Ugh. Neighbors And Their Puppy

[Kurari]

My neighbors got a purebred husky puppy about a month ago. I'm not sure how old she is, but she's the most adorable little fuzzy girl, and she still barely comes up to my knee.

 

Last night I got to meet her when I came home and she was running around as usual and I was a bit concerned. I've been worried about her because I see her running around all the time alone. No leash, no fence, no yard, no people watching her...she just runs back and forth along the street in front of our houses and we've had to be really careful backing our cars out several times because she's just running loose.

 

Last night I finally got to meet the little fuzzy and give her some pets. She's the sweetest little girl, but she came over with her tail tucked and submissively peed when I pet her, then threw herself on her side and showed me her belly and her throat. She ate up the soft words and scritches I was giving her and gave me lots of puppy kisses. Just about broke my heart. My beloved dog that I lost a month ago had the same problem because he'd been abused so he always threw out the "white flag" with extreme submissive behavior too. Took me years to break him of that and help him build his confidence.

 

From what my roomate says, these same people had a pit bull puppy before I moved in last year. Adorable little dog too. problem is these morons don't understand anything about dogs. They just want a cute little fuzzy puppy and don't bother to train it, so it grows into a big unruley "teenager" who doesn't understand what humans want from it and they get rid of it. Now it looks like their repeating the process, and I'm worried that they are abusing this little husky too because of her behaviour.

 

I'm considering calling animal control to tell them to keep control of their dog, but they can't do anything about abuse because other than the neurotic behavior, she looks healthy and fine.

 

Oh yeah...they've already got their "black Jesus" nativity scene up.

 

I really hate people sometimes.

[Panther]

Just as a side note, I once had a weiner dog that was submissive from birth. We spoiled him to death..but we would come home and pet him and he would roll over and pee automatically.

The vet told us that some dogs just have that in their nature. Your neighbors very well could be abusing this little puppy from the other abuse you described, but keep in mind some puppies are born that way.

 

About the other, absolutely disgusting behavior, I would at the very least make a little visit to these neighbors and kindly ask them if they plan on taking care of this animal. You could let them know, in no uncertain terms, that if they continue to neglect the dog you will be taking further action.

 

It's one of my "pet peeves" (pardon the pun ) when I see animals just running around neglected and exposed to traffic. The poor animal is also exposed to mean neighbor children who may consider it a sick pastime to bother and antagonize the animal too. Then the animal bites...and who gets blamed, the animal.

 

People that ignore/neglect their animals certainly DO NOT deserve an animal. Animals like that are not being treated as part of the family and are not being properly socialized.

[woodsmoke]

I should probably state as a disclaimer here that the only thing I hate more than wandering dogs is the owners who allow them to roam free. As a result, this is post is probably going to read with a very scathing tone.

 

I can't begin to express my hatred for people who don't even make a pretense of restricting their pet's movements. I honestly don't give a fuck if the dog needs more space than a suburban yard; if that's the case either be responsible and don't get the damn thing in the first place or just live with the fact that you're* giving that animal a shitty home. I will not be made to pay for your willful inability to properly care for a dependent living being.

 

It may be a cute little puppy now, but before long it's going to grow up. And--whether because of neglect, abuse, or just a dog's aggressive nature--a grown dog running freely about the neighborhood is going to cause problems. I understand that a domestic animal's anti-social behavior is often attributable to negative human factors in its past, but if I'm being attacked by a dog I don't give a flying fuck whether it has people issues. I'm going to deal with the immediate problem in the most effective way possible first and worry about some bastard possibly having abused it as a puppy later.

 

Even if it never bites anyone, at the very least it will cause unnecessary anxiety and stress for other people--just as it's already doing through people's fear of accidentally running it over.

 

Were I in your (Kurari's) situation, I'd probably not only confront the neighbors about it, I'd give them an ear-full on top of it. Far too many dog owners need to learn not everyone loves their pets, and that "(s)he won't bite" only applies to the animal's perception of it's "immediate family."

