Abandoned Dogs

Elphaba09

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This is long and ranting. Sorry.

A couple of weeks ago while taking my daughter and grandson back to their apartment after his doctor's appointment, we stopped at a garage sale near her because she noticed a kitchen table and wanted it. While we were there, we noticed a bunch of feral cats and kittens. We were told that if we could catch any of the kittens that we could have them. While she and I were looking for the kittens over towards the wooded area of the land--it is more than 10 acres with a yard, fields, and a woods--we noticed several dog houses. We assumed they were old because there used to be a barn there. When we got closer, we noticed a dog. Then a second dog. Both were chained on heavy, short chains attached to trees. Inside the other houses were chains with old collars. The family did not seem particularly interested in the dogs when we mentioned them. They were up from another state taking care of their sister's house since she died a few weeks back.

Not that we stalk the house, but my daughter lives in a pretty clear sightline of the part of the property with the house and driveway. In the two weeks, she has noticed one person there. It seemed to have been a real estate agent. We assumed the real estate agent would have reported the dogs, but it kept eating at me. Yesterday, I was with my daughter again, so we stopped by the house. The dogs are still there! Their "food" was wet from rain and filled with maggots. They had no water. We called my son who brought us water and bowls from our house and dog food from our neighbor. I took my daughter home and then went back to my house. My neighbor knows the chief of police in our area, so I had her call him. He sent out an officer, and my neighbor's second eldest daughter went with me back to the house. Thankfully we had because the officer could not find the dogs because he was looking too close to the house. We showed him where to go. We watched him walk out and pet the one dog. (They are soooooooooooo sweet! I like dogs when they are other people's dogs. I just would not be able to give a dog the care it deserves because of my disabilities.) He contacted the SPCA. Nothing was done after that.

This morning, my neighbor called the SPCA. They got back to her this afternoon. They knew the house because a couple of years ago, there had been complaints about dogs being left to die on the property. (The woman was in her 80s and had lung cancer. She should have found homes for the dogs.) They ordered the dead dogs taken care of, but they did nothing about the two other dogs! Around that same time, my daughter and I had gone back to give the dogs more food and water and to take food to the ferals because the momma feral we saw was gaunt. We pet the dogs a bit and then found the momma cat and two of her kittens. (There are at least six other ferals there. The grass is high, so who knows how many are really out there!) The kittens were eating a dead rat, which they abandoned for both wet and dry food. My son went back this evening to take them more water because it was in the high 80s today. The water was empty and the dogs were happy to see them.

I am going to call the SPCA tomorrow and see what they are doing and then go back out and make sure they have water and food. I hope they are saved soon. I contacted a few feral rescuers near me who might be able to help me with the ferals. At the very least, we can get them fixed! I have a soft spot for cats, but at least the ferals have a better chance to fend for themselves a bit, but two older dogs on heavy chains in a field do not have a chance at all! I keep going between being very angry and crying. People are just too cruel!

These are the dogs and their "food." Warning: If you look at the food, which is dumped on the ground next to the bowl, the white specks are thousands of maggots. The chain for the taller dog is just shy of 5 ft. It looks longer in the picture, but I measured it. The other one has a chain that is closer to 4 ft.
 

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Elphaba09

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Thank you so much for helping them! My blood is boiling after reading how they were treated. No animal should be treated like that.
I hope everything works out. Please keep us updated!
I absolutely will! They were so happy to get the attention that they waited to eat and drink until we started to walk away. You can just see it in their faces how happy they were to see us! They seem to have had at least one litter of puppies in their lives, too. These are from yesterday when we first saw them. You can see that they already recognize use as someone there to help!
 

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Willowy

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Hound doggies!

Are there any other rescue agencies in the area, or is the SPCA the only one that has legal standing? In general, very few shelters kill dogs now, as there's usually a home for them somewhere, even older dogs, but they have to get to the rescue people before anything can happen.

Do you know anybody who's up for some petty theft? I doubt the owners would press charges anyway, they'd likely be glad to be rid of them.
 

neely

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This sounds like a story directly out of the Animal Planet show, Pit Bulls & Parolees, except that the dogs are not Pits. Can someone from the SPCA bring a bolt cutter to cut the chains? Poor, poor pups but they have found their angel in you and your daughter. 😇
 
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Elphaba09

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Hound doggies!

Are there any other rescue agencies in the area, or is the SPCA the only one that has legal standing? In general, very few shelters kill dogs now, as there's usually a home for them somewhere, even older dogs, but they have to get to the rescue people before anything can happen.

Do you know anybody who's up for some petty theft? I doubt the owners would press charges anyway, they'd likely be glad to be rid of them.
I have contacted a few people. No replies. We live in a small town, so there is little around in the way of animal rescue. I have also asked around about anyone wanting to "liberate" the dogs! We will see what happens tomorrow.

This sounds like a story directly out of the Animal Planet show, Pit Bulls & Parolees except that the dogs are not Pits. Can someone from the SPCA bring a bolt cutter to cut the chains? Poor, poor pups but they have found their angel in you and your daughter. 😇
That is what we are hoping they do tomorrow. They have collars with a name and number, but it belongs to the husband of the woman who died, according to the county auditor's website. He died two years ago at least.
 

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I have contacted a few people. No replies. We live in a small town, so there is little around in the way of animal rescue.
Do you have a neighboring town with an animal rescue group or can you call the closest one and see if they have a volunteer who will come? Wishing you the best of luck tomorrow. I will keep my fingers crossed for good news. :crossfingers::crossfingers:
 

Willowy

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You wouldn't need bolt cutters if their collars can unbuckle, although of course you'd need another collar or slip lead to put on them right away.

