Is it cruelty?

Savvy student

So my neighbour has an older medium sized cocker spaniel who is a backyard dog. My neighbour will not allow him inside, he is currently sleeping in a plastic dog house (with a badly patched up hole in the roof and no bedding). He is well fed and has water but I'm worried about his lack of shelter and the falling temperatures (it's supposed to fall below freezing this weekend). Should I try talking to the owner, call the ISPCA or just stay out of it?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

The last option is your best bet

Sounds like the dog is well looked after and you just disagree with the dog being outside, but that doesn't constitute animal cruelty.

Lady Haywire

The dog is fine, he's probably more used to being outside than if he had been brought up inside and moved out for the first time. You'd be surprised how well dogs can withstand cold once they have adequate food supplies to regulate their temperature.
If you have any old blankets or stuff I guess it wouldn't hurt to offer them to the neighbour for the dog, just say that you'd prefer to see them being used instead of thrown out. But bear in mind that if they get wet in the doghouse it'd be a lot more uncomfortable for the dog.

Sam Kade

Savvy student wrote: »

So my neighbour has an older medium sized cocker spaniel who is a backyard dog. My neighbour will not allow him inside, he is currently sleeping in a plastic dog house (with a badly patched up hole in the roof and no bedding). He is well fed and has water but I'm worried about his lack of shelter and the falling temperatures (it's supposed to fall below freezing this weekend). Should I try talking to the owner, call the ISPCA or just stay out of it?

How do you know that there is no bedding?

Latatian

Straw can work well because it's easier to dry and the dog can move it around more themselves for their own comfort. The no bedding is the bit I'd have trouble with- maybe talk to the neighbour about that aspect?

VonVix

Why not pull the old "I bought this bed for my/relatives/friends dog but he won't use it, I was wondering if your dog would like it instead?" You wouldn't have to fork out a huge amount for a little guy like a Cocker Spaniel, and you might be able to get an idea of the neighbour's approachability (is that a word?) on the subject of their dog.