Need advice...

[caseysmom]

My daughter is taking care of her coworker/friends cat and dog for a few days, only because my daughter asked who was taking care of them while she was going to be out of town so at the last minute she was like oh I don't know so my daughter offered.

Anyway I went over there with her last night and tonight. The dog is left outside all the time and he is a very matted shitzhu. I just don't think a shitzhu is built to live outside all the time. We are in California but it does get down to freezing at night and it did this past week. He had a dog house that looked good.

Just not sure what to do about it, my daughter is quite upset. Also the cat is just on the porch with a towel, not even a decent bed. An adorable fluffy while kitty.

My daughter has stayed over there before and asked about bringing the animals in and she says the dog destroys everything, not sure about the kitty.

I told my daughter to gently discuss it with her that dogs are pack animals and they are lonely outside alone all day. The little guy seems pretty depressed and unsocialized.

[Karen]

How long is your daughter caring for them? Might she try keeping the dog inside, crating him, to prove it can work? Poor babies, he must be so lonely and bored, Shih Tzus are companion dogs, they should be near their people! And if he's matted, it's also painful, the mats will pull at his skin whenever he moves.

[caseysmom]

They will be home tomorrow. My daughter asked if she could take them to her apartment but she said no, she would rather him just stay at home. We did bring him in the house and held him for about an hour while we were there.

I told my daughter next time she stays over there to offer to help give him a bath and help cut the knots.

I can't imagine my bubba outside all the time, he is my velcro boy. My daughter also has a shitzhu so we are both pretty upset about it.

Maybe my daughter can say hey I leave my dogs in the crate when I go to work (she does) so why can't Jake stay in the crate inside the house at night?

I also have a fence thing I can offer to loan her to try for a little bit. Its so hard when people don't have that inside of them to feel empathy for animals, we were telling the story at thanksgiving dinner and my sisters husband was saying oh he is fine no problem.

[Freedom]

Oh my God, NO! Shih tzus should NOT be kept outdoors!

Take photos of what the dog looks like, the dog house, take photos of the cat's "area."

Take those to the local humane society or animal control, and ask them if this is proper? At this point, you aren't naming the owner or location. But, I am SURE they will say they need to take action.

As Karen said, mats pull on the skin and HURT! Shih tzus need to be at the groomer every 5 weeks or so, it is quite an expense. In between, they need regular brushing to prevent the mats.

Please, help these 2, you are in a position to do this and they can't help themselves, they need a human to step in.

WHY on earth does this person even HAVE pets, if she keeps them outdoors and ignores them like this???

Yes, I can well imagine the poor shih tzu is depressed. Are either animal fixed? Getting shots? Seeing a vet regularly? IF you know who the vet is, you can take the photos to the vet as well. They often can step in and take action, too.

You can also send the photos of the dog to a shih tzu rescue, see if they can provide some guidance.

We recently had a church group contact us about 2 bichons in need of rescue. My Team Leader phoned the person (I hesitate to call her an "owner" considering the state her dogs were in), and the church group had also been talking with her. The dogs are now in a safe, wonderful place. It took about 3 weeks to pull it all together. So it CAN be done!
Grrrr . . . .

[Grace]

I agree with Freedom. Sounds like animal neglect/abuse to me. This person should be reported.

[caseysmom]

Well I won't be over there again to take pictures they will be home anytime. There is an animal lover at my daughters work who is a mutual friend, my daughter is going to enlist her help.

Its just so hard to understand. At the very least I am going to buy the kitty a warm bed for christmas and the doggie some toys and my daughter is going to make suggestions to her and try gently first. I have also told my daughter she can have her borrow my crate to try.

Yes I know shih tzu's take a lot of grooming I spend a fortune on bubba, more than my own hair hehe. But if they don't want to spend that money they at least need to do proper bathing and brushing.

My daughter wants to do this without making an enemy of her friend and most likely if we reported it they would say there is shelter and food and water. So I think a friendly way would be better, I am also going to tell my daughter to tell her its good for her 3 and 6 year old children to learn a good example of the dog and cat being part of the family.

When I grew up my dad loved animals but the dog was always outside, I think some people just don't get it.