Animal control only cares if 1) the dog is being abused (and you have to have pretty solid proof that he was 2) if he doesn't have food and water 3) if he doesn't have shelter (which he obviously does) and 4) if he doesn't have any obvious need to see a veterinarian. They don't care if all he ever sees is a person for 3 seconds to give him food and water. They don't care about his socialization or lack thereof. If he doesn't have a rabies tag visible, you may be able to get her in trouble for that. Your area may have a dog license requirement as well. But if she's taking care of his basic needs as far as animal control is concerned, then you're hands are legally tied. At this point, I would NOT try to take the dog because woman knows who you are and based on past behavior, isn't 100% nice. She could get more ugly than just cussing you out in front of her son. If you can document that the dog goes without food and or water, then you have a chance in getting him confiscated, but unfortunately all she has to do is pay the fine and promise to do better. Then you're back to square one again.

Yeah. It sucks.

Maybe you could try to put yourself in the mothers situation?
In reality that is not a bad setup, dog has cover, dog house, and a large kennel. If the dog is being fed and watered and has shelter it better than most mistreated animals. Maybe the mothers rental situation is temporary.
I can see how you are concerned for the socialization of the dog but if you are not there watching it 24 hours a day, who is to say she doesn't come get the dog during the day?

""I told her that her mother was a "idiot".""
Not to sound rude, but if you told me my mother was an idiot I would have been ticked with you as well.

"I told the little boy to cover his ears because mommy was being naughty."
IMO, you had no business telling her child what to do. The best thing you could have done was left the situation that is obviously not any of your business.

I can see why the woman would say you are harrassing her, you call her mom an idiot, you tell her about her poor behavior and role model as a parent, you tell her child what to do, and you ask about her dog. If I were her I would feel the need to keep you away too. Honestly, do you think if she were that bad to her child or the dog was in dire need of attention that she would bother to call the cops to report you for harrassment? She could possibly have them come to her home to file a report?

I think you are worrying with something that you shouldn't be bothering with. By all means if a dog is being physically abused or starving or left in the elements seek help for it, until then there is no point in worrying.

I agree with Groomingal. You took an offensive approach with her and it made her mad. You can get a lot further with a smile than telling someone their mother is an idiot.

That kennel looks like it cost a fortune. Heck of a lot better than I've been looking at at the local animal shelter. I don't think you have a case.

Your responses are enlightening; this is what I needed. I came to the pet forum because I am a pet person and felt the dog needed an advocate. You have opened my eyes, it is I who needs the help not the dog. Going forward, I will sleep soundly now that I have confirmation that I have nothing to worry about with regards to the dog.

Thank you.

In my mind this is abuse, but legally you don't seem to be able to do anything. One wonders why anyone would feel the need to hold onto a dog they obviously don't want to properly care for. A pet needs more than just food and water. I don't like shelters, but at least there is some socialization.

Meghane hit the nail on the head. Having called AC a couple of times on one neighbor who didn't have adequate food or water, they really weren't concerned. They'll only confiscate if the dog is hanging on by a thread and they don't give a hoot about socialization and excercise. No laws that say you have to do those things. Unfortunately.

I hate to say this but you burned a bridge with the lady and possibly could have set up a tactical rescue mission after monitoring the situation for some time. There are some folks on this forum that feel very strongly against such missions and used to be one of them but there really are some cases where I feel it's necessary.

There was a story on the news here a couple of weeks ago where some douchebag was not able to have pets in his apartment because he didn't want to pay the pet deposit so his two dogs were living in his car inside of kennels in the back seat. AC came out and looked at them as said 'duh uh well they have shelter and are being fed, not much we can do about it'. IMO that alone wouldn't be grounds for a tactical rescue mission but if this dog is not fed regularly and water kept full and is kept there in the yard alone in every weather extreme, if a.c. won't do anything then it's time to hire the a-team. If the lady is coming to the site 2 or more times a day then that's more of an effort than a lot of people make.

That whole situation is weird. Are you sure this dog isn't wanted by the authorities? Perhaps he bit someone and the mother is keeping him away until the issue is forgotten. That fence/igloo thing seems to me to be akin to a criminal's hideout.

Do the dog, the "owner" and you a favor and call that sheriff.

And, for what it's worth, I think that setup for a dog is cruel. Dogs are social creatures and for him to be imprisoned like that is utterly shameful.

