[bassetbrigade]

My parents have this really horrid family that live next door. They have had to call the city and animal control many times re: green pool, chickens, pigs (they are not zoned for having farm animals) etc.. They put a horrible brick and iron fence around the front yard of the house and have turned that into the kids play area (can we say junk yard!). It is so trashy. To make matters worse - they now have two basset puppies. They got the first one (female tri) about 3 weeks ago. Last week there was a notice that the pup was missing. I was so enraged until I saw that sweet face in that yard. I asked my Dad what happened and he said she had gotten out and the neighbors across the street found her. Well, just this weekend there is a new basset (male red & white) that is older than she is. I am so scared for these pups! Those peoples kids are always dirty, playing in a filthy yard with no shoes and somtimes in undies only! The yard is NOT safe as there are all kinds of small toys and trash that the puppies can choke on. Now I'm afraid that they will try to breed them. They already have a couple of great danes. They may have had pups - don't quite remember. Is there ANYTHING short of stealing them that I can do? TIA for any advise.

 

[Betsy Iole]

Probably the first thing to do is to check local licensing regulations and restrictions on the number of dogs that can be kept on a residential property.

(Might also check out whether they've been reported to DSS (or whatever your equivalent is) if they're neglecting the kids. )

 

[bassetbrigade]

I wouldn't doubt it if someone already has. Do I have to just wait and watch to see if they are being neglected (the pups not the kids)? We don't have a local ASPCA but we do have a Basset hound rescue here. Can they "do" anything about neglect or breeding?

 

[Betsy Iole]

If it appears that the animals are being neglected, e.g. no shade or water during summer, then a complaint to animal control might be in order. As for breeding, it depends again on local regulations. In some areas, intact pets that could be used as breeding stock require special licensing (costs more because they're intact) and litters cannot be advertised without an appropriate local registration number (or something along those lines).

Most areas, however, don't regulate the breeding of pets, and there's not much that can be done in these cases, unless there's something else like flagrant abuse or neglect. Some rescues report backyard breeders to local, state and federal tax agencies, assuming that the income derived from puppy sales is undeclared.

 

[bassetbrigade]

Thanks for your replies and info. I'm just sick about them living in there. I will see what I can find out about our regulations.

 

[Betsy Iole]

It does sound distressing. Hope there's something useful in the state or local regs.