What would you do?

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Oneofthepack

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I've just had a rather unsettling disagreement with my neighbour and wondered what you all thought. He has 4 retired greyhounds, one of which is 13 years old. She suffers from really bad arthritis but the owner doesn't believe in ( and probably can't afford) traditional vets so has been treating her with his own concocotions. Over the last few months she's been getting steadily thinner and thinner, although he says she eats more than the others, until she is now completely skeletal and barely able to walk. I spoke to him gently a few weeks ago and asked what was he going to do about her and he said if she went the others would go too as he only got them for company for her. He is prone to bluster and is quite arrogant and aggresive so I didn't push it but today we met on a walk and the dog collapsed in the road and wasn't able to get up. I took a deep breath and said I really thought it was time he ended her suffering and he just flipped. He said it wasn't a communist state and he wouldn't be dictated to by anyone/he knew more about dogs than I ever would and he would do what he liked with his dogs/she was 13 and sick and it wasn't up to me to decide when she died/ he didn't tell me how to look after my dogs so I couldn't tell him etc etc. I kept very calm and said I realised he cared for his dogs (though sometimes he admits to being quite cruel but again it may be said for effect) but that maybe he wasn't being objective and hadn't noticed how bad she had got. He wouldn't listen so I said I would give him 2 weeks to sort it out or I would call the RSPCA, which wound him up even more understandably.

My dilema is, do I call the RSPCA and risk pissing off the person who lives directly opposite me when he is obviously a bit unstable or do I just let this poor dog die a miserable death?
 
Personnally I would call the RSPCA, I don't think they are allowed to say who reported a problem. There must be other people who have seen the dog too, thus could have and might have reported him.
 
I think the best and only thing to do is contact the RSPCA, maybe you could go and tell the gentleman that he should get the dog to the vet because someone in the neighbourhood has mentioned reporting him!! and your just giving him a little friendly warning.
Tell him your not obliged to tell him who..... this may throw him off the scent and allow you to do whats best for the dog.
Tell him as long as he has proof its been to a vet, then the RSPCA will be leniant.
The only worry is..... will he do something cruel to the dog in the meantime?
The dog is probably losing weight due to the amount of pain its in!!!
 
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I think the best and only thing to do is contact the RSPCA, maybe you could go and tell the gentleman that he should get the dog to the vet because someone in the neighbourhood has mentioned reporting him!! and your just giving him a little friendly warning.

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Yeah but trouble is I've already opened my big mouth and told him I'm going to call the RSPCA so when they turn up he'll know it was me.......now I'm worried about having to live opposite someone who knows I've reported him! I'll have to do the right thing for the dog but it's not a nice situation
 
Is there no way, you could get any other neighbours involved, so it dosnt look like you r the only one that is concerned about the dog.
does he still take the dog out? could you not get someone he is not familiar with to approach him..... MAYBE SOMEONE YOU KNOW, BUT HE DOESNT!!!! to ask if the dog is recieving treatment and to tell him they are concerned re the dogs welfare.
This way he wont think you are the only one involved.
I realise this is a bad situation and you have to live near this bloke, and at the minute he thinks you are the only one complaining, so maybe you should try to get some support from other neighbours or like i said some one he is not familiar with.
 
I would be wary of making assumptions to be honest and in this instance I don't think I would inform anyone. He may well be doing his best for the dog and he probably loves her - it is not up to anyone else to decide when enough is enough; only he can do this.

I don't know how you can know that he doesn't take her to the vet's, let alone know that he can't afford to?

I would guess that you have shaken him up a fair bit though so perhaps he will just take the lot of them to the vet's and be done
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He may well be doing his best for the dog and he probably loves her - it is not up to anyone else to decide when enough is enough; only he can do this.

I don't know how you can know that he doesn't take her to the vet's, let alone know that he can't afford to?

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I know he hasn't taken her to the vet because he told me. And whether he loves he or not isn't the question. I know of a dog that was removed from a home recently by the RSPCA because it had thickened weeping skin and it turned out the owner was treating its mange with Oil of Olay and Betnovate cream! She also loved her dog and thought she was doing the best thing for it.

Do you have the equivalent of the RSPCA in Canada? If so in what circumstances would you call them?
 