I would recommend having one person let them off their chains and then have them "follow" somebody else home (for plausible deniability) but they're hounds so they might take off. Probably not worth the risk.
 
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Elphaba09

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Do you have a neighboring town with an animal rescue group or can you call the closest one and see if they have a volunteer who will come? Wishing you the best of luck tomorrow. I will keep my fingers crossed for good news. :crossfingers::crossfingers:
Those are the ones who I have contacted. No replies yet. A friend of mine is going to see if her fiancee is okay with adopting the smaller of the two. He is kind of a jerk, so I am not holding my breath.
I would recommend having one person let them off their chains and then have them "follow" somebody else home (for plausible deniability) but they're hounds so they might take off. Probably not worth the risk.
Would it be plausible deniability of that person--unbeknownst to me!--took treats and accidentally left their car door open and the dogs just jumped in?
 
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Elphaba09

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I have a bit of an update. The SPCA has been no help at all, and none of the other rescues I have contacted have replied. The reply we got from the SPCA was that it was a "problem" that we had given them food and water because now they were "cared for. So we should have left them in 87-degree weather without water and only maggoty food to eat while the SPCA took their time getting out there? They said that both they and the officer had contact with someone from the family. There is a guy who claims to be caring for the dogs and is taking them elsewhere in a week. They also said that he claims to go out there every day at "odd" hours to care for them (he said around 3 am) and gives them fresh food and water. There is no flipping way.

My neighbor and I were livid. Tonight, we are going there around 2 am and hanging out until 4 to see if he shows. If not, we will go again tomorrow.

Of course, we took them more food and water.

I asked the SPCA what would happen if the dogs were still there in a week. She said, "That depends on if he is still caring for them." CARING FOR THEM?! They are tied on short chains to a tree and left in the heat without proper food and water. The fact that we are taking them food and water now should not count for the "owner" taking care of them. These are helpless creatures. It would be like taking my grandson and leaving him in a little shelter in my backyard all day with two bottles. He can roll over to get them when he is hungry, and I can check on him when it is convenient. I am sure my neighbors will check on him, change his diapers, and give him new bottles. What could be the problem with that? He would be cared for, and it is only going to be 93 tomorrow.

I really dislike people sometimes.
 
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Elphaba09

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I would be extremely suspicious of the relative "taking them elsewhere". Around here, that would mean they're getting a bullet. If you can arrange for a kidnapping, now would be the time, I think.
My neighbor and I would never arrange the liberation of two dogs. ;);) We were not just talking about it.
 

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Get the dogs out of there now, that person who claims to be caring for them will give them a bullet. It is sad how the SPCA thinks its an issue that you are feeding them and considers them to be cared for. If I worked at the SPCA, I would meet up with you with a bolt cutter and a new dog leash, temporarily give you dog crates to hold them somewhere till they can be rehomed, cut the collar and hand the dogs over to you. And if that so-called "carer" asks what happened to the dogs, I would tell him that their collar must have been old and broken apart from the heat and the dogs must have run away, and say sorry I can't help you to find them now and give the ass hole a fine.

It makes me angrier that someone in SPCA wouldn't be bothered to arrange something behind the books to save a life of an animal suffering knowing all the horrors that they know that goes on in situations like this. I guess some people just work in animal welfare because they just need a job and money and don't care for the animals.
I hope and pray that you get them out of there. Poor dogs :(
 
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Elphaba09

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Have you tried Abandoned Pet Project Abandoned Pet Project – Working Together To Save Lives They are linked with a range of organisations that may be able to assist with rescuing these dogs. They are also linked with Vet Ranch who run youtube videos who provide veterinary care for animals in need
I have not, but I will now. If they do not reply, we will have to think of what exactly to do next.

The "owner" was not there last night. She went from 2:45-ish to 4 with her boyfriend. I am swinging by in the next hour when my daughter can come with me. (Because we are parking in a different spot, I cannot walk out to where they are.)
 

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is it possible to hire dog crates or loan some from a shelter, and find someone to keep them on their property till another solution is there?
 
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Elphaba09

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is it possible to hire dog crates or loan some from a shelter, and find someone to keep them on their property till another solution is there?
There is actually an update. The "owner" of the dogs put up no trespassing signs. (On property that is for sale and empty that does not belong to him?) The SPCA called my neighbor back and said that she was there when he showed up today. He started yelling at her telling her that he was armed and she was on private property. This was before the sign was up. She identified herself and he calmed down a bit. She told my neighbor that she told him that he has two days (so Saturday) to get the dogs off and to give her the address to the new location. (Perhaps the fact that he threatened her made her take more action?) She also said that she told him that they need longer chains, although she did not tell my neighbor how long the chain has to be. She was concerned that he might pull a gun on us if we tried to go and give them water and food. She said that she would go out there and check on them today and get back to us. He knows who she is and that she is coming back each day to check. He got kind of nasty and said that they are his hunting dogs and that he knows how to care for them, but she does not agree. Nor do we.

I am happy that they actually did something; however, as I stated, it seems that his threat towards her is what put a fire under her butt to make sure they were okay. I am also glad that she has requested the address of the new location and told him that she will be checking on them.

I just wish they would take these dogs. This man has no business having an animal in his care.
 

neely

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The SPCA called my neighbor back and said that she was there when he showed up today.
Thanks, this is a great update! :thumbsup: I'm glad she asked for the address of the "supposed" new location. I agree the dog owner is beyond negligent but fingers crossed the SPCA will follow through and the dogs will receive the care they desperately need. :crossfingers:
 
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