Stupid carnival

One of our town's busiest roads was shut down today so that a huge carnival procession could go through. They shut it off at 12 and won't be reopening it until after 6, despite the fact that there's a hospital close by and the diversions from the procession are bound to cause traffic jams at rush hour.

Anyway, as the procession was going past our house, I looked out of the window and saw that somebody had tied their collie up to a lamp post, barely five metres away from the road. It was pouring with rain, the procession was extremely noisy, and the poor dog was throwing itself against the lead in panic. I went out to sit with the dog until the owner came back, but she didn't even acknowledge that anything was wrong.

Why would somebody even leave their dog tied up, unattended? Let alone in the pouring rain when a procession is scheduled.

*sigh* Good for you Eleanor.

I just don't understand what could possess somebody to do that

No, neither do I; especially with a collie - they are such sensitive souls.

Well done Eleanor. Wasn't the owner lucky that you weren't a dog thief, but only a kindly soul comforting her poor dog.

I would have taken it home and called the pound saying it was abandoned. So cruel.

I don't think Dempsey would've approved!

Beats me! Some people just shouldn't be allowed to have dogs.

The dog wardens here tend not to take their roles very seriously. Unless the dog has been there for hours, is injured or aggressive, they usually don't want to know.

Hopefully it's not something the owner makes a habit out of.

Most people don't think, unfortunately.

I don't know about dog laws in the UK or SA, but here it's quite plain where dog laws are concerned..... over 30c, a chained up dog, they will watch, then take an unattended dog. 30c in a car! They will smash windows to get a dog out & you'd be in court. Both the public & law , a dog left more than 24hrs without a human visit, food, fresh water, shelter, etc, your dog will be taken.

You wouldn't leave your dog unattended here for long, no matter if its hot or cold.

That would count as an obvious sign of distress/injury, though. All authorities over here would take notice of that. It isn't against the law to tie a dog to a lamp post, so they wouldn't/shouldn't come out if a dog has only been there for five minutes, unless there's cause for concern. If a dog is left in a car, police will come straight out when they're called.

The dog I was sitting with was on his own for about fifteen/twenty minutes. I strongly disagree with leaving a dog tied up like that anyway, but it's not something people are likely to call the RSPCA over, even though it's illegal.

Dogs are left on their own all over the world because certain owners refuse to look at the risks associated with it. Personally, I feel that no dog should be left unattended in public. It's just asking for trouble.

Eleanor wrote: Personally, I feel that no dog should be left unattended in public. It's just asking for trouble.

Totally agree!

Me too! Not least of all because there seems to be an increase of dog theft around

I don't think I could bear it if somebody stole Demps.

Unless I am in eye sight of both mine. I never leave them. I also carry a collapsible dog bowl & water in my backpack on walks but... Luckily, if I only have one, my local shop owners let me (us) bring them in & the local cops just turn their heads away to the side. They see nothing, as they too have puppies. Unless you met a rookie, nose up, I'm the law nuff nuff. (Who in generally taken down a peg by their senior.)

Here it's.... if your dogs behave, our cops don't see or know how to write fines. Within reason.

Demps has never been left alone in public. I'd be a nervous wreck if I had to leave him tied up outside a shop even for one minute. I'd worry that he'd get stolen, eat something off of the floor or twist himself up in his lead and hurt himself.

Our police are quite mixed. Some are a little wary of dogs, so we had a couple of officers asking what breed he was when he was younger, checking to see if he was an APBT. Most actually love him, though! I think we've lost count of how many patrol cars have pulled up so that the officers inside can say hello to Demps! In general, though, they do seem to take dog-related safety quite seriously. It tends to be the animal authorities which can be a bit off sometimes.

He's been let inside shops occasionally, but usually one of us just waits outside with him. I remember a camping trip in Yorkshire a few years ago. It was a scorching hot day and Demps was starting to suffer, as there wasn't much shade. I was standing with him outside a shop when I saw that the shop had very kindly put a water bowl by the window. Led Demps over to it so that he could have a drink and the poor little guy drank the whole lot! One of the shop workers saw and was nice enough to come outside and refill it for him, as Demps was still thirsty.

Mine are not left unattended.  I can either see them, bring them into the shop or I can see them on cctv. Our cops are great with dogs were I live. They love them & the fact we can take them safely to the shops.  But there is also a lady that walks 2 GSD that are not social, & she cannot control them so...

If we both walk, (con & I) one of us always stays with the dogs. We had a spate of dogs being stolen for bait dogs here 2 yrs or so ago. No way were they getting Tyson, nor was I going to stop our walks because of them.

Isn't it sad that people have to be so cautious about it all? All because some sick scum bags go around stealing dogs.

Yes, is my response.

Yes is also my response!