Advise Please - Dog left on small balcony all day

Mandser

Hi, just looking for advise please.  
I live in an apartment block, and one apartment occupier regularly leaves their dog (breed unknown but looks like a cocker spaniel/cavalier type cross) on their very small balcony for large amounts of time.  I think it is a small one/two bed apartment, just for reference as to size of the property and the dog sits on top of a table barking and howling at everything that goes by.  I am by no means complaining about the dog, I have grown up with many pets so am aware of the attention and love they need.  In particular, the dog was left outside yesterday evening from approx 5pm to 10pm and it was absolutely freezing.  The dog is most likely left outside while the owners are not at home and bring him in when they return.  there are times when the dog can be left out for a whole weekend at a time and he is obviously lonely/freezing.  There is no indication they leave him to sleep outside during the night, I assume he sleeps inside. 
Have you had to deal with a situation such as this before? Any advise is welcome.  I would prefer not to go down the DSPCA route as I do not want the dog to be taken away from its owners if it is otherwise healthy and looked after.  A letter advising them of the dogs distress?

Mandser

Mandser wrote: »

Hi, just looking for advise please.
I live in an apartment block, and one apartment occupier regularly leaves their dog (breed unknown but looks like a cocker spaniel/cavalier type cross) on their very small balcony for large amounts of time. I think it is a small one/two bed apartment, just for reference as to size of the property and the dog sits on top of a table barking and howling at everything that goes by. I am by no means complaining about the dog, I have grown up with many pets so am aware of the attention and love they need. In particular, the dog was left outside yesterday evening from approx 5pm to 10pm and it was absolutely freezing. The dog is most likely left outside while the owners are not at home and bring him in when they return. there are times when the dog can be left out for a whole weekend at a time and he is obviously lonely/freezing. There is no indication they leave him to sleep outside during the night, I assume he sleeps inside.
Have you had to deal with a situation such as this before? Any advise is welcome. I would prefer not to go down the DSPCA route as I do not want the dog to be taken away from its owners if it is otherwise healthy and looked after. A letter advising them of the dogs distress?

OMG that's just awful, hearing stuff like this makes me so angry. Why do people have dogs if there is nobody to mind them all day long? Poor dog must be freezing in this weather. You are right to ask for advice here, something needs to be done.

Mandser

I would love to have a dog in Dublin, my own dog lives on a farm down the country and is very happy with all the fields he has to run through, but I will never get one if I dont have ample space for them to enjoy life and not be confined to small spaces.  Its very cruel that they feel the need to have a dog just for show as such when they leave him on a balcony all by himself day in day out.  Also, the balcony is not sheltered or covered over so rain/wind/snow etc will get to the poor thing

Bells21

Even if it's not sleeping outside, they are supposed to have access to shelter. I'm assuming that there isn't a dog house or anything available? Is the balcony open? If the dog is able to get onto the table it could easily jump a railing etc if it gets excited by something passing?
They definitely need to be made aware but they may not feel the need to address the situation as they may not see anything wrong with the set up.

em_cat

Mandser wrote: »

Hi, just looking for advise please.  
I live in an apartment block, and one apartment occupier regularly leaves their dog (breed unknown but looks like a cocker spaniel/cavalier type cross) on their very small balcony for large amounts of time.  I think it is a small one/two bed apartment, just for reference as to size of the property and the dog sits on top of a table barking and howling at everything that goes by.  I am by no means complaining about the dog, I have grown up with many pets so am aware of the attention and love they need.  In particular, the dog was left outside yesterday evening from approx 5pm to 10pm and it was absolutely freezing.  The dog is most likely left outside while the owners are not at home and bring him in when they return.  there are times when the dog can be left out for a whole weekend at a time and he is obviously lonely/freezing.  There is no indication they leave him to sleep outside during the night, I assume he sleeps inside. 
Have you had to deal with a situation such as this before? Any advise is welcome.  I would prefer not to go down the DSPCA route as I do not want the dog to be taken away from its owners if it is otherwise healthy and looked after.  A letter advising them of the dogs distress?

Do you know the people? Are they approachable? If so, a non judgemental talk or note that mentions the situation is highly distressful for the dog & neighbours.

It’s likely developing or has developed severe separation anxiety (which is probably why they put it outside when away) and it will only get worse for the dog & neighbours if not addressed properly.

Leaving a dog on the balcony to bark & howl for any length of time is cruel & also most likely contravenes the owners or tenant lease.

You may need to write to your managing agent or directly to your management company if you are an owner occupier or to your landlord if you rent.

We’ve had to deal with this type of situation in our development. Usually the owners get it sorted appropriately or rehomes the dog.

Do something sooner rather than later.
The temperatures over the next few days are sub zero even during the day . A dog died last night after being outside the back door of a house all night long.


