I am sooo mad right now...GOOD update #28

[caseysmom]

They have been saying all over the news how dangerous it is this week to leave animals outside because of our record lows. I was thinking last night how bad I feel for all the homeless people and the pets left outside it is just so cold here this week.

My friend in placerville is snowed in, can you believe that?

[Karen]

Okay, if she doesn't care about the animals, tell her her daughters are learning a bad lesson, and that it would be better for both dogs and daughters if the dogs got a new home where they can get better care. If the daughters love the dogs, I bet they will want that for the dogs anyway. If the dogs are being fed regularly, I doubt Animal Control will intervene.

[Medusa]

Oh, I can't stand to hear stories like this! Just be careful, Cindy. A late friend of mine felt bad about a dog that she saw chained near the cemetery where she visited her mother's grave. The dog had no food or water so she had a bag of groceries in her car, took out the pack of hot dogs and fed a couple of them to the dog and gave it some of her bottled water. The police were waiting for her when she got home and they told her that they would arrest her if she interfered again. My friend was in her 70's at the time and she cried when she told me the story. I don't know the laws and/or if they differ from state to state, so a word of caution. Have a care, Cindy. And good luck.

[kitten645]

Oh Cindy I'm so sorry. It is frustrating Those poor pups. Maybe someone at ARF knows an answer? I think you need to convince her to rehome the dogs. It is a terrible example to those kids. Much better a short sadness for the daughters than the continuing sadness of these dogs. You should try Freecycle for dog houses to start with maybe. It's heartbreaking really. I hope they suffer the same fate sometime.

[Taz_Zoee]

Update!

I found a large box at home and brought it to work. I told her I had it for her and she was receptive to it. I asked her about the garage and she said they used to go in the garage but they recently moved and are now renting and the husband doesn't want them messing up the garage. He does nothing with the dogs, she cleans up after them and the girls help feed them.
I asked her (several times) why she even has dogs. She said she likes dogs. And she even mentioned she was going to get a real dog house for them. She thinks the younger dog will chew up the cardboard box I brought, but she's going to use it for now anyway. I told her she'd better use it! And that if I knew where she lived I'd come check and make sure she is using it.

Oh, she also bought them Snuggie's for dogs for Xmas. She said she'll give them to them now. But again, she's afraid the younger one will chew them up. He chews everything.

Another thing that really peeved me was she said neither of them are house trained and that's why they aren't allowed in the house. Ok, so why would you get two small breed dogs and NOT house train them? Answer: because you know they will LIVE outside!!!

Oh well, I'm doing all I can in this situation. I will be asking her often about them to make sure they are okay. When I asked her why she had dogs I was waiting for her to say because the girls like them. My response to that was going to be - then what do you think will happen when the dogs die because they froze to death? But she didn't answer the way I thought she would.

So tomorrow I will be asking if she set up the box for them. I told her to cover the box with a tarp or blanket too. We shall see.

Thank you, everyone, for your input on this.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

good grief, dogs have been living outdoors for centuries. You think the first tamed wolf came right in thru the doggie door and plopped himself in front of the fireplace? I've had dogs before. They lived outside and were perfectly content to do so (although I brought them in at feeding time). I know tons of people who still own dogs. Those dogs live outside too... and it gets chilly here (was 20 this morning). Bottom line, just because a dog lives outside doesn't mean it's gonna die. People don't keep their packs of hunting beagles in the house. As long as the dogs have a warm place to curl up and get out of the weather, they should be fine....especially if they're grown and have lived outside all their lives.

[Taz_Zoee]

good grief, dogs have been living outdoors for centuries. You think the first tamed wolf came right in thru the doggie door and plopped himself in front of the fireplace? I've had dogs before. They lived outside and were perfectly content to do so (although I brought them in at feeding time). I know tons of people who still own dogs. Those dogs live outside too... and it gets chilly here (was 20 this morning). Bottom line, just because a dog lives outside doesn't mean it's gonna die. People don't keep their packs of hunting beagles in the house. As long as the dogs have a warm place to curl up and get out of the weather, they should be fine....especially if they're grown and have lived outside all their lives.

Well okay then. What am I worrying about then?

[lizbud]

good grief, dogs have been living outdoors for centuries. You think the first tamed wolf came right in thru the doggie door and plopped himself in front of the fireplace? I've had dogs before. They lived outside and were perfectly content to do so (although I brought them in at feeding time). I know tons of people who still own dogs. Those dogs live outside too... and it gets chilly here (was 20 this morning). Bottom line, just because a dog lives outside doesn't mean it's gonna die. People don't keep their packs of hunting beagles in the house. As long as the dogs have a warm place to curl up and get out of the weather, they should be fine....especially if they're grown and have lived outside all their lives.

Most states have laws that say the outside dogs must have shelter
(dog house) for each dog, along with water & food. It doesn't appear
that these people have provided these minumum needs.

[pomtzu]

good grief, dogs have been living outdoors for centuries. You think the first tamed wolf came right in thru the doggie door and plopped himself in front of the fireplace? I've had dogs before. They lived outside and were perfectly content to do so (although I brought them in at feeding time). I know tons of people who still own dogs. Those dogs live outside too... and it gets chilly here (was 20 this morning). Bottom line, just because a dog lives outside doesn't mean it's gonna die. People don't keep their packs of hunting beagles in the house. As long as the dogs have a warm place to curl up and get out of the weather, they should be fine....especially if they're grown and have lived outside all their lives.

