Must rant or I'm afraid the vein in my neck will burst.

Mr. & Mrs. X just had a baby. They decide that it's not healthy to keep their Chocolate Lab in the house (which they got from a breeder 9 years ago), so they tie the Lab to a tree in the back yard 24h/day, rain or shine. After 7 days, the dog had severe skin infections, stomach parasites and insect bites. The dog was taken away by a friend of Mr. X, given veterinary care and nursed back to health for 3 months.

Now Mr. X says he "misses his best friend" and wants the Lab back. Legally the Lab is still his. To make matters worse, the friend who was keeping the Lab is a complete spineless turd and agrees to give it back.

I've tried repeatedly to convince the spineless turd not to give the Lab back, but he just says "the dog belongs to Mr. X".

I don't know what else to say. Should I get involved? Is there some legal recourse... some agency that can ban Mr. X from getting the Lab back? Should I take the law into my own hands? Or should I not get involved? (I told myself I wouldn't kill any more people this year.)

Argh. My neck vein is about to join your neck vein in bursting.

However, thanks to Animal Planet and Animal Precinct, I do know you do have some recourse. IMHO, what Mr. X did to his dog constitutes animal abuse since the poor creature was chained to a tree 24/7 without any attention. If you report Mr. X to the ASPCA (I see you live in NYC), they can investigate the matter. If the dog ends up chained to a tree again, he could be in real trouble.

I'd say contact the ASPCA.

http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/animalprecinct/synopsis.html

Does the dog get tied where you can get at him/her?

Does the dog get chained where you can get at him/her?

great minds think alike. you know, dogs go "missing" all the time.:sealed:

Heh heh. :shifty: Right now she's here in NY, but in 2 weeks she goes back to South Carolina. I'm not sure if tying a dog to a tree is considered animal cruelty in SC. But if it comes to that again, I'm more than happy to make a lil road trip in the middle of the night. *dusts off night vision goggles*

AmySF, better put an ice pack on your neck. I think this is about to get interesting. Mr. X is a friggin heart surgeon with a $2.5mil house. Somehow I doubt anyone will believe he's an animal abuser. But I may give the local ASPCA a call anyway just for laughs.

Find out what vet the dog was taken to by the friend and give that info to the ASPCA as well. It can serve as evidence against Mr. X, especially if the ASPCA determines that this is indeed abuse. Remember as an animal owner (I wouldn't dignify him with a better title), a person is required to provide adequate, clean food and water, shelter from the elements (a sweater and vari-kennel is not adequate, as my previous neighbors tried) and veterinary care (if an animal has a skin infection and intestinal parasites, the owner must get vet care or will be found to be neglectful). Unfortunately, environmental enrichment is not a requirement, though it should be. It doesn't matter how much the person makes or what the house is worth, if you don't provide for an animal, you can be found guilty of neglect and member of the ASPCA seem to be tougher on people who SHOULD know better. Good luck, I hope you manage to get the dog rescued.

great minds think alike. you know, dogs go "missing" all the time.:sealed:

My thoughts exactly. Of course, it might be better to get the ASPCA on his worthless butt, because scumbags like this have a habit of just replacing the dog with another.

AmySF, better put an ice pack on your neck. I think this is about to get interesting. Mr. X is a friggin heart surgeon with a $2.5mil house. Somehow I doubt anyone will believe he's an animal abuser. But I may give the local ASPCA a call anyway just for laughs.

Cameras don't lie.

All that money and he can't afford a friggin dog run, some hay, and a house for his beloved dog that he just must have back? That guy makes me want to puke. I've called the local animal protection on a few people in my town and they refused to help. I ended up buying of the dogs (which probably isn't an option in this case) and the other two I just took. If he is some upstanding rich guy, then dognapping may be the only option. I'm still disgusted that someone with that much money can't manage to afford vet care. I make flippin $6.25 an hour and I manage to take all of my dogs to the vet and provide them with proper care. Lets tie him up to a tree for a few weeks and see how he likes being rained on. :whack:
CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA 1976

TITLE 47. ANIMALS, LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY
CHAPTER 1. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

§ 47-1-40. Ill-treatment of animals generally.