 

I'm the first to admit I'm oversensitive about this subject due to my irrational fear of dogs, but my pseudo-phobia is no excuse for someone else's worthlessness. Fence it in, put it on a leash or get rid of the damn thing; just don't shrug your* shoulders as it takes off down the street and make the fucking creature my problem.

 

Or, if you do, be prepared to accept the way I deal with it.

 

*general "you."

[Lycorth]

Any chance you can get the pup to pee on the nativity scene?

[Dhampir]

To be certain, my dog knew how to avoid traffic, knew how to find her way home, and never bit anyone. Occasionally she'd get loose, and wander the streets for most of the day, to show up that night and bark to be let in. We would walk her, and meet people she'd come across previously, sometimes miles away from the house who she'd been fed by or something. It was only after this had been happening for probably 4 or 5 years that it became a problem for someone, and animal control was called in, mainly because my stepmother couldn't be bothered to take care of her properly, and neither my sister, the primary owner, nor myself lived in places where pets were allowed, hence we got rid of her.

[RankStranger]

My advice is to go about your business and don't worry about somebody's dog unless it causes you a problem. Sure, they're being dumbasses... but the world is full of dumbasses. There are millions of poorly cared for critters around- what's one more? If you confront them or call animal control, you're just going to end up with pissed off neighbors... and cause problems for people who haven't done YOU any harm.

 

Hmmm... the wife is gonna be pissed when she reads that.

[Flyby Stardancer]

My advice is to go about your business and don't worry about somebody's dog unless it causes you a problem. Sure, they're being dumbasses... but the world is full of dumbasses. There are millions of poorly cared for critters around- what's one more? If you confront them or call animal control, you're just going to end up with pissed off neighbors... and cause problems for people who haven't done YOU any harm.

 

Hmmm... the wife is gonna be pissed when she reads that.

 

That is the exact attitude that allows atrocities such as abuse to continue! Animal abuse/neglect can be a major sign of other abuses, including human abuse! And to say to do nothing aloows the abuser to continue, and think that s/he'll never get caught, and so the next generation will think it's alright as well. These sorts of things need to be reported, or else it'll never end! *growlrant*

 

OP: I'd report them. If they can't be bothered to properly take care of their pet, they shouldn't have it.

[LadyFeline]

Fuck, if I found a purebred husky just wandering in the street, I would just take her to the animal shelter and tell them that I thought she'd been abandoned, since she was wandering aimlessly in the roads and had no owner in sight. But that's just me.

 

That is the exact attitude that allows atrocities such as abuse to continue! Animal abuse/neglect can be a major sign of other abuses, including human abuse! And to say to do nothing aloows the abuser to continue, and think that s/he'll never get caught, and so the next generation will think it's alright as well. These sorts of things need to be reported, or else it'll never end! *growlrant*

To be fair, sis, the people who would just stand by and let animal abuse go unnoticed are generally the same kind of people that would see bruises on a kid or woman's face, and not give a shit about that, either. After all, it's not THEIR business, it doesn't involve THEM, so why should THEY care?

 

You know, never mind that that would be the decent, humane thing to do... But I guess some people are just too self-centered to care about things like decency and humaneness.

 

Still, what goes around, comes around...

[RankStranger]

 

 

That is the exact attitude that allows atrocities such as abuse to continue! Animal abuse/neglect can be a major sign of other abuses, including human abuse! And to say to do nothing aloows the abuser to continue, and think that s/he'll never get caught, and so the next generation will think it's alright as well. These sorts of things need to be reported, or else it'll never end! *growlrant*

 

OP: I'd report them. If they can't be bothered to properly take care of their pet, they shouldn't have it.

 

I didn't see anything in the OP that indicated abuse- only that she SUSPECTED it. If somebody sees folks beating a dog, then by all means report them. However, if you just think that your neighbors are fucktards, but the dog appears otherwise healthy... my advice is to leave it alone.

 

Or hell... go ahead and save the world! If you're gonna report somebody for something as petty as not watching their dog and/or not keeping it fenced up properly... then I imagine you can dig up something to report on every single acquaintence and neighbor you can think of. Seems like a lot of unneccesary hassle for everybody involved.