It is sad to be witness to this and feel helpless by toothess laws.

Sadder, too, is that the female unspayed human had a litter already and will pass along her genes and culture.

I have to say it looks like they definitely got the shelter requirement down. As someone else pointed out, that's got to be an expensive kennel and it's bigger than a lot of the back yards around here. It looks like they went through extra effort with the tarp and the igloo. And it looks like part, if not all of the kennel is covered too. Maybe you can use some binoculars to check to see if there's food and water in there and there is something you can do to see if someone has been there if there's a gate to get inside of the property. Take a kleenex and pry off one of the plies so it is now a very thin tissue. Cut a small half inch by 3" piece off the tissue with scissors and tape one end of the strip to the gate and the other end to the gate post and that way if the gate is opened, the tissue strip will tear. Use masking tape and put the strip lower down so it's not in plain sight. Of course if it rains it's gone but it should give you an idea if someone is going there at least once a day. All you have to do to tell if someone has been there is look and see if the strip is torn. And remember there are a lot of dog owners that have their dogs in their own yard and might only visit them once or twice a day for food and thats it. Not saying that's right but that's unfortunately the way a lot of people are.

Oh, and if the strip isn't torn, that would be the time to call animal control. If the strip is torn in the morning you might put another one there to see if the person comes back in the evening and if not then that's when to call animal control to check for food and water if you can't see it from the street or sidewalk.

A couple of things struck me about this situation:

1) The OP obvisiously is concerned about the animal, but perhaps came across as a "busybody" to the mother.
2) Maybe the OP could have offered to walk the dog or visit it, but it sounds like that's not possible now.
3) Could the dog be a fighting dog, that cannot be housed elsewhere? It would not be unheard of for owners of fighting dogs to house them outside or on abandoned property.

If the OP is still very concerned about the situation, maybe she can seek out the owner of the property and advise them of the situation. At this point though, I would tread very carefully, and be concerned for my own safety. The dog owners are obviously not happy about being confronted and could become aggressive.

Bargainacious, your response prompted me to share an interesting development as I had no intention of coming back to this thread after getting a much needed response and being duly chastised for being an a$$h*#$ (my word)--but something interesting happened. BTW-The dog is a Rottweiler and typically this breed needs a lot of companionship and socialization to be happy.

I have been going the long way around to avoid going past the puppy but forgot to do that on Monday (two days after the confrontation), so I stopped to say hi to the dog. BTW Quirky, I always check the dirt ground for fresh tire marks to see if anyone has come lately.

Anyway, a neighbor came up to my car (first time I have ever seen a neighbor), she said that she knew that I always stopped to talk to the dog, did I know the owner? No, I don't. She said that she read that the sheriff arrested the young lady for making drugs in her house. I wonder if they showed up to question her about her harassment complaint. The little boy was taken to his grandmother. We can only hope that the rental agreement doesn't preclude pets AND children. Let me rethink that, as mentioned before it's none of my business.

Thank you all for your feedback.

So now that the woman has been arrested...is the dog going to just sit there and starve to death? I think I'd have to call the local animal control about it. Maybe see if some neighbors can call them too. But you should not put yourself in danger...I'd say her drug use explains her actions! And who's land are they using...did they just find an empty lot and erect a dog cage? Wonder if you can find who the property owner is and contact them...that's just weird!

Mustangs? Any development in the story? Has the dog been removed? Fill us in. Inquiring minds need to know. lol
Lorie

i totally see where you are coming from being concerned for the dog's welfare. my pets are my babies and i cant imagine other people not treating theirs the same way. some people just dont have a clue.. interesting she was arrested for drugs.. some people...

Just found this thread, and Mustang I'm with you I would be worried sick about the dog. It sounds like you have a neighbor on your side. I am assuming the "lady" is in jail and if so I wonder if the Sheriff would be willing to help you find a home for the dog..... .they found a home for her kid.

I still say it's none of your business, Mastang... get a life and worry about your own dogs and cats... I'm sure you will be first in the neighborhood to spread the gossip to every person in your town about the supposed drug arrest, even though it's purely hearsay and you have no real facts... try worrying about your own family and keep your nose out of where it don't belong...

Dear Ross, animal lovers get involved because of the animal...not because it's someone elses "property". But I doubt you understand that concept at all!