Featured investigation

Day 1 of investigation: I received a complaint of a starving dog in a back yard. I drove down the property alley to check out the situation.  The dog had good set up, just no food or water visible.  I did not leave a notice, thinking I’ll come back tomorrow; I’m sure there will be water and food at that time.  I drove by the next evening and saw the same scene - no water visible - so I drove around to the front of the house but nobody was home.  I decided to come back later in the evening to catch the owners at home rather than leaving a notice.

Day 4 of investigation: I received another complaint of a starving, wailing dog in back yard. It was male mixed breed in an outside dog pen with doghouse. The pen was full of feces, and the automatic feeder was empty with no water available. I went to the property and spoke with the owner, asking that he please provide food and water and clean the pen within 24 hours.  I also asked for the dog's vet's name because the dog appeared a little thin.  I said I was going to call the vet just to verify the last time he was seen. That's when the owner changed his mind about when the last time the dog had been to the vet and said it had been several years.  I mentioned that they may want to get him current on his shots because there are county fines associated with not having your pets registered. I cannot enforce shots - that’s animal control or the police - so I just mentioned it as an extra boost to get the dog seen by the vet. I did not require them to have the dog seen by a vet because I have no right to ask them to because the dog seemed half healthy, and legally I cannot demand they see a vet unless the dog is dying or suffering.  He was more worried about WHO turned him than taking care of his WAILING hungry dog in the back yard.

Day 5 of investigation: I called the vet to check the dogs health history, to find out if he had always been thin, and to ask his real age, since the owner had no idea.  The vet said he had been out to the owner's property this morning to give all vaccinations and that he hadn’t seen the dog prior to that since 2004.  He noted the dog was thin, but not underweight, and I agreed.  The vet said he recommended that they put some type of straw or insulation in the dog house, and I said I’d be satisfied if they’d just feed and water him. 

I returned to the property that night.  This time I encountered the owner's wife, who was yelling at me to get off her property. (I was in the public alley behind her house.)  She said they had been through hell with all of this in the last 24 hours and that I had no idea what I had done to them.  I explained that I didn’t know why having to feed her dog caused them such a difficult time, but I tried thanking them for making the corrections so I that could be on my way.  She demanded to see my “credentials,” which I showed her. She tried to take my identification from me, saying that she had called the county board and that I would be getting into trouble for causing them grief.  (She did do this, but the board member laughed stating they had no authority over me and I had every right to be there if a complaint was made.)

She began saying that I told her husband that the dog was emaciated when I was there on Tuesday. I said NO I did not say anything about his weight – he’s too fluffy to really tell how thin he was and he certainly was no were near emaciated.  She told me to mind my own business and that THEY would never butt into other peoples' business even if they were starving or beating their pets because it’s not their business.  I explained that we have to respond when we get a call, and she replied that this would be the last time I’d ever be responding.  I advised her to get on the internet and look up the law, and if they are within the law then we have no reason to come out.  She said she was going to get No Trespassing signs so I couldn’t come back. I said "While you’re at it, buy a heated water bowl!"

She finally stopped retaliating when I said “Ma'am, if you were doing nothing wrong, then why all of the sudden did you feed the dog, give it water, clean out the pen and call the vet to see your dog? If nothing was wrong, you should not have had to do those things.”   That’s when she quit yelling at me and went into the house. 

Once again, a hungry dog has been fed and I managed to make more “friends”.