to attract an irresponsible and poor dog owner element (not saying all pit owners are bad - I actually know a very good pit breeder in my area).

[Red Panda]

Pits aren't bad. I understand they were bred to be violent against other dogs because they are fighting dogs, but are actually good with people since fighting dogs are bred to not attack humans

[crashhelmet]

They are very tolerant animals. I know a breeder in Orlando who had as many as 20 in his back yard at one time. A lot of it is media hype/hysteria and the effect it's had on the wannabe thug/tough guys and such.

I really hope that the owners learned their lesson. I would think animal control would've taken the dog in its crate, rather than trying to get it out and into another.

CH

[draggar]

They are very tolerant animals. I know a breeder in Orlando who had as many as 20 in his back yard at one time. A lot of it is media hype/hysteria and the effect it's had on the wannabe thug/tough guys and such.

The breeder in Pompano that I know had a problem with his dogs getting stolen (very sad - I'm sure we can guess where they ended up). He ended up getting SchH3 malinois to protect his property - no solten dogs since.

[jedimaster91]

I thought the humane society didn't kill non violent dogs. At least thats what Animal Cops seems to imply.

It depends on your area. Our humane society in Kentucky hasn't had to put an animal down due to overcrowding for over a year. Which is even more impressive considering they've been renovating the kennels and have had less space than usual. They work very closely with rescue groups and volunteer foster parents to help critters find new homes. There's also been a huge effort to get pets fixed. I volunteer at the low-cost spay/neuter clinic, and they are always busy. They will even fix a pit for free if the owner can't afford it.

I really hope the dog in the OP is alright. It would be sad if something happened to it.