I don't know if I did the right thing

I've been watching a dog out our road when I come home from work. He's tied to a tree way, way back in the back yard of this house. And all he does is sit there. Now, please understand I am not the type of person who's a nosy nellie or anything like that. But I used to walk out this road for years and I watched this dog grow up. I remember when they first got him, he was just the most adorable puppy, a black lab. Very frisky and he would run out after me and I'd bring him back. And now? He just sits there. Part of it could be that he's an adult now, not a puppy or a youngster anymore. But there's no shelter any where close to him. No house. Nothing. I don't know how much leash he actually has either....he was pretty close to the tree. I couldn't take it anymore and last night when I got home, I called the dog warden. Left my name and phone number. 

He called me back a few minutes ago. He said he was out at the house, but the dog wasn't there. And he wasn't because I looked when I came home at noon. I also looked when I went to work this morning But he stopped at the house anyway...nobody was home....and he left his card. He told me that he doesn't tell them who called him, but I'm a little worried. 

It may be that I'm over-reacting and maybe the dog is only out during the day. I don't know. But it broke my heart to see that dog just sitting there. In PA, there's no law against chaining a dog outside day in and day out. But they do need shelter and I don't see any. There's a barn on the other side of the house, so maybe they put the dog in the barn at night. But I don't know that. The dog is out in the morning and when I come home. The warden asked me if I could get pictures of the dog and I said I'd try. He also wanted to know the people's name; I have no clue, but Rick might know who they are.

These people had an older dog years ago. And they left it outside all the time. He did have a house. But one year, come spring, I didn't see it anymore; it was just gone one day. And there was a young beagle running around the yard. He came out and we got to be friends. He would actually start baying around 6:30 and I'd always talk to him when I walked by. Then, I started to see him chained. And then he was gone.  Now the black lab is there and the same thing is happening. 

I don't know if I did the right thing. But I felt that I had to do something. I'd be furious if anybody turned us in for animal neglect or abuse because our cats have it made. And maybe there's nothing going on with this dog either. But I don't know that. I don't walk out our road anymore, not since I got hit that time. So I don't know that there'd be any reason for them to think I called anybody. It bothered me. That's all I can say. It bothered me.

It's never wrong to speak up for those who can't speak for themselves. 

If the owners aren't treating the dog right, your actions can only help. If there isn't a problem, then no harm done.

You definitely did the right thing. I would have done the same.

Pam, you did the right thing. Don't think twice about it.
I hope he's okay.

I'd have done the same. I hate to see dogs treated that way.

SwampWitch said:

It's never wrong to speak up for those who can't speak for themselves. 

If the owners aren't treating the dog right, your actions can only help. If there isn't a problem, then no harm done.

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You were right to follow your instincts.

The thing is, if there's nothing wrong, I'm going to feel terrible. OTOH, nobody should just chain a dog to a tree. We see that all the time around here and it's really sad.

Thank you for supporting me in this. I did the right thing. I don't see how there was any other way. 

I hate to see dogs chained up like that.  I know I have read from several sources that that is a way to turn dogs vicious. They are so frustrated from being chained up and many of them turn that frustration into aggression.

I agree with the others Pam, you did the only thing you could do, it was the humane thing to do.

Winchester said:

 
The thing is, if there's nothing wrong, I'm going to feel terrible. OTOH, nobody should just chain a dog to a tree. We see that all the time around here and it's really sad.

Thank you for supporting me in this. I did the right thing. I don't see how there was any other way. 

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but there was something wrong: the dog was chained to a tree. you did the right thing. maybe, there is a dog/animal rescue group you can report this to. they might be willing to monitor the situation. 

Winchester said:

 
The thing is, if there's nothing wrong, I'm going to feel terrible.

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Better to speak up, act, and find out that it was nothing, than to sit back and wonder for a long time after about "what ifs".

"So many people are afraid of overacting that they don't act at all." -- Unknown

Winchester said:

 
. I did the right thing. I don't see how there was any other way. 

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I absolutely agree!  Good for you.   

You did the right thing Pam. You shouldn't have to feel bad about caring. Hugs to you.

Sounds like the right thing to me. How many other dogs have they had? and tied to trees?  Those dogs are sitting prey for any other animals wandering around! Hopefully your Rick knows something about these people, or at least their name. When I had first started my job, we couldn't get parking passes as new employees. There was this young puppy, tied to a fence post, with a gaping gash from the collar. No water, food etc. It was like "here's your lost puppy" and just IF you happen to come walking down this particular street. Yes YOU  did the right thing!

Yeah,real story.

Years ago,house behind me had a dog on a TOW chain,for gosh sakes!!

