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Cruelty or none of my business?

20 replies

Dinnie · 11/04/2021 18:22

My Cousin is on benefits he gets his dog seen free by PDSA. He has three cats and some reptile or other that is in a tiny box type enclosure.

He had guinea pigs but kept them outside all year in a broken hutch. On occasions when he was away for the weekend he asked me to feed his animals. He was keeping the fairly large dog in his small kitchen as he always does when he goes out or when it gets on his nerves. The guinea pigs were outside all year round in the broken hutch with no exercise. His garden is a dump full of over grown grass and the dog just poos all over it.

The guinea pigs died and recently he's got more but they fight so he's asked me to take one and I said no as I don't have a garden and I told him he shouldn't have even got them because at times he can't even afford to feed himself.
His reptile has had to stay at mine because he ran out of electricity for the heater and when his cat and his dog needed vets treatment, he couldn't afford to get them to the vets and demanded I take him there and we fell out because I was busy and couldn't.

After he asked me to take this guinea pig I told him that I feel he has more animals than he can afford and that this is not good for their welfare and he said that if I cared about their welfare I'd have helped him get his animals to the vet when he asked.

He said what I am saying is none of my business and I should butt out. He says he looks after his pets perfectly but I disagree simply on the grounds that his benefits leave him in extreme poverty to where he can't meet his own needs and although he's not beating the animals with a stick, their diet is very basic, their enclosures are not big enough or in good repair and if they're sick he can't help them even when one of the animals is free to treat, he can't get it there.

Is it none of my business?

OP posts:
Maltay · 11/04/2021 18:27

He's saying it's none of your business but then making it your business! Do whatever helps you sleep at night. I would be thinking about reporting to RSPCA especially the guinea pigs but it's not an easy decision x

Dinnie · 11/04/2021 18:38

@maltay I'm not sure the RSPCA would do anything they're useless. My neighbour shut a dog out from 7am to midnight on Christmas day with no water or food and it howeled the whole time and they said there was nothing wrong with doing that.

He says he asked me if I wanted the guinea pig not for my opinion on his life. But he seems to think I have to step in to help him with things he can't do for the animals and I think if he can't do for the animals he shouldn't get them.

People give them to him and they give him the things he might need but when it comes to stuff he has to pay for, apart from very cheap basic supermarket brand food, he can't afford it.

OP posts:
Chunkymenrock · 11/04/2021 18:39

Oh my goodness, this breaks my heart. Owning pets is not a fucking right and they depend completely on us for their welfare. It is absolutely cruel the way he is keeping them. For a start, guinea pigs need plenty of space and a companion, and should only be kept outdoors if they can go in a heated shed with plenty of clean dry bedding, places to hide, that is sheltered from wind, rain and direct sun. They are much better to be kept indoors. Hutches are too small.

As for the others, of course he is not looking after them correctly. They are suffering and their needs not being met. It's so unfair. You have to find a way to get through to him OP. It's so upsetting, those poor innocent animals 😢.

Maltay · 11/04/2021 18:41

I guess then if you contacted the RSPCA youve done everything you can. It's not fair hes burdening you with this and also not fair on the animals

SylviaPlath1984 · 11/04/2021 18:44

People like that boil my piss, why drag an innocent animal into your poverty. It's so selfish.

Dinnie · 11/04/2021 18:45

I think he has an inability to emphasise with the animals and sees them as possessions or belongings rather than living beings that need to be happy not just had. I think he gets them because he wants them and nothing else

I'd love a pig, two donkeys and a lamb but up in my flat I couldn't possibly have animals like that despite it being a childhood dream. Thank God he doesn't want this type of animal because he would think nothing of getting them. That's what he is like.

OP posts:
Dinnie · 11/04/2021 18:53

@SylviaPlath1984 he's the same with his house it has two bedrooms but he won't downsize because he wants the two bedrooms even though the second room is full of crap and it costs him money that he can't afford to pay in bedroom tax. He is in extreme poverty and is always in arrears with his rent if he downsized he'd have more money.
I say nothing about that because it's a house, an object but the animals are different. I don't think he sees the difference between owning a sofa and owning a dog.

I told him to sell his reptile as he'd get money to clear his rent and buy food as he had none and he said "I'm not selling it, it's Mine"

OP posts:
SylviaPlath1984 · 11/04/2021 19:02

[quote Dinnie]@SylviaPlath1984 he's the same with his house it has two bedrooms but he won't downsize because he wants the two bedrooms even though the second room is full of crap and it costs him money that he can't afford to pay in bedroom tax. He is in extreme poverty and is always in arrears with his rent if he downsized he'd have more money.
I say nothing about that because it's a house, an object but the animals are different. I don't think he sees the difference between owning a sofa and owning a dog.

I told him to sell his reptile as he'd get money to clear his rent and buy food as he had none and he said "I'm not selling it, it's Mine"[/quote]
That mentality is really damaging, I feel a bit sorry for him because it can't be much of a life living like that... but a lot of my sympathy is wiped out by the fact he's inflicting that situation on animals. Sorry you're having to deal with this, must be horrible :(

candlemasbells · 11/04/2021 19:09

Could he find/swap/apply a one bed place which would free up more money and enable him to feed himself and the animals? Possibly a bit nearer the vets.
He hasn't got much so he's clinging on to everything, which is understandable if moving is seen as a positive for him and the animals it might improve things all round.

Dinnie · 11/04/2021 19:18

@candlemasbells he wouldn't even entertain the idea. He had to go to court about his rent and nearly list his house more than once the council asked him to downsize and he said no because he doesn't like any of the flats in our whole area and wants a two bedroom house not a flat

OP posts:
Dinnie · 11/04/2021 19:19

Lost

OP posts:
DogsSausages · 11/04/2021 19:26

He has made it your business, does his housing officer know that there are all these animals there. If the dog poo is causing a health risk can environment health advise you.

LST · 11/04/2021 19:31

I agree the RSPCA are rubbish. Have you rang them though? It could be worth a try? Is his home HA or council? Do they not have anything to say about the state of the garden?

Dinnie · 11/04/2021 19:33

Nobody has complained about the overgrown front and back gardens or the poop or other tut he has dumped in his garden so he gets left alone to get on with it

OP posts:
Dinnie · 11/04/2021 19:34

It's council

OP posts:
LST · 11/04/2021 19:35

@Dinnie

Nobody has complained about the overgrown front and back gardens or the poop or other tut he has dumped in his garden so he gets left alone to get on with it
Yeah.. its the same where I live. The tenancy agreements state you can only have 2 pets normally and you have to keep the home and garden clean, neat and tidy but nothing is enforced.
candlemasbells · 11/04/2021 19:38

That's a shame as it could have been a positive move for all. Would he be persuaded to regime the pigs or make other changes if it came from a vet or vet nurse?
is there a men in sheds project near by where he could build a better run and get involved in other social activities?

Dinnie · 11/04/2021 19:41

@candlemasbells I doubt it. He's not an animal lover he's somebody who treats animals like a possession. He has them for him and him only.

OP posts:
Dinnie · 11/04/2021 19:44

He was the same with his child who he no longer sees. If he liked something on telly he'd seek out the people in the show dragging his child in tow and saying it was the child that wanted to go and that he was only there because the child wanted him there

OP posts:
Maves · 12/04/2021 08:30

Can you take the guinea pigs and rehome them? Also report him to the rspca this is awful.

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