Dogs In Beetley

~ beetleypete

As I sit here blogging, the only sound coming through the open windows today is that of dogs. They are barking, wailing, crying, yelping, and whining. Not Ollie of course, who is sitting next to me peacefully enjoying watching me at the keyboard. The sounds are coming from some of the houses nearby, with the dogs shut outside, living in dog-runs, or just lonely in the garden. Some are muffled sounds, those of dogs shut in the house, and barking at any passing car or pedestrian.

Most local dog owners love their pets. They look after them well, and walk them twice a day, in all weathers. But there are some who seem to have forgotten what having a dog is all about, and I am left wondering why they ever got one. (Or more than one) Leaving a dog shut outside or in the house all day when you go off to work is not acceptable to me. I don’t care whether or not you leave them adequate food to eat, or enough water to drink, it just isn’t right. And your dog barks or cries all day, even if you are not there to hear it, or have no concern about how this upsets your neighbours. This isn’t just an issue about noise, but about concern.

I worry about those lonely dogs. I picture them running around inside, or shut in a pen outside, wondering if and when their owner will ever return. Even those owners with more than one dog don’t seem to understand. Dogs raised by humans want human company. They want the presence of the ‘pack leader’, and often the other dogs are just annoying, a distraction at best. Leaving them to go shopping, to attend an appointment, or visit someone for a few hours is one thing. But leaving them home alone all day, every day, that’s simply not on.

If you don’t want the dog anymore, or just can’t be bothered to consider its feelings, then give it away. Someone will take it eventually. They will probably care for it better, and if nothing else, keep it company.

55 thoughts on “Dogs In Beetley”

  4. I have never understood why someone would think it was okay to get a dog when there isn’t someone home the majority of the time to engage with the dog. My mum was at home when we had our dog. She took him almost everywhere with her and every time she had to go somewhere he couldn’t go he cried. It’s perfectly possible to get an adult cat who will probably be pleased that you have gone out so that you don’t interrupt its endless naps.

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  5. Loved this post. I love animals enjoying nature. It does seem a lot of people own dogs. I had cats for the longest because I was allergic to dogs as a kid but seems I grew out of it or at least it’s tolerable with my medicine because we have a rescued dog and we are also fostering an old hunting dog that we found on side of the road. He looked so bad, had over 30 ticks and was starving and had heat exhaustion but we took him in and have been fostering him until we find a rescue he can retire because it’s a big thing to leave hounds in the woods when they serve their asshole of owners no good anymore because they can’t hunt like they use to. It’s so sad but we were able to get him healthy with tLC and looks like a new dog and is a really good dog.

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  8. Of course the ‘Beetley Barks’ have increased of late. Dogs don’t sweat and with their fur coats cannot cope with the hot weather. Owners often don’t take this into account, walking during the heat of the day, not giving them shade in the garden and inadequate water provision. Hardly surprising, given their selfish owners, dogs start to complain in the only way they know.

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  9. Great post 🙂 I worry about those dogs as well because sometimes when a dog is left outside after a while and then starts to cry, you wonder If the owner is incompetent. Thankfully, the ones I am talking about do let their dogs and take care of them, but they need to do so when the dogs wants to go in. Otherwise, people who hear them will think that the owners are careless. Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂

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    1. Thanks, FR. Like most things around here, it obviously gets worse when the weather is good. Seems that they think it’s more acceptable to leave them out when the sun is shining. But they forget how hot it is for dogs, so the opposite is actually true.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  12. It angers me to no end when people do that. You are so right, why take a dog in the first place if you are not going to take care of it. It’s just totally ridiculous. Honestly people like that should, quite frankly, be treated in the same way that they treated their dog. That might show them 😊

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  14. I’m the only person in the family who doesn’t have a dog. One of my sisters, who lives in Texas, is actually a “volunteer coordinator” for both Cavalier Rescue USA and English Springer Rescue America, Inc. (ESRA). She has a small kennel on her property and takes care of dogs while they await adoption.

    As for me, I just have too many irons in the fire to take on the responsibility of owning a dog. We had a family dog during my high school and college years (an Old English Sheepdog named Sir Winston Marco Polo), and I enjoyed him very much, except for the futile combing ritual. I think he got a sufficient amount of attention, though for a number of years, when he wasn’t inside, he was confined to a large back yard enclosed by a chain link fence. But once my parents moved to the country, he was free to wander anywhere he wanted. He learned how to safely cross the country road, and had many adventures with cows, horses, ducks, and a large population of cats.

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  15. Awwwww… That’s so sad!!! That’s how I got my first dog. My dad is a PSW and one of his clients had got a puppy, even though she was too indisposed at her age to take care of it. She leashed it outside and left it there through all seasons. My dad took her home to us and she became a wonderful part of our family. She was loved and cared for until she passed at 16. If you can’t or won’t take care of your dog… Give them to someone out there who will! There are so many families out there who would love a dog, but can’t afford the ridiculous prices through kennels and breeders. You may as well make everyone happy!

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    1. That’s exactly right, Nicole. Many people can give a good home, but can’t afford puppies. I just wish some of my neighbours had thought twice about having to care for their dogs properly.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. One person has been reported by a few of us. They did go and investigate, but the authorities said that keeping dogs in a pen is not illegal, even if they make a noise. As long as they have water and food, little can be done. We have also tried putting notes through the door, but he ignores them.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  17. I love dogs, Pete. Very much. I have two. Chaka, an English Shepard mix, and Moxie, a gorgeous Blue Heeler. They are part of our family and I am their undaunted advocate–my husband and daughters are cat people. We have two of them also and I like them, very much, but dogs rule my heart.

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  19. You are a man of uncommonly admirable compassion and I admire your advocacy on behalf of the neglected dogs of the world. Dogs are a lot like children and should be treated much as a child. I used to say that the only reason dogs who bark consistently are barking consistently is because they are filled to overflowing with uncompromising love and they bark so much because they have nobody to share that love with and they are using their barking as a mechanism to reach out and see if there is anybody out there who will return their love. I am not, of course, talking about the few who have to be pried off the skulls of the small human children they sometimes seem to attack but I am talking about the ordinary, run-of-the mill dogs who are so innocent and sweet … which accounts for about 99% of them, I would surmise.

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  20. Dogs barking are certainly extremely annoying.

    Our next door neighbour got a Staffordshire Terrier about 10 years ago, and at the time their house was usually unoccupied during working hours.

    We were expecting to have to deal with with dog barking all day every day, but she’s been a beautifully behaved dog throughout all that time. We hear her eating outside, and she’ll bark and growl if someone approaches the back fence, which is very rare. I can’t help but feel that we’ve dodged a bullet there.

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    1. Lucky indeed mate. Because of our proximity to lots of well-known dog walking areas, it seems many of our neighbours think it’s a good idea to get a dog. Then they don’t have a clue what to do with them.
      Cheers mate, Pete.

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