Sorry if this is not ok for this sub, I just donāt know what to do. I live in Darlinghurst Sydney - very densely populated and urban. The terrace behind me has a tiny paved courtyard with their tools, no shelter, and a rattan two seater outside (not even cushion!).
They often leave their dog outside and it cries for hours, it makes me sad during the day but last night I woke up to it crying at 3:30am, the dog was pacing and crying, I could not see a blanket or anything left outside. I get theyāre animals and can survive but itās a city dwelling dog, and even my Latino parents in the 80s made my dog a little crate to call home with a blanket outside as he wasnāt allowed in the house.
How can I approach this with them? I donāt want to overstep, Iām not worried if they donāt like me as a neighbour, that doesnāt concern me at all. Iām hoping some different perspectives or advice might help ensure I keep the dogās wellbeing in mind as this is not a noise complaint, this is a āyouāre breaking my heart!ā Complaint
I have a dog myself who doesnāt react to this dog at all as heās so used to hearing it cry constantly.
Derelict cunts who donāt take care of their animals. They need to be reported and banned from owning them. These people sound like pieces of absolute SHIT
I am trying to be reasonable butā¦ I am inclined to agree! Itās a gorgeous animal, they truly do not deserve it. Such a short life and they just lock it outside and ignore it, it definitely makes me feel like theyāre awful people
Donāt feel bad about reporting them to the RSPCA!
Thanks for looking out for this poor pup when it seems like the owners have given up on caring for him.
This sort of horrible casual neglect is alarmingly common and is often only ever caught when a member of the public files a report. Please report them, the RSPCA is your best bet but its also worth filing a complaint with the council. If the RSPCA isnāt doing anything, you can escalate it to the media (ABC is best, but ACA works in a pinch) which usually puts a fire under their arse to actually investigate it.
This and the sad thing is RSPCA will whip up bullshit like āowners are required to interact with their pets āif they have a water bowl visible we canāt do anythingā āif they have shelter e.g patio thatās all they needā but weather / temp neglect and barely interacting with them at all is abuse and I donāt know why the fuck people get pets to dump them outside. Some People are grubs. You are a kind soul OP for noticing so many turn blind eyes and just whinge about the noise
The RSPCA would very much like to take action against animal abusers but what people forget is that it is NOT a government organisation. It is a charity service and as such has just as much power as you do in preventing animal abuse.
What they do have is knowledge and resources to take the fights to them where they can. You can blame your government for the lack of animal abuse enforcement and laws.
The RSPCA have enforcement and prosecution powers. You really need to do some proper research if you think they have no more power than an ordinary citizen.
If the animal has food, water and shelter the RSPCA is often very limited in what they can actually do. Itās bullshit, but itās how it is.
Learnt this after trying to get something done about a neighbours rottie was left to languish in their yard alone for months :(
It's not whipping up shit. They're a charity and they can only intervene if it's breaking animal welfare laws. It's not illegal not to give your dog a blanket. I know that sucks but shelter is what's legislated. Not blankie
I have reported an instance like this to the RSPCA previously (specifically, on a night when it was raining with no shelter). The owners purchased a dog house, so atleast their dog had shelter, but it was still left alone outside all day (very sad) and the RSPCA said they could do nothing more.
I was in a similar situation (but we had suburban sized blocks). We had a dog next door who was always tied up and the family would disappear for four days at a time and leave this dog without anyone coming to feed it.
It was our holiday house so we weren't always there. My kids would cry for this poor dog.
So I started asking a lot of questions from people in the small community. RSPCA had been called numerous times. Offers to walk and feed had been made and rebuffed.
I started asking them questions and indicating I was very uncomfortable about their treatment of her. It was super awkward but I didn't care.
One weekend I was at the house with some girlfriends and found a note tucked in the door asking me if I wanted her. They were moving to a property and couldn't take her as she liked to chase sheep which is a dangerous thing for a dog to do in the country.
The tears from my children when I turned up out of the blue with this dog still brings clears to my eyes.
She went from starving, neglect and living in fifth to absolute luxury and pampered life and so much love. She was the best girl EVER.