You guessed it,a pit bull.The dog would cry -he could see me going in and out of the house.

I called the pound,never knew what happened to him.

Hunter was his name,OMG I was climbing the fence to give him water,The neighbor caught me.

I thought she was gonna have me arrested.I just couldnt take it.He disappeared too,dont think it

was the pound.

Seems like animal lovers have a lot in common.Maybe if more people report things,people will get a clue

about how not to treat animals.

Thanx

You did the right thing. Definitely, definitely did the right thing. Just because leaving a dog chained up isn't against the law it doesn't mean it's right.

I can't understand why these people get pets in the first place.

I totaly agree with everyone. Better safe than sorry. I hope the dog is o.k. too.  Like Norachan said, people like that shouldn't get pets in the first place!  

I would like to put things in perspective. Since I've noticed everyone here seems like quite the knowledgeable and great pet parent.

I have to confess, my family did that in the past. Thanks to society, campaigns and the internet, we've been constantly educating ourselves to be better pet owners. Some people just don't know it's not OK to do some things or it's the way they were brought up. Over the years my siblings and I have been teaching our father that pets are family too and not replaceable property. For a 50+ year old man, he's still learning but at least he's trying, and very hard.

Ever since I was young we've had dogs. 

When I was around 5 years old we had a medium sized dog, we loved him so much, We fed him leftovers and he grew well and happy. We didn't know you should  buy dog food. Even if we did know, we couldn't afford it. Would it have been better to leave him in the streets? We didn't think so. Since we didn't want to confine him, we let him roam around and one day he disappeared. We looked everywhere for him. Our best bet is that the dog pound took him, but we didn't know where the pound was. We should have gone search for him everywhere.  We now know one shouldn't feed pets leftovers and one must never give up on a friend.

Later on we had another dog. My dad, at the time, was making 60 dlls a week (not a lot for Mexico 1990's). We fed the dog leftovers and he was growing nicely and happily. We had him on a leash, so he wouldn't go missing like the other dog, tied near his little house my dad had built him out of scrap wood. One day he chewed through the rope and got hit by a car. My dad could barely afford to feed us and pay the bills, so a vet visit to save him was out of the question and putting him to sleep would be around 2 days worth of salary. My dad took him behind our home and in tears took a baseball bat and hit him on the head dead.  That afternoon when we asked him if the dog was improving, he confessed thatt he did this while he had sent us to buy some milk. He never did that again.

We've had several dogs over the years, and each time we like to think we're improving and we're learning our lessons. My going to school and us getting more income certainly has aided in learning beforehand what to do and what not to do.

Are we irresponsible owners? Maybe.

Would the dogs have been happier taken by Animal control and be put to death? NO!. We loved them, they were happy, we spent time with them, they were our friends. We may have committed mistakes and their days did not end as we always hoped throughout the years: with old age. But we sure loved them while they were here and they brought us joy.

I have many more stories of our pets past, which to this day haunt us. But we continue to get more pets because we like to think they can enjoy a family for as long as we can provide it for them and when they are gone we miss them. We also would like to think that, although some met a horrible fate, they were better off than confined in a cold cell with other dogs that might have mauled them while in the pound or randomly hit by a car, all alone with no hope in sight.

As you might have noticed by the way I'm writing this. I try to justify having pets over and over. We try. We work and everyday we like to think we give our pets a better care than the day before. We take measures to make sure they are well and happy.

I certainly don't know what the deal is with the dog's "owner". But I can see a bit our family in what OP describes. 

All that said, I would try to contact the owner and veeeeery politely help educate him into knowing what is right and what is wrong. We've done that with a couple or neighbors and some took it well, others cursed us away.

I really hope my confession doesn't burn bridges with anyone here since, as I mentioned time and again, we are a family very interested in learning what is best for our pets and I'm really learning a lot by asking questions here.

Thank you for reading.

Pam you did the right thing. Don't 2nd guess yourself. Most people would not do anything to help the dog.

@ MagiksGirl:   Thank you for having the courage to tell your story!  You are actively changing the world for the better and I salute you for it!  I grew up in rural California and in the 60s & 70s, pets didn't get neutered very often nor go to the vet. 'Blunt force head trauma" was the most humane thing done and in some situations is still the most merciful way to go. In our more remote areas here, animals are still treated more like they were in the early 1900s.  Thank God things are changing!

@ Winchester:  I am so GLAD that you did the RIGHT THING and called the dog warden!  If there is no problem, the owners have nothing to worry about.  The previous dog situations are odd though, and the situation definitely needs a thorough investigation,  I like the idea of calling a local dog rescue and asking them to do some monitoring - they are able to "act under the radar" and keeps attention off you!