I guess I will go against the majority here and say this lady sounds like she is from the old school. I used to have a neighbor that kept his dog outside, never let in. That just killed me. All my zoo live in the house - even the big 100 lb. dog. Sure he loves to spend time outside but he is an inside dog. My kittens have started venturing into the backyard also. But they are inside cats. My vet bills would make the average person roll over and die. Add to that grooming bills, and all the special treats, beds, and babysitting when we vacation. But my point is that this guy honestly didn't see anything wrong with keeping his dog out 24/7. He was raised that you never have pets in the house. Dogs don't need to see a vet, especially for regular maintenance stuff like shots, check-ups, teeth cleaning, etc. I always felt so bad for the dog. But this guy felt his dog was just fine and loved him dearly. Always had food and water, a good warm dog house for winter and rain storms.
Convincing this lady that she is a neglectful owner will probably be next to impossible. Not everyone loves and cherishes their pets and treat them as one of the family. Not everyone believes that animals need to be bathed and combed as animals wouldn't do this for themselves out in the wild. Nor would they clip their nails. Yet, as we know, animals in the wild wear their nails down so Mother Nature does take care of them.
So, in this lady's defense, she was probably raised that dogs are just pets. Not members of the family.
__________________
Cheryle |