Should I Do Something About My Neighbor's Dog?

It's outside from ~7am-9pm every day except Saturday (today the average temp is ~30 degrees F; it'll get much colder). It wouldn't bother me if it was a big, furry dog, but it's a Chihuahua. Looks practically hairless. I tend to mind my own business, but I can hear it barking all the time. A terrible sound, like it's begging to be let in...pierces my heart :(

Should I do something? What? I was thinking about just stealing it and taking it to a no-kill shelter far away, but that seems wrong too.

Dogs don't have souls so I wouldn't worry about it.

In all seriousness it depends how well you know your neighbor and how comfortable you are approaching him/her about this. If it bothers you a whole lot and you're not too intimidated then maybe try to engage in a casual conversation and slip in a "by the way I noticed your dog.." If it's not an approachable person then sadly you'll just have to put up with it.

@ethanielrain: As someone who has worked at a no-kill shelter before, I'd suggest calling one in your area and seeing if anything can be done. Leaving a dog outside all day isn't necessarily illegal if the dog has food and shelter but under the circumstances considering its breed they could get in trouble.

If you live in a place that has animal services (like the RSPCA as we have here in England), call them up about it. I wouldn't bother discussing this with your neighbor or get yourself into trouble by stealing the dog. But get some experts involved if you can.

Uh, pretty sure it's animal abuse to leave your pets out in extreme weather conditions. (At least without the proper precautions taken) I've seen people do this before, and it always breaks my heart. I lived behind an asshole who did this, and I regret never doing anything. If you can approach them and say something, then I encourage you to do so. I usually mind my own business as well, but animals can't speak for themselves so sometimes we have to. There are things that need to be done to prevent harm or distress to a pet in cold weather. It honestly sounds like they don't have the time or commitment to have a pet if they're leaving their dog outside alone for most of the week.

Long-haired or thick-coated dogs tend to be more cold-tolerant, but are still at risk in cold weather. Short-haired pets feel the cold faster because they have less protection, and short-legged pets may become cold faster because their bellies and bodies are more likely to come into contact with snow-covered ground.

Cats and dogs should be kept inside during cold weather. It’s a common belief that dogs and cats are resistant than people to cold weather because of their fur, but it’s untrue. Like people, cats and dogs are susceptible to frostbite and hypothermia and should be kept inside. Longer-haired and thick-coated dog breeds, such as huskies and other dogs bred for colder climates, are more tolerant of cold weather; but no pet should be left outside for long periods of time in below-freezing weather.

That's terrible :( I would definitely tell someone about it. You never want to not do something and have something bad happen and it could have been prevented.

That is beyond not cool. Kudos to you for trying to help the poor lil one.

I feel your pain.

My neighbours are on their 4th dog in 3 years - The other three have all been run over on the road, chasing cars. This crowd don't seem to have any comprehension of even basic training and fences or gates to their property are an alien concept.

In the last few months I've seen their 4th dog starting to adopt the same traits as the other three and he's beginning to chase cars. I'm seriously thinking about notifying someone in authority.

He's a lovely dog as well, it's just such a shame that there's no one there to look after him properly.

Has a chihuahua and keeps it outside in cold weather? Your neighbor doesn't sound right or reasonable.

You should phone your countries equivalent to the SSPCA.

If its as bad as you say I wouldn't personally approach the owners or do something more drastic. Even though I'm usually always in favor of that, in this situation it could go really bad for you. I'd call animal services.

Personally I'm really annoyed with people having dogs who don't want to or have the ability to give them the attention they need or deserve. I see lots of it. If it's not this it's have a dog cooped up in an apartment all the time or have some large dog who is made to run in the open cooped up in a house all the time like its an indoor dog.

When I hear about people like this I just gotta ask- what the fuck is the point of owning a pet if you're gonna not care about it?

Your first instinct was to commit a crime by stealing the dog and taking it to a shelter instead of trying to talk to your neighbor?

There's the SPCA option people have mentioned. If the dog's barking is fairly incessant and loud, you could also bring this up with your neighbour, maybe request they keep the dog inside more often to keep the noise to a minimum. That or contact your local council or whatever about the noise and maybe they'll contact the neighbour and suggest keeping the dog inside etc. Could potentially alleviate the issue without necessarily being as confrontational as suggesting there is animal cruelty being perpetrated.

Probably don't have 'steal the dog' as your first course of action though.

One of my pets is a small dog breed and it makes me angry just reading your post. I would call animal services or something like that ASAP.

Call animal services/the RSPCA/whichever local animal welfare is responsible in your country. Alternatively call the police and make an anonymous noise complaint.

Alternatively go to your neighbor and talk to them? Although if they turn out to be assholes and then the police "anonymously" turn up, they're going to know it was you. So maybe call someone first.

Well it could always end up going like this.

He steals the dog.

But yeah call the RSPCA or equivalent.

EDIT: She steals the dog. (girlfriend) it's been awhile since i've watched the show. ;p

Steal the dog, dude. Absolutely the right move.

....don't steal the dog.

Do something, sure. Talk to the neighbour, notify authorities, whatever. But don't steal the dog.

Definitely call animal services. I personally would not bother talking to the neighbor because I never trust people to act reasonably when you're confronting them about something. Stealing the dog should definitely be a last resort but I certainly wouldn't judge you for doing so.

I would try calling professionals first though.

Alright my dudes, we've got a whole page of people offering almost identical advice so i'm going to lock this one up. OP, we hope everything works out. Good luck.