Neighbours on holiday and left dog in house

I am reassured to read that your concern may have led to the dog being kept by the person who was feeding it.

The people who to all intents and purposes abandoned the dog without proper care I wish could be banned from going on holiday, at least abroad, for a period of time.

Call the RSPCA. My inlaws previous neighbours had a German shepherd and it was confined to the garden. Didn’t bother anyone until bonfire night when they went out leaving the dog in the garden chained to a tree underneath a door that had been propped up to shelter it from the rain. Needless to say we walked through the (unlocked and wide open) back gate, took the dog and put it in my FIL’s work van with some food and blankets (we couldn’t take it in the house as they had a dog that wasn’t the most friendly with other dogs). We called the RSPCA and they said they couldn’t come out until the following day so could we keep the dog in the van until they came out

DonnaBanana · Yesterday 09:38
I just went away for a week and left my cat outside. Came back he’s happy as Larry. Animals can adapt if you let them after all they come from nature.
Humans come from nature; does that mean it's OK to leave a child outside for a week? After all, it'll adapt, won't it?/s

@DonnaBanana I hope that is some
kind of sick joke. I am absolutely disgusted by this. Why do you have a cat if you don’t care about them? What did you expect them to do for food? Shelter?

Ah this is good news & a great outcome

Hi @PrimaryBufferPanel please, please call the RSPCA. No animal lover would dream of leaving their dog like this. It’s so sad and the dog deserves a better life.

The poster said wait until the people have fed the dog then the stick the tape on the door. RSPCA will come back & think dog has been abandoned & will trigger a rescue.
I agree I'd never dream of leaving my dog for more than 3 hours on his own pet alone go on holiday. People are selfish.

😭 absolutely awful the poor thing , I’d definitely let RSPCA or another animal charity know .
We have nobody to look after our dog so he goes to immaculately kept boarding kennels where he is spoiled with daily walks and a free run in their beautiful enclosed paddock .
He doesn’t suffer with separation anxiety but that’s possibly his breed ? And the fact we leave him 4 hours absolute maximum ( we are usually only out for 2 hours or so ) if we ever need to all be out and about the same time .

No pinching necessary @Grammarnut Barry the cat voted with his paws

I hate initials. What does 'HTH' stand for?
And if someone is coming to feed the dog and let it out twice a day that is not neglect. Neglect is starving it, not treating a sick animal, hitting it, tying it up in a shed to die, or to just live in its own filth.

We had this a few weeks ago with our neighbours, fucked off on holiday and left 3 dogs at home, locked out of the house but with access to the conservatory. The first night one managed to lock itself out with the others still inside and they all barked at each other for 4 hours solid. Neighbours from all around were walking around to see what the fuck was going on. Eventually someone came over about 12.30am and let them in and it was sporadic checking in for a week. These dogs are left like this a lot when neighbours are home as well and we’re all truly fed up of them.
RSPCA will do nothing as they are not neglected if someone is visiting.
Police don’t care.
Noise abatement want months of diaries and proof of contact!
They rent though, almost thankfully, so I have taken to annoying the landlord with complaints in the hope he’ll not renew their tenancy and they fuck off for good!

Because: The RSPCA have no right of entry unless the animal has been left alone for 24 hrs. Even then they have to get the police to break in.

It is. HTH.

bless you OP. You are so kind! My neighbours- youngsters have a lovely spaniel. Both lads are super unfriendly. About 2 months ago neither came home on a Friday night - dog was left alone in darkness and he cried and whined… all the neighbours heard and we were bloody waiting outside their flat for them when they pitched at 2am!!! One works from home so dog is never really left alone but lots of neighbours put notes through the letter box saying ASK for help…
ask the feeder to come get the dog from you and you keep her for some part of the day… you are really kind

Ring the RSPCA. I might, if I were you OP, leave a note for the dog sitter, saying what you've told us?
Leave them maybe your number, you might be able to contact them when it's bad.

I did not say it was a good method, but some people might consider it a method, in fact I did not say leave a dog alone for a week, either. A dog must be trained to be alone, and that starts as a puppy, as does all training, unless you want a dog that does not do as it is told (dangerous) and is a nuisance to others (difficult to take about with you) and which you can never leave to go out shopping, visiting etc.
I probably know more than anyone else on here about dogs. I don't agree that a home monetarily poor is not a good home. Love and care are what a dog needs and will return - they do not need to be treated like a human since their understanding and their needs are quite different. I deplore the growth of pet insurance (rather like US health insurance afaics) which has put up the cost of veterinary care, making it much harder for people on lower incomes to look after their pets.

RSPCA, dog warden, police. I believe it's illegal to leave a dog in a house for long periods unattended,. I pay someone to let my 2 out during the day when I'm out for work, and use boarding kennels for holidays and overnight absences. Please persist until you are sure they'll take action, it's cruelty

This is the solution I sort of suggested e.g. that OP take in the dog. A neighbour seems to have done so, which is sensible.
People who say you should only have a pet if you can afford the most expensive ways of looking after it really mean that people who are not well-off do not deserve to have the companionship of animals.

It isn't.

You pinched your neighbour's cat?

That poor dog !!
RSPCA neglect for sure
😡

PrimaryBufferPanel · Today 03:17
Another update because I know people will be worried (which goes some way to restore my faith in human nature).

Since the conversation between neighbour and the one ‘looking after’ the dog, there hasn’t been a peep. Not one sound coming from that flat. I can only surmise as I didn't actually see, but I think either a family member has come to take the dog, or the neighbour calling in to feed her has taken her home. The neighbour who spoke up is a goddess in my eyes because she knows these people far better than I do and was clearly as affected as I was.

On a tangent, but this has also shown to me how different neighbour dynamics and communication can be. I live near these neighbours and yet don’t really know any of them so was very unsure of what to do; but one of their other neighbours (who actually lives next door) was able to raise this diplomatically and it seems to have been resolved.

Again, thank you to everyone who responded. It was so helpful to know that others out there care. Except of course for the POS who went on holiday and left her cat to fend for itself. There’s a special place in hell for you.

@PrimaryBufferPanel
So after all this time you can only ‘summise’ ??!
So you’re ‘summising’. that the dog has left the flat but you t don’t actually know (?) Whet did the nice neighbour the one who knows these people better than yourself actually say?

@HamBagelNoCheese

I don’t need a score test from someone like yourself ! You’ve offered zero help just some sniping ..but i THANK YOU cause it’s people like you that
makes and drives me to work with and for animals in need .. have a blessed day. x

Glad things have quietened down - well done you for keeping an eye out and helping speak up for lil doggos welfare. If we don’t speak up for these voiceless animals, who will…? Glad the situation has been resolved, and hope the family who own this poor dog learns something from it.

That's really good news OP, thank you for updating us