We just moved into this house a couple of months ago, and don't really know our neighbors at all. Very few houses out here have fenced in yards, and it's not at all unusual to see a dog tied up out back of a house. Our neighbors across the street have two pitbulls tied up all the time - which, in itself, bothered me enough. But I tried to ignore it, because what can I do? A few days ago, when my partner got hoe from work we saw that one of the dogs had gotten off her leash. We got hold of her and tried knocking on the door, but they weren't home. So we ended up bringing her back into her yard and tying her back up herself. It was when we actually went back there that I became totally alarmed at their living conditions. It was a roughly 100 degree day, and neither dog had water, or even food. Both dogs are kept tied with chains around their necks, and pull at them so hard there are lesions on the skin. AND both pits are tied up at opposite ends of the yard, having no real contact with one another. Because of this, they each have the notion that the other is a "foreign" dog, and aren't at all friendly with each other. The only reason the second dog (the one that had stayed tied up) even let us near enough to look at her was because we brought her water. I don't know what to do about this situation. We left an anonomous note on their door, threatening to call the Humane Society, but I don't want this to become a vendetta between us and our neighbors. From the other side, I'm struggling a lot with the idea of calling the HS at all - these are two full grown, unspade Pit bulls. In a region that is totally overrun with stray dogs all the time, and all the shelters are full. They would be put down without question. I really don't know what to do, I'm so torn. I hope that they took the note to heart, but I haven't found a good time yet to sneak into their backyard and check on the buggers. Any advice?
When two or more pits are kept chained like that and with distance between them so that no socialization happens...they are most likely fighting Pits. They might be risking euthanasia but that's a hell of alot better then dying of dehydration, infection, or being ripped to shreds in a fighting arena. Call the animal warden....like now!
Just call the SPCA. Your neighbors don't even need to know it was you and the officers will decide whether or not the dogs need to be removed or your neighbors just need a warning. http://www.creatures.com/TN.html
I agree......call the spca. These dogs need to be pulled from that situation no matter what happens thereafter. That is no life for a precious dog.
I don't agree that this means the dogs are used in fighting. Pit bulls as a breed are dog aggressive after maturity - you don't really need to do anything to make them dog aggressive. Most people (dog fighters or not) who have multiple APBTs tied outside would have to have them apart - if not the dogs would be fighting all the time. Used as fighting dogs or not they are APBTs and they are likely to fight. That said having them tied at opposite ends of the yard where they can become agitated about each other is only going to make them more keyed up to fight with each other if they get loose even if the owner didn't intend it. That said they without a doubt idiot owners. Responsible APBT ownership requires that you keep your dog confined in a way that they can not get loose and roam the neighborhood. It's not unlikely that had someone called the cops about the loose pit bull roaming the nieghborhood the dog would have been shot or taken to the pound and euthanized. You NEED to call the dog warden and report this. Yes the dogs will most likely be destroyed if removed but as horrible as that is it sounds like there are not other options here. Having those dogs removed from that owner will prevent them from getting loose and killed someone's dog or worse (and in turn making yet another "pit bull attacks" headline which the breed does not need). APBTs are supposed to be human friendly but sadly not everyone is breeding them with proper temperaments. Of course they may not be removed too - just depends on the laws where you live. It may take more than one complaint to get anything done but don't give up.
Call the spca, or the humane society... Definitely. At least then there is a chance that these dogs could be taken care of.... if you don't, there is no chance, and they will most likely suffer until they die. From the sounds of it, the dogs must not be all that unfriendly if you had the ability to try to chain them up again and what not.... If the dogs are fairly nice in nature, that makes it more probable for them to find good homes, or at least to be trained more thoroughly. When you call the humane society, you can state that you would like to be updated on the dogs, if you wish, and that way you won't have to live with that gross feeling of not knowing what happened to them. And if anything, ask the humane society if it is okay that you help to get these dogs a better home... if the humane society will comply, which I'm sure they will, don't hesitate to advertise to find the dogs a good home, or tell anyone you know that might be interested in a dog. And if they cannot find homes, I do agree that although its sad, euthansia would be a better option then letting them continue to suffer until death. You have to pick the lesser of the two evils, really, I guess. The fact that they did not have water, especially on a hot day, bothers me most... Any animal cannot live very long without proper hydration. If you're absolutely against the idea of calling for help, then at least take it upon yourself to bring them fresh water or food.... if the neighbors complain about it, be sure to explain your other option if they don't get their shit together. Maybe even find them two good, fabric collars so they don't have to hurt their necks on the chains... They must be taken care of somehow. I think the best idea is to call the shelther, but like I said, if you can't bring yourself to do it, at least take it upon yourself to see that these dogs are taken care of, at least for their physical needs. At my old house we had lots of stray cats... I rarely actually saw them, but often found their droppings in my sandbox, and always heard of the city trying to find ways to cut down the stray cat population around my neighborhood. I was young, only like 10, and my parents wouldn't let me have a cat, and I was afraid of them being put down as well, so I often left out some meat scraps for them to eat, along with a bowl of water.
