Neighbours on holiday and left dog in house

Utter scum. Call the RSPCA and have it out with them when they come back. They're total shits.

I’m having issues scrolling down so someone may have already suggested this but have you tried recording the dog so you have a record of its distress? Poor thing.

@Simonjt didn't mean to quote you there sorry. Morning sausage fingers.

If someone is going in to feed the dog the RSPCA won't do a thing.

My mums neighbour ended up in hospital and someone was going in just to feed her, maybe 5 mins a day, not even let her in the garden and she cried night and day. Rspca just put something on the door and then go back later to see if it's been broken and that's their proof someone is going in.

In the end my mum went to visit the neighbour and asked if she would be OK if her dog stayed with me while she was in hospital (and later with me permanently when the lady passed)

If someone is going in the dog isn't classed as abandoned unfortunately.

I’d call the RSPCA and notify them..
Id also catch the person feeding it and ask them for the owners number and id call and say the dog is barking not at all happy etc and would they mind if it stayed with you…
hopefully they would say yes. You could say the RSPCA have been notified (don’t say by you!!) and this might encourage them to say yes to you… however if they say no then if pursue it with the RSPCA/police as neglect and abandonment. If they say yes it means you have a job on your hands so assuming you wouldn’t mind that.. it’s terrible behaviour from them and is neglectful of the dogs needs. There’s SO many options in the uk for dog care it beggars belief they’ve not bothered to sort anything decent out and neglected the dog in the process.

The dog hasn’t been abandoned though has it. I assume they’ve paid someone to come in and feed the dog and let it out.

At 4am?

I’m not sure this classes as an emergency.

I'd ring the police say there's a dog alone distressed. Owners have gone on holiday and left it.

RSPCA

I work in this field. They will visit, sellotape door and put card through the door to speak to owners. On return the owners will be given an advice notice or warning notice, depending on how severe the situation is assessed, under the animal welfare act.

If no one is feeding they will ask police support to enter property and seize the dog, but if sellotape is clearly broken and someone is feeding the dog then they will look to educate the owners on their return.

I would suggest that you keep a diary of when the dog is visited as evidence.

You can also report the noise to the council as noise disturbance and they will send someone to assess.

You can certainly call the non-emergency police line.
AND the RSPCA.
AND get in touch with whomever is feeding the poor dog — in fact, you could leave a note on the neighbor’s door with your phone #.
I’d be calling everyone.
Thank Heavens for good people like you, @PrimaryBufferPanel— I hope you’re able to rescue the dog.

Or call the police.

I can't believe you have waited so long, call the rspca the poor thing is highly stressed

Can you contact the managing agents of the block?

Other residents are entitled to a bit of peace and quiet, not listening to a distressed dog! Poor thing.

Everyone keeps saying RSPCA but they can't do much if the dog is being fed once a day as the OP says it is, although worth calling them just in case.

I'd definitely go and speak to the feeder and tell them that the poor dog has been crying loudly all day. Personally I offer to have it for the week but I know that's not practical for everyone, especially if you have young kids.

I really hope the MNer who asked you to PM is a vigilante dog rescuer.

Please don’t waste police time with this.
RSPCA yes, although they can’t do anything if the dog is fed. Might at least make them think about kennels or a proper dog walker next time.
Agree with talking to the person who’s popping in daily. Try and guilt them in to better care.

I admit I am not a dog lover having received a nasty nip on my bare leg from a barking dog. It broke the skin after it belted towards me in the driveway when visiting friends. I got such a fright that afterwards I was never the same about dogs.I would never wish them harm though and after reading OPs post I'd have no hesitation in calling the police and RSPCA.

RSPCA
(Don't PM random posters on here).

Report to RSPCA?

How do you propose to "deal with it" exactly?

RSPCA.

They will visit, stick a note in the door requesting contact and as others mentioned, put tape on the door. They'll then return 24hrs later to see if there's evidence of anyone having attended.

We had similar with our neighbours, although in their case they had arranged for their adult child to stay for the week - he didn't. He popped in in the morning to open the back door, and in the evening to shut it.

Whilst RSPCA couldn't do anything as someone checking on an animal once in 24hrs is deemed acceptable, they did follow up with our neighbours when they returned.

Let me guess this is a lockdown dog?

People who never had a dog before suddenly decided to get a dog during lockdown without any thought, what happens once lockdowns were over and back to normal. These people annoy me

My neighbours did this once, for two and a half fucking weeks.

Whole family fucked off and left their poor dog, one of the kids boyfriends was meant to be popping in twice a day for him but in reality was shoving a can of food in once a day, literally flinging some shit off the kitchen floor out the door, letting the dog have a wee and rushing off again. Time spent there, as little as 10 minutes some days.

Going by the sounds and then the kicking off when they got back and the DIY work done... the dog ate their entire kitchen. He was either ripping stuff off the walls or barking the whole time. (And the builders who replaced the kitchen earlier this year confirmed when chatting with us, that at some point it had been trashed then bodged back together).

It was incredibly distressing and the RSPCA and the housing association didn't give a shit (HA sent a letter saying 'don't do it again', thats it..) as someone was going in 'regularly'.

My dogs all found it pretty distressing as well and they'd been familiar with that dogs normal barks etc for years and didn't react at all, but his panicked and desperate howling really got to them!

Separation anxiety or not, no dog should be left for 24 hours with just a short walk/feed - it’s so incredibly cruel. I see you’ve had an offer from someone to help, I’d take that with both hands tbh.

If you are positive that the poor dog only gets one 20 minute visit a day @PrimaryBufferPanel
then please, please, please, notify the authorities about him or her! I love nearly all animals, except the human variety, but I must admit that dogs have an extra special place in my heart. We have spent thousands of years domesticating them, therefore they rely on us for everything really, not just their food and exercise, but for our love, our company, and for us to provide them with mental stimulation.

I hate the thought of that poor dog suffering like that, but unfortunately through personal experience, I have no faith in the RSPCA at all, unless there are TV cameras there. So I think you should start first with the police, then if a week day with your local council, and if neither of them are interested, I suppose I would have to try the RSPCA. If no-one helped I would have to follow the dog sitter/minder/feeder into the house and rescue the dog - even if that ended up getting me into trouble legally, but I know that many people wouldn't be able to risk getting in trouble with the police etc.

Why are you on MN and not calling the RSPCA straightaway