I'd like to jail you indefinitely outside, instead.

This is my rant against you dog owners who keep your dog in a one of those fence-kennel things, with the little dog house, 24/7, year round. I know that states in this country, most of them, have laws on the books, which -barely- protect 'animals', which is why what you do is totally legal. But it is immoral.
Me and some of my family peeps, see alot of the above described condition. My mother is a dog lover. I am a cat person, but both our souls hurt and hurt every day, for the lone dog huddled in the corner of that pen, with no one to give him or her special snacks or a bath, or flea treatment, or a visit to grammma's, and talk to them and tell them they are loved. EVER. And when it is 16 below zero outside, and dead frozen birds lay on the ground from freezing to death, (I've seen this) the lonesome forgotten one is there. And when it is 102 outside, with 98% humidity, the lonesome and forgotten one is there. And when you are sitting at a warm table laughing with your friend over beers for the game indoors somewhere, the lonesome and forgotten one is there.
"Well he has his dog house I put there." Yeah, a small filthy dirty thing, which is still 16 below zero inside, when such temp is so, outside. What do you imagine goes on in that dog house? That the dog has somehow acquired his own propane heating system, has a decorative little gas lamp, and easy chair?
"Well, I need that dog to bark when strange people are around." We watch those dogs, they don't bark. They are too weekened from exposure, dehydration, and malnutrition. I hate you people who do this. I hate hate hate hate you. Just hate you. You need a good beating. Within an inch of your sociopath lives.

reply to post by Saucerwench


and people wonder why dogs can be temperamental.....they take a lot of ABUSE

I have a dog and that pooch is a part of the family. If we stay warm and dry, so does he. No chain around his neck!!

Our bed is big enough if he wants to hop on the bed and sleep with us, he's quite welcome...after all, he's the most loyal friend a person could have.

I refuse to be friends with anyone who does not treat their pets like a loved member of the family.

Dogs and cats survive in the wild all the time.
It is not immoral at all after all they have fur coats to keep em warm.
Yes it is immoral to not feed and water them or to let them get ill but the rest...

Well, in the winter or really hot summer, have you ever called them in? Made an animal abuse report?
You really need to try, and see what your told. If you care, you need to try to help the animal. How about talking to the owner? Even offering to put a couple straw bales around his dog house? Offering to take him for a walk once in a while.

I do agree with you, both of my dogs are indoor dogs with a fenced in run outside. It's fine to rant about it, but even better to try to do something for him.

reply to post by Saucerwench


I am an animal lover like you and yours. I am also a cat owner. Benjamin is part of my family and has his freedom to roam around as he wishes; as a result he chooses to stick close to home and likes to stay inside with me. He is a very loving; gentle and adorable creature. We have lots of cuddle and play time. We have talks where he meows and I speak english; but we do understand each other.

The people that you speak of in your thread; I don't like either. How can they stand to live with themselves. Obviously...they don't know how to love.

reply to post by chiefsmom


Yes chiefs, we have made phonecalls. My mom and brother called a couple of different places, local (city hall) and animal control. I myself called the humane society in the large dominant city in our state, and county animal services, couple years back, and all of them, no exception, said the exact same thing to us. The conditions we described were --legal-- in our state, and they agreed they hated such too and thought they were inhumane, but a "shelter" for the dog outside is legal. They said we should try to vote for polititians who will make better laws for the animals. Politicians. You know. Those corrupt greedy psychopaths who lie.
(One of our neighboring towns just went through a tremendous scandal, where their Comptroller stole and spent it's money. Now, US Marshalls are auctioning off all her luxery stuff, into the millions of dollars.)

reply to post by Saucerwench


Well, I'm afraid I would take matter into my own hands then.

I get people that want a dog as a warning system, protection. What I don't get is why they don't take 15 minutes to read about the best way to take care of a dog.
I'm guessing that dog would be way more protective if he actually had a relationship with the people he is suppose to be warning/protecting.

Thanks so much for this rant. It infuriates me to see this going on. When I was very little, my father was a cable installer. He would make notes of the houses he went to that mistreated their animals or kept them chained outside without food and water, etc. Then he'd go and steal their dogs in the middle of the night to give them a good home. lol

That is a little extreme but good for him.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
Dogs and cats survive in the wild all the time.
It is not immoral at all after all they have fur coats to keep em warm.

This is a misconception! Please let me clarify this so it doesn't keep getting believed by you and anyone who may read your post. Sorry to sound emotional- I feel so strongly about this.

Yes, dogs do have coats but different breeds have different tolerance levels. Just because it has fur does NOT mean it is OK. It's like if I slap a sweater on you, it doesn't mean you'll be fine and dandy walking around in Siberia. Or just because you have hair on the top of your head doesn't mean you can withstand colder temperatures.

