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confined dog in Indiana

post #1 of 20
4/12/05 at 2:33pm
Thread Starter 
My mom has a neighbor who has two dogs. The Beagle is kept in a rabbit cage in their backyard, with no protection from the sun. According to my mom they never actually let this dog out of her cage and she cries all the time, it was the crying that made my mom and another neighbor investigate. Their other dog, a golden retriever, is allowed to roam around, but just lays under the cage of the beagle. My mom called the local ASPCA and Animal Control. There are only two Animal Control officers in this city, which is by no means small (Ft. Wayne) and they are certainly overburdened. They haven't been able to make it out to this house yet. Is there anything else that my mom can do for this dog? She's obviously undernourished and not getting any exercise. My mom would offer to take the dog but the ASPCA said that would probably tip the owners off as to who called Animal Control and would likely cause problems. Do you have any advice, or is it mostly just a wait and see issue? Thank you!
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post #2 of 20
5/23/05 at 10:09pm
*sigh* I guess I shouldn't post my advice because I know it's a big no-no...but...since no one has answered this post yet...sigh. My opinion, but not advice, and what I would do in her situation, is just take the dogs while she is away. There wouldn't be any evidence backing anyone saying she took them...and it would get them out of that situation. Maybe am just over reacting. Or too emotional. But THAT's what I would do in that situation.

Poor babies.
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post #3 of 20
5/24/05 at 5:31am
I used to live next to a man who had a beautiful German Shepard. He kept her penned in his back yard, which was by a dirt road, every time I walked by I noticed she had no food and no water. I would sneak down at nite and feed and water her. When winter came and it was freezing outside, I noticed he still left her out. So I took her a blanket to sleep on. Hoping he would get the hint. He never did. I started to notice her walking funny and thought that she had frost bite, so I took her home with me. I've got some balls huh? I called animal control and they came to my home and made me take her back. They went and talked to the man. He kept her in for a while. Then I noticed that she dissapeared. A couple months later I was at the local animal shelter and there she was. I asked them how she got there and they said someone dropped her off as a stray. Come to find out it was her owner. She had very bad hip displasia and he didn't want to pay the cost to fix it. I turned him in to them and they took care of it from there. They found her a good home and took care of her hips. I guess what I'm saying is that I would take both the dogs. Even if I had to drop them off at a local shelter so the people wouldn't know you did it. I hate it when people are cruel to animals. If they can't treat them with love and respect then they don't deserve to have them.
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post #4 of 20
5/24/05 at 10:09am
The owner does not deserve the dogs and if the authorities do not/have not done anything about it yet, I would most definitely (if it were me) take matters into my own hands and take the dogs to a shelter or find *good* homes for them.

That makes me sooooo mad. Please give us an update when you have a chance!
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post #5 of 20
5/24/05 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your replies! My mom asked me if I knew of any liberation-types that could camo themselves up and steal the dogs, and she was being half serious! She would just take them, but the lab barks a lot anytime anyone comes near her. The beagle just whines when my mom is outside doing yardwork or walking with her neighbor and her dog. She's afraid that if she takes her the people would call the cops or do something violent. Most of the neighbors think this guy is a jerk and his wife doesn't talk much (big indicator about the family life there).

I was thinking she should go armed with dog treats, and maybe that would stop the barking.

She did think about going to their house and offering to take the dog, but the humane society said that would likely tip him off as to who called the complaint.

I told her to log every time she sees the dog out of the cage (which has only been once) and every time she sees the dog get fed or watered.

The thing that really makes me mad, well, one of the things! is that her friend and neighbor refuses to call animal control. The guy next door won't either, but her friend is an animal lover and has a dog of her own. Her granddaughter has a beagle and really loves the breed- you'd think that would help. I really wanted to see the neighbors coming together on this. I think public opinion can work wonders on these types of people. I can't imagine ever ignoring that kind of abuse, but then again my mom was the only one who called when one of my friends was being beaten by her mom, so I suppose it shouldn't suprise me.

It's just a frustrating experience. I'm going to try to get some pictures when I go home tomarrow.
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post #6 of 20
5/24/05 at 4:29pm
Thread Starter 
Another thing that makes me mad- the rabbit cage she's kept in is smaller than my rabbit cage! How can you put a medium sized dog in a rabbit cage that's under 48 inches is beyond me. She doesn't even have room to stand up on her hind legs, like my rabbit does- and this is a dog who probably has 30lbs on my rabbit!
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post #7 of 20
5/25/05 at 5:32am
If animal control isn't doing anything I would call the police and make a complaint through them. Or I would just go take the dog.
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post #8 of 20
5/25/05 at 12:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by javajane
If animal control isn't doing anything I would call the police and make a complaint through them. Or I would just go take the dog.
good idea...i'd call the police since no one else seems to care enough to help you with this.
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post #9 of 20
5/25/05 at 10:00pm
Thread Starter 
I just talked to my mom and apparently the police won't do anything about it because it's animal control's territory.
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post #10 of 20
5/26/05 at 6:26am
Isn't there an ASPCA there? That would be my next step.
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post #11 of 20
5/26/05 at 11:43am
Thread Starter 
She contacted the ASPCA first, but like the Humane Society, they have no authority in Indiana. They both told her to keep calling Animal Control.
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post #12 of 20
5/28/05 at 7:00am
We got a dog out of a situation where the son was abusing the dog. Left outside all the time, with limited food and water, no shelter, and a kid that would beat him with whatever was handy.