Leave a note on their door saying the ISPCA will be contacted immediately if dog continues to be left out. It might be enough to change the situation. I’d also ring ISPCA if I was you or local dog warden. Maybe the dog is with the wrong family anyway!
(I rang ISPCA over Christmas about donkeys in a field with no food or shelter . They were brilliant and followed it up straight away )

5rtytry56

OP the resident of the property on the balcony where the poor animal is perched may possibly have personal issues. The resident may have special needs or a dependent of theirs may have special needs... a special need which is aggravated by weather such as this. I agree with the previous poster. Maybe have a neutral chat if at all possible and remember not to go in 'hammer and thongs'. Good Luck.

TJ Mackie

5rtytry56 wrote: »

OP the resident of the property on the balcony where the poor animal is perched may possibly have personal issues. The resident may have special needs or a dependent of theirs may have special needs... a special need which is aggravated by weather such as this. I agree with the previous poster. Maybe have a neutral chat if at all possible and remember not to go in 'hammer and thongs'. Good Luck.

Fúck that.

Personal issues and/or special needs is no excuse for leaving a dog outside in this weather. It's animal cruelty.

Well maybe they shouldn’t have a dog ......even if they have special needs ?
This is an animal welfare issue. You do NOT get a dog to leave it outside all day every day on a tiny balcony . What has that got to do with someone with special needs ? ?

Taking the softly softly approach is not in the dogs best interest in this weather and will probably cause that animal increaased suffering in these temperatures.

As I just mentioned a dog died last night and it’s is all over the Animal Welfare websites and vets websites today highlighting to take your dogs in !!!

em_cat

5rtytry56 wrote: »

OP the resident of the property on the balcony where the poor animal is perched may possibly have personal issues. The resident may have special needs or a dependent of theirs may have special needs... a special need which is aggravated by weather such as this. I agree with the previous poster. Maybe have a neutral chat if at all possible and remember not to go in 'hammer and thongs'. Good Luck.

TBH a lot of pet owners have all sorts of personal issues &/or disabilities & if you had bothered to read the entire OP post you would have recognised that the dog is being left out on the balcony only when the owners are out...

While I agree that they should be approached in a non judgemental way first, however, if it proves that they are ignorant or wilfully cruel then... it wouldn’t be appropriate to post what I’d be inclined to do.

Mandser

5rtytry56 wrote: »

OP the resident of the property on the balcony where the poor animal is perched may possibly have personal issues. The resident may have special needs or a dependent of theirs may have special needs... a special need which is aggravated by weather such as this.  I agree with the previous poster.  Maybe have a neutral chat if at all possible and remember not to go in 'hammer and thongs'.  Good Luck.

I dont agree with this at all.  if anyone has special needs then they have a special needs trained animal in their care and would not be parted from them.  this is simply a case of neglect.  So this week, the owners arre clearly at home due to the snow and the dog is inside.  However Tuesday evening the dog was on the balcony in the snow waiting for the owners to come home, he stopped barking at about 7pm so they must have returned.  I will try to go down the note route, or speaking to them, I do not know them at all and do not know where the entrance is to their apartment but I will ask the management company to advise

Mandser

em_cat wrote: »

5rtytry56 wrote: »

OP the resident of the property on the balcony where the poor animal is perched may possibly have personal issues. The resident may have special needs or a dependent of theirs may have special needs... a special need which is aggravated by weather such as this.  I agree with the previous poster.  Maybe have a neutral chat if at all possible and remember not to go in 'hammer and thongs'.  Good Luck.

TBH a lot of pet owners have all sorts of personal issues &/or disabilities & if you had bothered to read the entire OP post you would have recognised that the dog is being left out on the balcony only when the owners are out...

While I agree that they should be approached in a non judgemental way first, however, if it proves that they are ignorant or wilfully cruel then... it wouldn’t be appropriate to post what I’d be inclined to do.

Em-Cat I would be tempted to take the poor dog away from them if they continue, I cannot abide cruelty to animals! if it persists, then I will report to DSPCA

Mandser

thank you all for your advise, Im hoping a gentle chat or note will solve the issue and if not I will escalate to the correct authorities

Jerichoholic

5rtytry56 wrote: »

OP the resident of the property on the balcony where the poor animal is perched may possibly have personal issues. The resident may have special needs or a dependent of theirs may have special needs... a special need which is aggravated by weather such as this. I agree with the previous poster. Maybe have a neutral chat if at all possible and remember not to go in 'hammer and thongs'. Good Luck.

Or maybe they are just assholes? I'm going with that. Ring a Friends of Animals or a dog shelter, they will give you some proper advice.

em_cat

Mandser wrote: »

Em-Cat I would be tempted to take the poor dog away from them if they continue, I cannot abide cruelty to animals! if it persists, then I will report to DSPCA

Same here, but what they are doing unfortunately isn’t against the law per se, but it is cruel, so not sure if there’s legal ground to remove.

Keep a detailed log so when you write to the managing agent they can monitor the situation.

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