Good idea!! Someone else with contacts in the RSPCA is going to ring them and ask an inspector to drive round at the time he walks his dogs and accidentally 'spot' it!
 
Yes we have the RSPCA here; their place is to deal with wanton neglect and cruelty and those living in horrific living conditions; not people who happen to have very old dogs who have lost weight.

I fear you have become considerably side-tracked here - what has a dog with "thickened weeping skin" got to do with this man and his old dog? That has absolutely nothing to do with the story you previously told us.
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So to stick to the point in question and to re-iterate; no I would definitely not be reporting anyone just because they had an underweight and very OLD dog.

We each have our own decisions to make in this world so do what you think it fair and right.
 
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Yes we have the RSPCA here; their place is to deal with wanton neglect and cruelty and those living in horrific living conditions; not people who happen to have very old dogs who have lost weight.

I fear you have become considerably side-tracked here - what has a dog with "thickened weeping skin" got to do with this man and his old dog? That has absolutely nothing to do with the story you previously told us.
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So to stick to the point in question and to re-iterate; no I would definitely not be reporting anyone just because they had an underweight and very OLD dog.

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You're very rude!

Don't tell me to stick to the point in question! It was MY question you cheeky git and if it evolves and provokes more questions and further discussion then fine by me!

The point I was making about the dog with mange, and most people would probably understand what I meant so not sure why you didn't, was that people who love their dogs don't always do what's best for them. And if the end result is a suffering dog what difference does it make how it has come to suffer? Whether it had intreated mange or has crippling arthritis and is starving to death it's still suffering.

What is 'wanton neglect'? Leaving a dog untreated when is in such pain it can hardly walk or get up when it falls down and is so thin you can count all it's vertabrae? No? If it was a young dog not an old dog would that count?
 
Yes i too agree with "oneofthepack", if this gentleman is to ignorant to see this dog is suffering, collapsing and wasting away in front of his eyes, then someone has to do the descent thing and bring him to his scences, this dog does not deserve to die in agony..... and if it does have artheritis/joint pain that is exactly what will happen, and the sudden weight loss is a clear indication that there is a problem!! not to mention the dog collapsing!!!!!
I also had another thought re-your situation OOTP, you could write him a letter, stating that you are a concerned neighbour, state that you dont have a dog... but you recognise unneccesary suffering when you see it e,t,c, and that you are going o contact the appropriate authorities in regard to the dogs condition. This way he will think other people are aware of the situation, because he isnt goin to think u wrote the letter when you have already approached him and i am assuming you have a dog? so stating in the letter that you have not... may throw him off track.
This may help your situation of not being the sole snitch and taking all the blame.
When the RSPCA eventually show, if he approaches you in regard to the matter, tell him you did report the incident.... only to be informed that they had recieved 4 other complaints, and that you already knew of a few neighbours concerns and thats why you approached him, in the hope you cold inform the other concerned people re-his decision..... hence his ignorant attitude!!!!, this will tie in nicely with the anonyomous letter.
If you decide to write the letter post it via post box so he does not see you near his door!!!
GOOD LUCK
 
The RSPCA is there for cases just like this so yes please do contact them that poor dog needs help!
Some people think that their dog will be better soon without any help, when really that is just not the case.
 
Shout as loudly as you like and call me as many derogatory names as you wish; it still won't change my mind about your interfering - I've had old dogs so I'm very aware that they often become afflicted with arthritis and lose weight when they are nearing the end of their time, however you must do what you feel you have to do.

By the way, were the RSPCA any use to you when you were looking for someone to catch your hound which escaped? Or did your marksman get him in the end? I've often wondered what happened to him.
 
I can't help but think this is HIS dog, and therefore his decision. I'm sure he's not keeping it alive just for the pure hell of it, he's probably struggling to let it go. I have a skinny cat with no teeth who hasn't been well, and if somone reported me to the SSPCA I would be absolutely fuming, especially if they don't know the full story. I personally wouldn't phone the RSPCA, they probably see hundreds of old skinny dogs, if there is no sign of cruelty - would they do anything?
 