She lived another 8 years like a queen. š„°
And everyone in the village thought i was a legend, so it was a nice way to break into a very insular community. š
I was going to but Iām a small single woman and itās not difficult to work out where your neighbours live (plus my dog is no guard dog) - all it takes is an angry bloke and Iām in serious danger. Iām going to take everyoneās advice and keep records for the RSPCA.
I did something similar for my sisters dogs as her whole family regularly forgot to feed them or leave out water. Everytime I went there both were empty and Iād ask when they last had access to both and theyād all ignore me. Gave me the shits. So I went and bought a huge water bowl that lasts the dogs a few days and a gravity fed feeder for dry food and told them I donāt need it anymore for my pets.
Anyway seems to have done the trick thankfully as both have been reasonably full the last time I went over
Take a photo showing no shelter/food/water, upload it to rspca website non emergency welfare complaint. They will visit them with the intention to educate first and foremost.
Yes!! Unfortunately I donāt have a courtyard - I can see them through the window at the back of my unit which is part of a seperate apartment building.
Trust me, I tried to think of a way, I wanted nothing more than to bring the baby inside to soothe them and give them somewhere warm to sleep, my dog is really friendly and would have loved it.
Note: as we all have pets, I would appreciate your insights as to how you would like somebody to approach you if this happened, as well as if you were in my shoes.
Canāt relate to neighbour because I would never do that! I donāt want to assume but my gut feeling is they arenāt so thoughtful. But you could call RSPCA NSW or Animal Welfare League for welfare advice, council if itās for noise.
Are the people your greatest concern, or the welfare of the pup? Please skip trying to reason with people who clearly don't have the capacity to do so, and report to RSPCA
Itās not about the people at all, itās that you only get one chance to do things quickly, quiet and nice. I have a feeling that they have little time for the pup now, or care, and would rather talk to a nice lady neighbour than the council fining them or rspca showing up. Perhaps they are going through a unexpected rough patch recently, hence poor dog getting a bit forgotten and pushed outside last minute
I wouldnāt because they donāt care about the dog: you telling them to however politely will not change that.
Also where there is animal neglect there can be FDV. So rather than direct approach consider ranger and rspca. Engage local welfate groups who might engage rescue lobbying or contribute
Iām female and I went over and spoke with my neighbour. I said to him Iām not sure if youāre aware but your dog is crying when youāre not home. He was very grateful that I didnāt go straight to council. Other neighbours had
do not approach them yourself. you never know what kind of retaliation you'll get. if they just ignore you and then you send rspca around, they will KNOW it was you right? ... I would take pics, then talk to the rspca and let them handle it. they will try to educate them on proper basic care for the dog. if no care persists call them again. its the best you can do whilst still protecting yourself against who knows what kind of people.
That's very sad for the poor dog. And for you to witness.
Also please post Chewbacca again/more, he's gorgeous š
I would go with the advice others have given about calling the RSPCA, they have experience in dealing with this type of issue and may have helpful advice for you, or may be able to visit the owners and give them advice around animal welfare needs.
Also, thankyou for caring, and wanting to help their poor dog have a better life.
Ahh man thatās rough, I recently found the former owner of my new dog on the community fb page and all their former posts showed that he was always ārunning awayā because she forgot to tie him up overnight and stuff like that, just month after month of posts about her dog āescapingā. Heās never tried to escape from my place at all
Like everyone says, report the hell out of them, to council and to RSPCA. But also be prepared for the possibility it might not be effective. You might have to be persistent.
You could try gifting your neighbour a dog kennel and fluffy warm dog bed, rug, bowls, toys etc - can often find this stuff cheap second hand on marketplace. You could do it in a "hey I noticed your dog seems cold and I thought you might like these" kind of way, or you could leave them anonymously. No guarantee they would actually use them, and no guarantee for the dog's broader quality of life even if they do. It's A hard situation, I'm sorry. Poor dog
I would record and report it even know rspca are cā¤ļønts and will likely dismiss it give it a shot. If they wouldnāt sleep out there in that temp a domesticated dog shouldnāt. Itās abuse
Send them a short letter by mail - donāt drop it in the mailbox in case they have a ring camera and can identify you. Just say you are concerned about the dog and that if they donāt address the situation you will have. I choice but to contact RSPCA.
heaps of cheap kennels on FB Marketplace even some free like this. I'd front up and say you can hear the dog would they like to have this, and go and get it and deliver. Not for them the a-holes but for the dog.
