Friend rehoming due to depression

[Anon645]

My friend is suffering from pretty brutal depression and has been for a number of months. She has young children and a 1 year old dog. At the moment she is contemplating rehoming the dog as she feels her depression leaves her unable to cope with him. She feels extremely guilty as I know she loves the dog and she is very affectionate ate towards it. She doesn't have any family to mind the dog and I already have my own pets and family so can't take the dog on for her.

Does anyone have any advice? At the moment the dog is having a walk twice a week as that's all she can do. She's also not got the energy to train the dog beyond what she's already done as she's so low and fatigued.

Any advice?

OP, is this actually true?

Are you genuinely just going to update mumsnet whilst your friends children wallow in filth and she sells her dog to some random she found online?

I can't believe anyone could be so passive...

I don't appreciate the unnecessary hostility... I have been giving up my time to take the dog for a walk every week (Sometimes twice ). I'm not obliged to do this, I've done it to help.

I've also come in here to ger advice.

I'm also going over later to meet the prospective buyer.

I'm not sure what else you expect met do.

I have a job, a family, my own pets and my own home /family life to maintain alongside all this..

@Killingoffmyflowersonebyone

thats an awful thing to say. Not everyone's depression is the same.

@Anon645
@FatmanandKnobbin is right, you need to step in here & get the advert taken down. Explain her dog would be used for dog fighting if she sells it like this.

I tried my best. But she couldn't cope any longer. So she has rehomed the dog from a Freeads buyer

What is she doing about her children @Anon645

I think the comments towards the OP are really unfair and actually quite unkind - her friends' dog is not her responsibility and she shouldn't be made to feel guilty for "not doing enough".

I would be speaking to social services about the overall situation, though.

@sunsetsandboardwalks I think that anyone who witness abuse and neglect should report and I think that is all that people have been telling her to do. We don't know who this person is so we can't report it, than onus is unfortunately on those who knows about it. RSPCA should have been told about the dog and SS should be told about the children. Now the dog has been rehomed to who knows who and her kids are still being neglected.

Her kids are being helped by grandparents. As I said some days she is able to get out of bed etc, she's not on bed daily. But she's got limited energy and very fatigued so couldn't walk the dog but could watch a movie on the sofa with her kids for example

The lady seemed nice who picked the dog up, but I feel nervous as we dont really know her obviously. Just hope she's honest and will care for the dog, and that my friend hasn't made a mistake.

I hope my friend will cope okay too with the dog actually being gone now.

The RSPCA wouldn't have got involved over a lack of walks..
The dog was fed, given water, given shelter and was never hit or physically chastised.
So the RSPCA wouldn't have had reason to take this on..

She's a fucking idiot and that's before you get into the logic of getting a puppy when you're prone to intermittent depressive episodes and have kids to look after. If you're a friend you need to tell her never to get a pet again.

I mean of course someone is going to seem nice when picking up the dog but there's no way of actually knowing on these selling sites where the animal is actually going. But its done now so I guess nothing you can do. Hopefully she won't get another pet again

@PeriIsKickingMyButt

There are comments saying OP should do more about the dog - realistically I'd love to know what people expect on that front? Rescues are (very) full and even if they weren't, OP can't just take someone's dog and keep it or hand it over to the RSPCA

And would RSPCA have even been interested?

Precisely.

It's not illegal to only walk your dog twice a week, or for an adult dog not to be toilet trained. I'm not for a moment saying that the way the dog has been treated is okay, but the (legal) bar for neglect goes way beyond "not enough walks and wees on the floor sometimes".

I would think they would do something. A dog living amongst its own pee and poop would definitely signal neglect. I don't think that a dog who lived with an owner who has days where she can't get out of bed can be fed regularly or taken cared of in other ways.

I don't disagree with you, but the bar for "neglect" in legal terms is really not what you'd hope it would be.

It's not illegal for a dog not to be walked. It's not illegal for a dog not to be toilet trained. As long as they have shelter, food and water, there's very little the authorities can actually do about it.

We had a case near us of two spaniels locked in an outdoor kennel 24/7 - they were both unwell (multiple infections) and one ultimately died - the other is still with its' owner as he refuses to sign it over and it has food, water and a roof over its' head.

It's appalling, but the RSPCA don't have the powers that people think - they can't just take someone's dog, they need loads of evidence and have to go to court in order to remove animals (unless they're signed over voluntarily or have been abandoned - which again, they need proof of).

@sunsetsandboardwalks that makes me so sad to think about. I clearly have overestimated the animal welfare laws.

So the grandparents let the children live amongst the dog wee and poo in the house.

I think the children are a greater worry than the dog.

This is so sad. I have suffered from depression in the past and had a lot of sympathy until you said she was selling to recoup her money. She clearly does not care about that poor dog if she's willing to sell to the first person that comes along without a home check or anything. I really hope she never gets another pet.