Also, animals in the wild have the opportunity to find shelter and run in packs. A dog chained in the yard or fenced in does not have this chance and they are exposed to the elements. And rinky dink dog houses don't cut it!

FUR IS NOT A MAGICAL FORCE FIELD FROM THE ELEMENTS

FUR IS NOT A MAGICAL FORCE FIELD FROM THE ELEMENTS

FUR IS NOT A MAGICAL FORCE FIELD FROM THE ELEMENTS

Also, dogs are highly intelligent creatures. They need mental stimulus. Games, toys, playtime with their owner, etc.

And for the love of your pets, bring them inside during bad weather.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
Dogs and cats survive in the wild all the time.
It is not immoral at all after all they have fur coats to keep em warm.
Yes it is immoral to not feed and water them or to let them get ill but the rest...

edit on 12-12-2012 by boymonkey74 because: (no reason given)

The thing is.... these are not the dogs that previously lived in the wild. We have domesticated them to the point that they are dependent on us to maintain that domestication and standard of living. They don't fare well or live long without us now. WE DID IT. It's what we wanted, and it took decades to accomplish.

I love them and I take care of them, and yes, in turn, they take care of me. If you can't provide for them, and meet their needs, then you shouldn't have one. If you believe they can put in a fence and left 23 and 1/2 hours a day, only going to see them for a few minutes each day to take them food and water, then you shouldn't have one.

reply to post by Saucerwench

With you on this 100%,and as much as I am against the authorities interfering in our lives,there needs to be some form of monitoring of animal welfare in those circumstances,personally I would remove any animal that I saw living like that and worry about the legal "niceties"later.

Living in a cage is no more like living in the wild than being in prison is like freedom.

reply to post by bourbon2nite


S&F... this is one of my biggest peeves as far as "non-criminal" activity.
A dog is not a lawn ornament or a piece of furniture. They are very intelligent and have feelings just like us.

Few years ago a neighbor of mine decided to get a dog and then proceeded to keep it locked up on his screened in back porch 24/7. He didn't even let it out to poop or pee!

After a couple of useless calls to animal control (they only told him to clean up the feces the dog was living in) I decided to take a screwdriver and pop open his back storm door (like a boss!) and free the little fellow. I couldn't keep him for obvious reasons, but I ended up getting 2 dogs of my own and they sleep with me every night.

I don't even like leaving mine kenneled while i'm at work, so I've given them 2 rooms of the house where they can at least wrestle and play. They make the occasional mess while I'm gone, but it's a small price to pay for doing what I think is right.

treat them right our ancestors sometimes have to come back to help us.....in the form of pets and children ......a real soul tree.

I achieved a simple bit of activism today, but I am ashamed and befuddled at myself, that I did not do it sooner. The only excuse I can come up with, is that I have been more of an asleep sheeple, than I thought.
In our widerangeing county, town newspapers go out. They carry the same classifieds and editorials, prettymuch. So I wrote a 'letter to the editor'. A couple of minutes ago, I recieved a phonecall from the desk, informing they will publish my letter. Here is what i wrote. I hope they keep intact! (Editing, ugh...)

"Whether it is below freezing, in the middle of the winter
night, or 102 out, with 98% humidity, your lone forgotten
one is there. The lone forgotten one is your dog. You,
who keep a dog. Keep it outside in the enclosed penn, like
a jail. with a dog 'house'. Day after day, 24/7, year
after year. And what for? You are never out there, keeping
this soul company. My family and I checked with various
appropriate official authorities. They all tell us it is
legal for you to keep a soul this way. And I know why you
do it.
Because you do not have a soul."

Eh? In my estimation an apartment is just a slightly roomier cage for a dog. I know a few dog owners personally and their dogs spend 10 hours a day alone, when the owner comes home the dog gets a walk around the block(not exercise, btw) and a "treat" (usually a processed snack that doesn't even resemble real food). Then the dog lies at the owner's feet for a couple hours until human goes to bed. Then the dog is back to the inescapable loneliness of its own mind. They claim to love 'em the same as "family", but I've never seen them make their human children roll over or play dead.

This breaks my heart and pisses me off at the same time. I would have a talk face to face and ask the owner if he'd like to be treated like that poor dog. It is cruel and heartless and they don't deserve to have that innocent animal! If you don't like confrontations, write a letter and sign it, concerned neighbor. In any case something has to be done if this has been going on for years!!!!!!!!

Here's another "beloved" dog, whose sole purpose is to entertain. There is nothing enviable about this dog's lifestyle.

reply to post by DeReK DaRkLy


You said you did not keep him. I hope that when you let the dog out you took him to a good home and did not let it fend for itself. He could go hungry or get run over by a car. I know some who did let a dog out and it was seen dead in the road, run over. What s shame.