(A) Whoever overloads, overdrives, overworks, or ill-treats any animal, or deprives any animal of necessary sustenance or shelter, or inflicts unnecessary pain or suffering upon any animal, or causes these things to be done, for every offense is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished by imprisonment not exceeding sixty days or by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than four hundred dollars for a first offense; by imprisonment not exceeding ninety days or by a fine not exceeding eight hundred dollars, or both, for a second offense; or by imprisonment not exceeding two years or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, or both, for a third or subsequent offense. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a first offense under this subsection shall be tried in magistrate's court.

(B) Whoever tortures, torments, needlessly mutilates, cruelly kills, or inflicts excessive or repeated unnecessary pain or suffering upon any animal or causes the acts to be done for any of the offenses is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished by imprisonment of not less than one hundred eighty days and not to exceed two years and by a fine of five thousand dollars.

(C) This section does not apply to fowl, accepted animal husbandry practices of farm operations, the training of animals, the practice of veterinary medicine, or activity authorized by Title 50.

Unfortunately, there is no tether law in SC.

Although there could be local laws.

I've called the local animal protection on a few people in my town and they refused to help. I ended up buying of the dogs (which probably isn't an option in this case) and the other two I just took.

Fruitarian_Girl rocks!

I'm already deep into planning the evil deed.

I'm afraid in cases like this, the law doesn't do much. The fact that animal cruelty's a misdemeanor (and not a felony) in SC tells me their legal/court system isn't very progressive. Thanks for that info. Btw, what's up with that subsection (C) crap??? So it's ok to overload, overdrive, overwork, or ill-treat an animal if it's on a farm, in a circus or if it's a chicken? :stinkeye:

Btw, what's up with that subsection (C) crap??? So it's ok to overload, overdrive, overwork, or ill-treat an animal if it's on a farm, in a circus or if it's a chicken? :stinkeye:


I hate that farm animal abuse gets a pass because it's part of an industry's "accepted" practices. It's wrong to abuse animals, no matter the tradition. :whack:

great minds think alike. you know, dogs go "missing" all the time.:sealed:

I was going to say the same thing.....I've committed a few "dognappings" over the years. Sometimes it's the only way to get an animal out of a bad situation. One of our pigs is "hot".....the day I was at the pig sanctuary looking to adopt, a guy pulled up with her in the back of his car and said he had just stolen her from his neighbors because they were abusing her. He had pictures and everything, but the local Animal Control didn't seem to care....he begged me to take her, because he knew the owner would eventually come looking for her at the pig sanctuary. So, four years later she is fat and sassy and happy with us!

What is it with people that think they need to get rid of their pet when they have a baby?? I see that all the time, and it makes no sense to me....

Btw, what's up with that subsection (C) crap??? So it's ok to overload, overdrive, overwork, or ill-treat an animal if it's on a farm, in a circus or if it's a chicken? :stinkeye:

No its only ok if is an accepted farm practice. Didn't you know that if large groups of people agree that it must be ok?:rolleyes:

BTW I vote for contacting the ASPCA.

Whatever happened with this?

The New York ASPCA will be glad to investingate this. ASPCA had a show with a similiar incident about a Preacher leaving a dog out who became infested with ticks. Sooo if a preacher can be arrested for such abuse, which he was, this guy will most certainly be held responsible. Give us an update.

Hey gang, sorry I haven't given you an update... mainly because there is no update. As it stands, the pooch is still with the rescuer :) . For the past few days I've really been hammering the "don't take the dog back" stance. Maybe it's sinking in.

I doubt Mr. X will resort to a court order to get his dog back (because that would stir up the truth), so unless the rescuer voluntarily gives the dog back, I think we'll be ok.

TreePol, that's encouraging to hear what the NY ASPCA is willing to do. If things get nasty, I'll definitely give them a call 1st. But I'm afraid this might fall into North Carolina jurisdiction, which I'm sure is not as progressive as the northeast, based on what Fruitarian_Girl posted. :-/

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but at the same time I'm preparing for a full out guerilla war. :shifty:

Anyone who is preparing for a war should read "The Art of War", by Sun Tzu. You need to extrapolate of course. It is the oldest war treatise in the world (2'400 years old) and many of the points it makes are still valid today. You can find the full text on the internet if you don't want to buy the book.

^ Great suggestion, Diana. I found an excellent translation with footnotes & comments here: http://www.puppetpress.com/classics/artofwar.htm