Gone Baby Gone

An interesting conundrum was presented to me today; what do you do when you know of an animal that is being poorly treated, but not badly enough that Animal Control can, or will, get involved?

In many municipalities, access to food/water/shelter are just about all you need to be in legal compliance of the law. Obviously they will step in when there are extreme and obvious signs of abuse or neglect, but what do you do when it’s bad enough to be objectionable, but not bad enough to be illegal?

Today I was contacted by a woman, “Natalie”, whose neighbor’s dog, a sweet, female, pit bull, had gotten into her yard. When the neighbors realized the dog had gotten out, and Natalie let them know that their dog was in her yard, he came over, yelling at the dog to “come here” at the top of his lungs. Upon hearing his voice, the dog allegedly cowered under a chair and started shaking. Not necessarily indicative of anything, right? She could just be a fearful dog. But then he proceeded to grab the dog by her scruff and mention that he was going to beat her when he got home. So here are the two issues: 1) Animal Control will not keep Natalie’s name anonymous (she knows this from having previously called on these neighbors, and then suffered retaliation from the neighbors as a result). 2) Many times, Animal Control will not investigate based on something that a complainant simply overheard. So what, Natalie asked, can she do?

There are a few avenues she can take, none of which, most likely, will result in any sort of action as long as the dogs basic needs of food/water/shelter are being met, especially if Animal Control does not actually witness any sort of abuse. Even in times when a witness will tell Animal Control that they saw someone hitting their dog, Animal Control is often bound in terms of any sort of action they can take. Remember, in many states, animals are property - not living creatures who feel pain or fear. And while particularly heinous crimes against animals will be acted upon, it can take a lot to be considered “heinous”, and many times, the owner just gets a slap on the wrist.

My very first pit bull rescue, “Pele”, was a dog that had been rescued from the owners backyard because a concerned neighbor called, and the situation was dire. She was chained in the backyard, and was actually choking because she had managed to get the chain entangled around her neck. Her face was cut up by a knife, and the owners had poured acid on her back, maiming her. Her water dish was bone-dry, and there were a few leftover chicken bones on the ground around her. This was considered egregious enough to confiscate her from her owners. She was taken straight to the emergency clinic where, by the time she got there, she was in shock and nearly died. The owners punishment for what they had done to her? A $500 fine.

In Ben Affleck’s 2007 movie, Gone Baby Gone, two detectives investigate the disappearance of a little girl. The little girls’ Mother was a serious drug-addict, who paid little, if any, attention to this little girl. The little girl’s Mother was involved with some very dangerous people and dealings, and had even gone as far as to steal a lot of money from one of them; putting both herself and her little girl in danger. When her little girl disappeared, she showed little care or concern. Finally the girl was presumed dead, and the detectives gave up. SPOILER ALERT: in the end, the two detectives found out that the chief of police had taken the little girl, and she was being raised by him and his wife where they gave her all she could imagine and had nothing but love and attention to give her. Now came the dilemma for the detectives: do they abide by the law, and return the little girl to her deadbeat, drug-addicted, Mother? Or do they simply walk away and pretend they saw nothing…knowing that little girl would have a completely different, and presumably much better, life with the police chief and his wife?

This is not an uncommon dilemma faced by those in the animal care field, and those who simply love and look out for animals. What do you do when an animal is in a situation where they are being mistreated enough to be inhumane, but not enough to be illegal? Do you do all that you can in accordance of the law and hope for the best, or do you take matters into your own hands?

Well…what would you do?