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Shout as loudly as you like and call me as many derogatory names as you wish;


By the way, were the RSPCA any use to you when you were looking for someone to catch your hound which escaped? Or did your marksman get him in the end? I've often wondered what happened to him.

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Something in your manner tells me you've probably been called a lot worse than a cheeky git.

No the RSPCA were not any use but then they don't profess to be the people to call when a dog goes missing and as you very well know it was not MY marksman. He was called in by the farmers to shoot Merlin and had the decency to call me first and let me know, that hardly makes him MINE. And no he did not get shot to my knowledge but thanks for your obvious heart felt concern.

Why would you want to hurt me by bringing up my lost dog in such an unpleasant way? I asked for opinions on a subject and all you've done is be rude and mean spirited.

Thank you everyone else for your opinions. I may not agree with all of them but they were expressed in a way that didn't offend. Lets just take it as read now that I'll call the RSPCA and take the flak!
 
Whilst i agree that animals do indeed loose weight and suffer from artheritis/joint pain as they reach the end, however this does not mean they should have to suffer especially when there is medication to relieve this suffering.
Clearly the fact that the dog collapsed in the street tells you that it gone past the stage of just getting old and stiff!!!
The gentleman is right to be concerned in regard to the welfare of the dog, and as he politely approached the owner first and got a SNAPPY reply...... he has every right to be concerned.
I dont see any reason for people to be angry if the RSPCA called on them to check on the welfare of any animal, as long as you can prove you are doing what is best for the animal and prove you have suk veterinary advice in regards to any deteriorating conditioN.... whats the problem?it proved they are doing what they are supposed to!!
I am sure people wouldnt find it acceptable for an elderly , person to be left crippled in agony with artheritis, severe weight loss and collapsing without due care..... so why leave an animal like this.
This fella may well be struggling with the thought of losing his pet...... BUT IT DOESNT SOUND LIKE HE IS STRUGGLING AS MUCH AS THE DOG IS.......and at the end of the day thats the most important thing surely..... THE DOGS WELFARE.
At the end of the day if people stopped caring and started turning a blind eye.
I would not even have approached the fella, I would have reported him without a second thought, at least if i was proved wrong, the dog wouldnt have to suffer either way.
 
I can quite easily see your dilemma here oneofthepack and actually think Tia is missing the point (have you read everything? I'm not starting a "slagging match" and there is obviously some animosity between the two of you but i really do feel you aren't grasping the topic)

Although this man may "care" for his dogs it can be the case sometimes that they do not think of the dogs best interests or are not knowledgeable - prime example is the obese lab that's been in the news recently. This man may well be putting the dogs appearance down to just old age and instead it may have an underlying problem. The RSPCA may be able to talk to the man with out him feeling threatened (don't think this is likely though) and over reacting. If this dog is not strong enough to hold it's own weight up, which it can't if it's collapsed, then it needs attention and possibly treatment.

If he is knowledgeable etc owner then surely he would have told oneofthepack that the vet had seen the dog recently and that its condition was stable and it was expected she may collapse occasionally but was in no pain. (Our old terrier had a tumour on his neck which casued him to tumble but it was not pain inducing.)

I'd call the RSPCA to just talk to them re the issue and take guidence from them.
 
Thankyou CALA, just a point that matters not one jot but I'm not a gent, I'm a girl! And you're so right, if people turned a blind eye there would be no point in having the RSPCA. I'll call them and let them decide if the dog is suffering.

I once had a dog that had colitis and lost a lot of weight. Someone called the RSPCA, they visited and we showed them the medicine and special diet we'de been given by the vet. They went away happy and yes I was a bit annoyed but as the inspector said he would rather they had ten wasted calls than one dog that needed help that no-one reported.
 
Actually, on the contrary, I believe I understand the point entirely - I happen to have a very old dog who has had arthritis for years - she also collapses once in a while.....and I can assure you that I have absolutely no intentions of having my old collie put to sleep at any point in the immediate future.

So if oneofthepack is adamant on "helping" this "ignorant man" and his old greyhound then perhaps a quick call to the RSPCA in Canada should be next on the list?

By the way there is no slagging match on my part - I wondered whether oneofthepack had had any joy with the RSPCA in her particular case....so I asked; what's the problem with that? Sometimes I do believe there are too many people living in glass houses.
 
