So angry, I want to kick someone

[trystinn]

This summer, on the corner diagonal from us, a new neighbor moved in. Now, personally, we haven't had any issues with this guy - seems fine, works odd hours at the Naval base (he's a sailor), but the rest of the neighborhood is ready to hang him by his short hairs for being too loud at night. Seems the guy has a converted garage workshop where he works on power tools all hours of the night and likes to listen to headbanger music while he does so. But as I said, we haven't had any issues with him since we couldn't hear any of it, just heard the complaints from the neighbors.


Around 11 o'clock, when I was getting ready for bed, I started hearing this dreadful squealing noise. Like a small dog had been run over and left in the road, that was my very thought. I'm a bit of a pessimist, so I tried to figure out where the noise was coming from. Got up, walked the house, checked the dogs who were very nervous at the noises. For another fifteen minutes, I hoped it was a minor issue - someone let a dog out to do its business, now its whining to get in. Something innocent and temporary. Another ten minutes of screaming noise. Shit. Something is definately wrong.

So I bundle on my coat & hat, grab a leash, a towel and a flashlight, do a quick check on our dogs - though they were restless they were all inside and fine. Then I head out into the cold and find the idiot on the corner is the problem. He had tied what looks like an 8 week old puppy, pitbull/terrier mix of some kind outside on his front porch. No shelter, no water, no food - nothing. Just tied up a small puppy that's screaming on his front porch for a half hour.

Now a new flash: Its 40 degrees outside and sleeting. He's left a shivering, screaming puppy outside on the night the local news is telling us to expect snow day school outages and possibly, the Navy will close our base for the day. Rough night out there.

I try to get the puppy to come to me, kneel down near the edge of the porch. But its frightened, shivering and still yelping. It has on what I call a vanity collar - completely useless and way too loose. Plus, the cord used to tie the dog to the porch is completely caught up around the porch supports, so the pup can barely sit down, its wrapped up so high. Finally after ten minutes or so, the owner comes out, confused. I mention I've been listening to the dog for a half hour across the street and the puppy is clearly unhappy being outside. His response? The puppy has only been out ten minutes, what's the problem? Doesn't even fix the leash to let the poor thing out of its misery. I re-state the obvious: Its too cold for a dog of its age and type to be outside in this weather. Putz laughs at me and tells me he'll bring the dog inside and does so.

Fucking asshole. This does not bode well."

Comments

[wildcelticrose.livejournal.com]

I don't know how animal control is funding in her County, I'm down state a bit, and we have no "animal control"; it's done through the Humane Society, and they are too underfunded and out of their league to do anything in the way of animal control here. When I was working private security, there was a dog locked in a car with no ventilation on a very hot day in distress who could have died easily. Since it was a weekend, you could only leave a message for animal control. As I was about to call the police, (unlike some states, it's illegal to break a car window to save an animal here) the nasty owners came out (and wasn't that a pretty altercation).

I NEVER received a return call from "animal control".

Unless her county has a lot more money than mine does, and/or actually gives a crap. Nothing will be done, and that's sad.

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

As far as funding goes: Not likely. We have a great group called WAIF that handles animal problems, all three of our dogs are WAIF rescues.

Island county is pretty poor, all things considered. What we do have around here, is a sort of community mob mentality, where we handle our own problems. At night, with bb guns and flashlights.