Cross Breeds

Who do you report animal abuse/neglect to when the police won't do anything about it?

My family and I live in a very small, rural town. The police here don't really care about anything unlawful unless it's going to get them a big story in the local newspaper. My mother and I know something bad is going on at a house outside of town. The people that live at the house have numerous Bichon Friese dogs and they are in poor health. Female dogs are bred numerous times a year, and are shut up in a hot shed while they are nursing their puppies. Our dog groomer even has pictures of one of the dogs who had a collar embedded into its neck and one who had a large, oozing sore in its side - and of course, neither of the injuries were checked out by a vet. We have called the police and even talked to the county sheriff about this numerous times, and they always say they will call back to get information, like the address of the house and whatnot, but they never do. It's been weeks since we first called about the neglect and still nothing has been done. My mother and I are very worried about these poor little dogs who are obviously not getting the care they need, but the local authorities won't do anything about it. What do we do? We've called the humane society and animal control and they won't do anything about it either. They come up with reasons like it's out of their jurisdiction, or we need to talk to the police, etc.

Public Comments

1. Call the humane society http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/animal_abuse_and_neglect/reporting_animal_abuse_or_neglect.html http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/report-animal-cruelty.html I hope this helps getting you started.
2. Call the ASPCA- they specialize in animal cruelty laws.
3. humane society
4. Call your local humane society, animal organizations in the area. Call your local newspaper. Threaten to rat them out. These people should be in jail. They are sub-human. Please act fast. Call your vet, ask him to direct you to animal abuse organizations. Please call right away.
5. Inform the RSPCA. You must live right out in the sticks if you haven't heard of them. Also a local vet would offer advice.
6. You could try contacting an animal rescue organization. Here, I found one that specializes in those types of dogs. They may not be in your area but I would contact them and see if they know of anyone by you.
7. Depending on where you live the ASPCA may be able to help you out. http://www.aspca.org/ I would researched your state and see if you have an ASPCA local. If you find you do not, I would call the ASPCA anyways and seek advice form them. http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/report-animal-cruelty.html Best of luck!
8. Call the Animal Cruelty Hot-line 1800-555-6517. I know it has the "555's" like the fake #'s on TV. Well, also this website can be very helpful to you and for those poor animals. http://www.sniksnak.com/ac/report.html http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty/reporting_abuse/pet_stores.php (If abuse has been witnessed at pet stores) Kudos to your groomer for being concerned about this atrocity. I commend you for your noble and thoughtful cause. Good luck to you!!
9. I would keep a record of calls to the police and human society and then I'd call the local newspaper and see if they have any interest in exposing the abuse of animals and the fact that there has been no response from the authorities.
10. Well, for one, its not actually a police issue. Animal abuse is not usually handled by local cops and if the animals are not particularly aggressive then animal control is not what you want either. Normally the humane society is the place you would contact in this situation but if you can not there are other options. One thing that could be done would be to contact any local, or moderately local, animal rights groups. This would be your best option, in my honest opinion, as they would give you plenty of ways to handle the situation or they might handle it themselves. Another option is to just make other people in your area aware of what is going on. Sometimes that is enough to get police involved. This may seem like you are not helping but from what I can view of the situation, you are slightly stuck. Find out the legal amount of space you are allowed to "squat" outside the police office or high traffic area and hand out fliers or something of whats going on in that location out side of town. Make sure to remain calm and obey any and all restrictions given to you or your effort will wind you up someplace unpleasant. The third, and not best choice, is handle the problem yourself. Talk to the people who are abusing their animals and then inform them that you will stop the act by your own hands if you must. Be firm and stand your ground, the threat (and possible bluff) might be enough to stop people alone. If that is not enough to break them of this behavior, then you may have to do something unscrupulous. Upon a bit of review, contacting local papers is a very good option but it will be slow and tedious. These others have a quicker result but the first one is the best way to actually get a result.