Should I call the Humane Society?

Cidney

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#1
My stubborn father-n-law has a 14 year old lab mix that is in really bad shape. He rescued the lab when she was a a few years old and has always been a healthy dog with a thick coat of hair. I recently went over the my father-n-laws house and was in complete shock over the way the dog now looks. The dog is old now, alot thinner, has apparent hip problems and the most alarming thing is she virtually has no fur. They only places she does have fur is where she can not scratch or bite. She has scabs and open sores from her constant bitting and scratching. per my FIL, she has allergies - whatever! I was heart broken to see this dog that way and she just wasnt the same when I saw her, she seemed to be in pain.

I called my FIL the next day and offered to pay for all of the vet care, offered to pick the dog up my self to take to the vet but he insist the dog is fine. My FIL is retired and lives on a very limited income and is an alcholoic.

I am so angry about this and my husband is too afraid to go to his house and take the dog from him. My FIL lives in a part of down that most are barely scraping by and a hairless skinny wobbly dog isnt too much of a concern, I told my hubby if his dad lived in a different neigborhood, someone would have already called the humane society. I want to save that dog and do whatever is necessary. I have a strong feeling my FIL knows if he took that dog to the vet, the vet would ask questions and maybe have him arrested for dog abuse. What should I do, should I call the humane society? I should try to work this out with him somehow because if the humane society shows up at his door he is going to know I had something to do with it. The only thing now is he is avoiding us as much as he can. I just dont know what to do.
 

Adrienne

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#2
WOW! That is a tough situation. At the risk of making our FIL really ticked off at you I would still contact the humane society. Either that or just go and take the dog, treat it, and bring it back to him. If he is an alcholic and set in his ways anything you do is going to be wrong in his eyes most likely so it is an ethical question, not one of whose feelings will be injured. If the dog is in pain and suffering you have an obligation to do something about it as you already know. Pick the lesser of two evils, whatever that may be and get the dog the help it needs.
Good luck to you, I can sympathize. I have had to call child protection services on our old neighbors, they lived in filth with their two small children. Eventually they leared it was me who called on them twice and now they have moved away. I worry about those kids everyday because I am sure nothing has changed. When they moved out and the house was being cleaned by me and my landlord we found broken glass in two places on the floor of the children's room, old hotdog chuncks in the corners, crayon in the fridge, all sorts of nasty stuff.
 
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#3
I think I'd call the authorities. It's not abuse, and I can understand how the dog's situation could get out of control, especially with a an older man without much money and with a drinking problem, but rejecting your offer to help the dog was just wrong. He's probably going to be furious with you, but if he's at all a good person, he'll be a little relieved someone took care of the dog and that was off his conscience.
 
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#4
firstly, let me state that either you or AC should get help for the dog.

I will make a couple of points though - which may or may not come into consideration though.

Firstly, is your FIL a proud man? He may know the dog needs help but may be too proud to accept help...he may also be ashamed of how far the dog has gone or any number of reasons. If that's the case, perhaps an offer to
dog-sit for a couple of weeks would a) help the dog and b) allow him a bit of dignity in the matter.

Secondly - and this is just for consideration only - at 14, this dog isn't going to end up in a new home if he's taken away....and even if he did, everything that dog's known for about a decade is now gone. And if the dog was given a choice, he'd probably want to stay in the home he knows, with the person he loves.

Don't get me wrong, some intervention is needed here but I think my ramblings are pointing more towards trying to help the dog yourselves in as tactful a way as possible. If that doesn't work and you're satisfied you've done everything you can, then AC should be brought into it.

Andrew
 

Zoom

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#5
He may also be in denial of how bad the dog is because of how old it is. He may think that if he takes it to the vet, the vet will tell him he needs to put the dog down because of it's age and arthritis and he doesn't want to deal with that.

Or it really may just be allergies. You be amazed how bad a dog can look with a skin allergy. At least talk him into switching to an allergen free food for a while and see if that helps any.
 

Cidney

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#6
Shoot, I am more confused now, you are right, calling the Humane Society isn't really a solution, they will put her down for sure. I think the only thing that can happen is my husband is going to have to get involved with this more weather he likes it or not. Today is my FIL birthday, maybe we can offer to pay the vet bill to get the dog fixed up as his birthday present. I or he can tell the vet the dog is a stray so maybe that way he will not have animal neglect charges or whatever they might do. I know my FIL cares for the dog, she is his companion but I dont think he sees how bad the dog looks and I think he is embrassed by not being able to properly take care of her. I will let you know who this turns out, I am not giving up.
 