The neighbor contacted us (no kill shelter) and we found a foster home before the neighbor approached the owner. They told the person that they had a friend that was looking for a dog, it wasn't fair for the dog to be kept outside all day, etc. They admitted that they didn't really want the dog, got it for their son and the son wasn't interested. After about 30 days of pleading the owners turned him over to us. They never knew that he went to a rescue group, and the dog was placed in a good home.

The neighbor was afraid to approach this family as, similar to your story, they had the reputation of being the jerks in the neighborhood and the neighbors thought they would cause harm if they just took the dog. We fed them guilt about his living conditions and they had enough sense to realize that the dog would be better off elsewhere. I even went over there under the guise of "meeting" the dog and took pictures to start circulating within rescue. I oooo'd and aaaah'd about what a wonderful dog he was, what a great home I had, etc, etc. Yup, we tricked them.

Just another approach to consider.....
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post #13 of 20
6/8/05 at 6:48am
Just wondering if the dog has been rescued yet?
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post #14 of 20
6/9/05 at 4:43pm
Thread Starter 
Nope, she's still there and it's apparently perfectly legal. Grrrrrrrrr. My mom just keeps watching and documenting everything.
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post #15 of 20
6/20/05 at 8:54pm
If there hasn't been any action, PM me the info and the AC tel number. I can call and inquire if anyone there is actually earning their salary or if they are simply keeping the donut shop in business....
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post #16 of 20
6/20/05 at 9:41pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you Mark. I will call my mom tomarrow to get that information for you.
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post #17 of 20
6/23/05 at 10:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Abra
*sigh* I guess I shouldn't post my advice because I know it's a big no-no...but...since no one has answered this post yet...sigh. My opinion, but not advice, and what I would do in her situation, is just take the dogs while she is away. There wouldn't be any evidence backing anyone saying she took them...and it would get them out of that situation. Maybe am just over reacting. Or too emotional. But THAT's what I would do in that situation.

Poor babies.
That is exactly what I would do also. Free these animals.
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post #18 of 20
6/23/05 at 4:17pm
any update?
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post #19 of 20
6/23/05 at 7:21pm
I too would free the animals!! I once had a beagle, a bunny and a cat all at the same time and while the bunny free roamed tha area that was bunny proofed in the home, at night he liked to sleep in his cage -which we had made more comfortable for him. His fav timorthy hay and his litrle basket that he liked. He was trained to go to the bathroom in his own litter box. These babies all got along fine.

My problem is envisioning this poor beagle in the rabbit cage. We had a large one - and it was only for the bunny who used it only to sleep in - tho he slept with us and on another fav basket that was carpeted. (I had used it to pout my feet up one night and he decided it was his so he got to keep it, lol). My beagle slept with us and put up quite the fuss when the door managed to get shut - usually by the cat who may have been telling her beagle brother something, lol

BOTH dogs need love and affection, and good food and all the things we give our pets day in and day out. I do not know if there are any liberation type groups in your area - I recently read of such a group in BC and they did great work, imho! Saving dogs who need help!! Here is thgeir site - they may say how they do it.
http://www.animaladvocates.com/women-who-steal-dogs.htm

This is one what one rescuer wrote:

So I started to try to make friends with this dog, who was no longer a happy little pup, but a desocialized rottweiler, barking and growling at strangers, but whining and wagging at my friend, who she knew as the familiar person who had talked to her over the fence since she was a pup. After a few weeks of visiting with my friend by the fence, and throwing pieces of cheese and weiners over when no one was looking, I too was perceived as a familiar person, and not a threat.

And so she made not a sound, not a bark, not a growl, when I climbed her fence in the middle of the night. And though she was nervous, she made no effort to resist when I lifted her as best I could up to the fence. She put her paws on the top, I boosted, and over she went to freedom. She raced around and jumped on me in sheer delight in the middle of the night. And she, who had spent her long boring days barking at anything that went by, never made so much as a peep. I think she knew exactly what was going on that night.


If there is no group, you may have to do it yourself. I;'d bring lots of food - my guess is these poor babies are starved - and do it at night when hopefully these cruel ppl are asleep. It does sound desperate!!

Good luck!
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post #20 of 20
6/24/05 at 5:27am
oh gosh, that's so awesome that the dog was rescued!!!
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