And Cindy said all they have is a bed and 2 blankets. That's adequate shelter from the weather??? It appears that these dogs do not have a warm place to curl up and get out of the weather. She wouldn't have been looking to find a dog house for them if they did!!!

[Medusa]

A bed isn't a shelter to protect those dogs from the elements; it's a place to sleep. Some people just have no common sense. Do what you can to help, Cindy, b/c it appears that these people just don't get it.

[Genny]

I think that's nice of you to try and get those dogs a dog house where they'll have something to keep them warm It is sad that the dogs are kept outside-since they're small-I kinda think smaller dogs should be kept in-they are just so small and seem way more delicate-but I'm not against keeping dogs outside all the time. We have 4 big dogs a great pyrenees, a german shepherd and 2 lab mixes. They have to live outside cause we just couldn't keep them inside. Maybe if we had only 1 big dog then it could stay in, but we don't..so... We do have 4 small dogs tho and they all stay inside the house. We let them out everyday and they'll run around for 20 minutes or so and then come back to the door and we'll let them in. You know I'm not sure if this is the case w/ your friend or not but sometimes people can't keep their dogs inside-maybe someone's alergic to them? I dunno....I haven't read all the other post before this one, but I do hope everything works out for them and the dogs get taken care of better

[Alysser]

good grief, dogs have been living outdoors for centuries. You think the first tamed wolf came right in thru the doggie door and plopped himself in front of the fireplace? I've had dogs before. They lived outside and were perfectly content to do so (although I brought them in at feeding time). I know tons of people who still own dogs. Those dogs live outside too... and it gets chilly here (was 20 this morning). Bottom line, just because a dog lives outside doesn't mean it's gonna die. People don't keep their packs of hunting beagles in the house. As long as the dogs have a warm place to curl up and get out of the weather, they should be fine....especially if they're grown and have lived outside all their lives.

Dogs may have decended from wolves, but they are not the same by any means. Thousands of years of breeding has changed dogs. Dogs are no where near as suited to living in the wild as wolves are. I am sure some can, but many breeds would never survive, they ALL decended from wolves. That's like saying your cats would be perfectly suited outside because they decended from lions and tigers.

I am not against outdoor dogs by any means, However, I am against people who keep their dogs out with no shelter, no food, no attention and no medical care.

Cindy, I hope you can help these poor babies. They don't deserve that at all.

[caseysmom]

good grief, dogs have been living outdoors for centuries. You think the first tamed wolf came right in thru the doggie door and plopped himself in front of the fireplace? I've had dogs before. They lived outside and were perfectly content to do so (although I brought them in at feeding time). I know tons of people who still own dogs. Those dogs live outside too... and it gets chilly here (was 20 this morning). Bottom line, just because a dog lives outside doesn't mean it's gonna die. People don't keep their packs of hunting beagles in the house. As long as the dogs have a warm place to curl up and get out of the weather, they should be fine....especially if they're grown and have lived outside all their lives.

I'm glad you no longer own dogs.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

I'm glad you no longer own dogs.

My dogs had big comfy doghouses to sleep in, and plenty of attention. They got exercised several times a day, every day, rain or shine. They came inside for feeding and when it was below freezing.

both of my dogs lived to a ripe old age despite living outside most of their lives. The beagle came inside as soon as she got old and we couldn't keep any weight on her, around age 10. She died in my arms at the vet's office of a seizure despite being on meds for many years. She was 15 and also had arthritis, and chronic pancreatitis, both being treated. Living outside or inside had no relevance to what ultimately killed her.

My Elkhound became inside also around age 10, after having exploratory surgery to fix a mistake a vet made when spaying her as a pup (used non-absorbable sutures inside, eventually causing a pocket of infection, making her sick). She was left inside to recover since it was winter and I didn't want her incision getting filthy. Then I moved to an apartment and she came with me. Despite being an inside dog at that point, she was old and began suffering from "old dog" problems: arthritis, senility, incontience, worn out teeth etc, all being medicated. She died at age 15 when her poor feeble old body just couldn't take it any more.

I ask you, do you seriously believe that being an inside dog all of thier lives would have made any difference in their lifespan? Don't inside dogs suffer the same health problems mine eventually did? Does spending your entire life indoors prevent arthritis? Pancreatitis? Senility? Epilepsy?

Now tell me again I was a bad owner. I guess I should have left my beagle in the drainpipe where I found her at 4 months old, blanketed in ticks. She clearly didn't deserve to spend her life in my back yard, she'd have been better off wandering in the streets until she was run over or attacked by other strays. Or sent to the local shelter which was notorious for being a filthy, disease-ridden hellhole. I guess I should have left the Elkhound wandering around the neighborhood living off of scraps and risking life and limb trying to get food from other outside dogs. God forbid I give her a forever home and lots of love and attention, albeit outside.

Truly the lady with the small dogs needs to get them a doghouse if they're outside. I think it's the law in most states. If she doesn't care about them then she needs to find a better home. On these 2 points we all agree. But don't you sit here and tell me that dogs should never be allowed to live outside, as I have known a lot of other people with outside dogs that are just as happy and healthy as your pampered indoor pooches.

[/rant]