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#7
I hope everything works out. It's definately complicated because family is involved but if you and your husband go about it in a way that keep's FIL's pride in tact, then hopefully he'll allow his dog to get checked out and helped out.

Again, good luck and I hope it goes better than expected!
 

filarotten

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#8
Since today is your fil's birthday maybe your husband could take him to lunch for a few hours. You could go get the dog and take it to the vet without him knowing.
 
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#9
AndrewF said:
firstly, let me state that either you or AC should get help for the dog.

I will make a couple of points though - which may or may not come into consideration though.

Firstly, is your FIL a proud man? He may know the dog needs help but may be too proud to accept help...he may also be ashamed of how far the dog has gone or any number of reasons. If that's the case, perhaps an offer to
dog-sit for a couple of weeks would a) help the dog and b) allow him a bit of dignity in the matter.

Secondly - and this is just for consideration only - at 14, this dog isn't going to end up in a new home if he's taken away....and even if he did, everything that dog's known for about a decade is now gone. And if the dog was given a choice, he'd probably want to stay in the home he knows, with the person he loves.

Don't get me wrong, some intervention is needed here but I think my ramblings are pointing more towards trying to help the dog yourselves in as tactful a way as possible. If that doesn't work and you're satisfied you've done everything you can, then AC should be brought into it.

Andrew
I agree with this totally. I think I would just face the man and take the dog. Getting the law in on family has nasty returns that can last for life. Sounds like the ole man needs help too.
 
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#10
filarotten said:
Since today is your fil's birthday maybe your husband could take him to lunch for a few hours. You could go get the dog and take it to the vet without him knowing.

Always leave it up to a woman to come up with something sneaky. Good idea though lol
 

sparks19

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#11
Zoom said:
He may also be in denial of how bad the dog is because of how old it is. He may think that if he takes it to the vet, the vet will tell him he needs to put the dog down because of it's age and arthritis and he doesn't want to deal with that.

Or it really may just be allergies. You be amazed how bad a dog can look with a skin allergy. At least talk him into switching to an allergen free food for a while and see if that helps any.

This is exactly what i was thinking too. I mean the dog is 14 that is OLD. Especially for most labs these days. Maybe he does know that if the dog goes to the vet it likely won't be coming out. I'm sure he doesn't want to put his dog down. Is he single? If he is then this is probably his only friend. The only thing keeping him sane. Maybe he doesn't want to lose that.

I think everyone else has given you pretty good advice here i hope it helps
 

Julie

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#13
Under these circumstances calling authorities will probably end the dogs life. And I for one believe this dog his the right to live his life with your FIL.

That is not to say you shouldn't intervene. First of all, flip the dog over, and see if he has fleas, if he is covered, use some frontline plus on him, but first give him a good bath in some oatmeal and gentle shampoo. Give him a good dose of dewormer, maybe safegard for dogs. If he has fleas, that is probably what is causing hair loss, frontline also kills mites. And give FIL a bottle of linatone plus or equivalent to put on his food.

Since the dog is so old, the best bet would be for a vet examination, underlying health problems could also be the culprit. But if this is not a possible solution for you, then you could at least help the dog with physical effort and products obtainable without a vet. I mean if you come over, bath the dog, and slide some meds on him, he will never even know what you are doing, besides just bathing him.

The vet visit would be best, but if you can't do that, then please try to find a solution that will help the dog, He deserves to live where he knows, and probably loves in the last days of his life. And he also deserves to be comfortable.

Another thing, an asprin a day can help with arthritus, if you do a google search, there are certain kinds that are better for dogs, can't remember.
But I bet your FIL wouldn't object to giving that for arthritus, especially if it came from you or your husband and not a vet.

Please give us an update.

Will be thinking of you all.

Best of Luck,
Julie.
 
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#14
I agree with the taking it into your own hands. Don't get the shelter people involved or the dog will be put down. See if he has fleas!!! That might be his only problem!!! If he has fleas, treat it and get him on flea preventative. If he's so skinny, get him some canned food and good nutrients. He doesn't have much time left, anyway, and you're poor FIL knows that and he's probably his only buddy... so sad...
ETA: If he doesn't have fleas, he may have mange and need to go to a vet.
 

Saje

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#15
Are you afraid of you FIL? How would he react if you just showed up and bathed the dog or whatever it needs. Would he even notice if you switched food? If you can do that I would. If not I would do it the sneaky way and just take the dog. When it's in better health it can be returned if you think he's capable of taking care of it. it all depends on what kind of alcholic he is.
 

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