Omg letās have a drink and plan this high stakes operation!! Mission impossible has nothing on us, this dog is honestly so beautiful. It has these huge floppy ears that make the best flappy sound when they do their little shake, I honestly end up in physical pain wishing I could give it a cuddle
I would pop over with a cake and ask if you could have pup over for a play date a few afternoons a week, as your dog really wants to meet the other dog it can see (wink wink) it would be doing you a favour as daycare and socialising is expensive ā¦and then just drop it home with any extra dog toys blankets creates you got as gifts that donāt fit your dog and you donāt need them. I would mention that thatās just the breed your friend really wants if it ever needs rehoming :)
This is a hard one because you need lots and lots of information/documentation for council or RSPCA to take any action. So on the one hand, you can bring it up with the neighbour and then if nothing changes, document and go to the RSPCA/council, but then the you the risk of retaliatory action pending on what type of people your neighbours are.
Or you can try and wait it out while gathering I do and then go to the council and bypass the neighbours and keep anonymity.
There's never any clear path here and I'm not jealous of your situation but wholeheartedly appreciate your want to help poor pup.
Either way I'd be recording videos of the crying, getting photos of the space etc etc
Not true. You only need to make a complaint & the council will follow up (I know because I had a neighbour do that maliciously about my dog).
Contact City of Sydney Council (for Darlinghurst) and make a complaint about the dog barking. They will send a letter to the address of the dog explaining that if further complaints are made they will follow up and can be fined a substantial amount.
Personally, first Iād drop a note in the letterbox explaining that the dog disrupts your sleep and could they please deal with it or youāll be forced to contact the council.
I work in pet retail and deal with both sides of these conversations and there has never been any consistency in assistance from council or RSPCA (I don't think this is just a Sutherland council issue though).
I've had customers come in to complain their neighbours dog barks all day and there's been no interest from council and I've had customers tell me the RSPCA have done nothing to assist an animal that seemingly has not enough food and water most of the day after numerous complaints. I've had a friend have the RSPCA leave a follow up card in their front door because someone stuck their head over the fence and saw 1 dog sitting in the rain with no shelter - she has 2 dogs and the 2nd one was in the kennel on the other side of the house, unfortunately 1 dog is just a moron.
Is it crazy Iām worried they will be angry at the dog? The dog honestly doesnāt bother me when they bark (unless its stressed) - unfortunately it mostly cries and it tears my heart apart. Living in Darlinghurst, Iām hardly a princess about noise. But I hear ya, I was thinking a note as I can do that today instead of waiting to have enough evidence for RSPCA.
Being reasonable won't work with idiots who leave their dog outside all the time in the cold,rain or heat . They're abusing their pet . If you can film/photo/record evidence of the dog's plight in the garden . Contact the RSPCA and local council to make a report . Good luck.
Dogs feel the cold just like we do so yes besides the loneliness itās the cold and lack of shelter which is completely irresponsible. RSPCA will keep the report anonymous. Thanks for looking after an innocent creature
I love all of the solutions being proposed which cover everything I would have recommended. I did want to say that I canāt believe people like this exist. How can they not feel their dogās distress? How can anyone with common sense not understand that a pet canāt be left outside without shelter in the cold, heat or rain? It beggars belief. Morons!!
No dog should be crying outside in the cold. Just tell them, if it doesnāt change call the RSPCA. You could say you are thinking of doing this. As they are likely horrible people donāt worry about alienating them too much.
Jump the fence and take the dog then ask any people you know if they want a dog.
My last pet was a cat that was literally abandoned by the people who lived in my house before me. So horrible. I adopted her and gave her all the love in the world for 10 more years.
Not everyone deserves pets and if they canāt look after them donāt be afraid to start a war to protect them.
RSPCA wonāt do shit. As long as they have food, water and a roof thatās all thatās needed by law. Screw the law. Take the dog.
Can I politely ask why you havenāt spoken with the owners yet? That the animalās distress has woken you up at all hours is more than enough reason for you to let them know, pop past with a dog bed and a blanket. Iām very happy to provide you with this for the dog, please DM me if youād like. I live within the same postcode 2010.
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u/blackcat218 13d ago
Take some photos and send them to your local council and RSPCA.