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By the way there is no slagging match on my part - I wondered whether oneofthepack had had any joy with the RSPCA in her particular case....so I asked; what's the problem with that? Sometimes I do believe there are too many people living in glass houses.

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OH PLEASE.....I think everyone who read your post asking 'did your marksman get him in the end' refering to a dog I had last year that ran away and was being stalked by a marksman called in by farmers to shoot him, will know that your comment was NOT meant in a curious kindly way but was quite pointedly unpleasant.

And at no point have I said the man with the greyhound is 'ignorant'.
 
Everyone can make of my post what they will....that's their choice, as it is your choice to rant and tell me exactly what I am thinking. I have broad shoulders.

Do you not believe this man is ignorant then? If not then I apologise; I thought that was exactly what you were implying. You see how text can become confusing?
 
Yeah OK enough already! I don't know what it is that I did to provoke you but let's stop this 'tit for tat' now and do something more interesting. I'm off to sort out my knicker drawer.
 
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Actually, on the contrary, I believe I understand the point entirely - I happen to have a very old dog who has had arthritis for years - she also collapses once in a while.....and I can assure you that I have absolutely no intentions of having my old collie put to sleep at any point in the immediate future.

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You are obviously a conscientious owner and your dog is lucky to be well cared for and looked after. However it appears that this man has made no effort to get his dog seen by a vet and is therefore unlike your dog and in considerable pain. If this is the case then I would be worrying. It is not a case of wanting to get the dog PTS more to make sure it is comfortable and being cared for as best as possible.

I would just like to point out that it is an extremely difficult situation to comment on as all the facts etc are not really known. But I think oneofthepack is right to ask "what would you do?" and get opinions. She is the only one who can put everything into perspective and rationalise the case with the knowledge she has of the dog.
 
What about recommended some bute to the dog owner? When my dog jarred his back jumping off a wall I made a joke to the vet that he could do with some bute. Turns out they can have bute so long as they don't have more than 200mgs a day.

In other words a fifth of a sachet (although the vet said it'd be easier to split it into quarters which would be fine too and mine's only a cocker spaniel.

Within half an hour he was up and running about like normal! Wonderful stuff. They can have aspirin too at the same dose. Just can't have paracetamol as it damages their liver.
 
Which was exactly why I started off my first post saying that one should be wary about making assumptions.

You see the thing is, you have even assumed that my dog is under the vet's care and that she is well looked after....but you don't really know that for sure. You see where I am coming from?

Yes a few members on HHO have met my old dog......but how would they react if they saw her collapse in front of them? Most people who have answered this post have made a judgement on this man and I think that that is unfair because I am in exactly the same situation as this man for all you guys know.

Yes perhaps I threw a spanner in the works with my old dog and perhaps some may have taken my comments about Merlin as being some silly nonsense of getting back at someone.....well that's maybe how their minds work....it isn't how mine works. Just because some folks on here may bear ridiculous grudges, doesn't mean that we all do, and anyway I believe I tried to help OOTP back then. So no, those who believe there is some insidious reasoning for me not agreeing with her this time, are very much incorrect as to WHY I didn't agree.

I was not making any point other than the RSPCA did nothing for oneofthepack in her case with her hound running off; surely part of the RSPCA's job is to catch dogs which are running wild in the countryside? And if they aren't interested in that, who says they will be interested in looking at some old arthritic dog who belongs to a neighbour?

Anyway it sounds like the decision has already been made and the RSPCA are being contacted......I am all for making sure animals are kept well but as for reporting old dogs (yes there is a huge difference between young dogs and old arthritic dogs), I would proceed with caution and I personally wouldn't want to be living next door to this person IF a grievous error of judgement has been made.
 
D'you know what "treatment" my dog has? From the vet? No from the freezer! She has 1 NZ Green Lipped Mussel every day in the winter. Where did I come up with this? Research. Does it work? I believe so.
 
You did nothing to provoke me which is why I wasn't provoked
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. Have I been aggressive in any of my answers to you? Have I called you names and ranted on like I am some half-wit? Have I shouted at you? No. I have merely disagreed with you....and reminded us all that animal husbandry can take many forms.
 
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