In more defense of this kindhearted soul, she even rescued a poor turtle that had been hooked and left for dead. She took him to the rescue and now he lives in the rescues observatory pond for all the kids to see. :)

RIGHT! But, unfortunately, "the authorities" in many situations are more concerned about offending the owner, than looking out for the welfare of the animal!

Too scary
 

We have hawks and fisher cats and wild dogs and all kinds of scary stuff outside of our house. No way would my babies be allowed to live out there! Heck, I rarely even let them off the deck, lol, and they are only out there when I am.:p

My neighbors up the street have one that I dont know if he lives outside but he is outside all the time. He is not confined to a yard either. He runs loose.

welfare of the dog
 

I know of a lady here in a nearby town who has a Westie, she leaves him outside from sun up to sundown, no matter what season.Her neighbor is a client of my husbands, so I see it all the time, and the client tells us how awfull his mournful cries are all day long.The owner of this Westie works in a city nearby...about a 30 min to hour drive deppending on traffic....then she goes out on an evening.....why did she get a dog? The RSPCA said the dogs being fed, and has an igloo house, so he isn't neglected...what about the mental neglect, isn't that important?

That is sad. I was going to go over and grab my neighbbors yorkie thats out loose all the time but I havent seen him lately.:(

I know a couple that has an outside yorkie. He is 13 years old and been an outside (mostly) dog his whole life. They too live in the country. He is about a 5 pounder, but seems pretty tough for a yorkie. I know hawks and foxes are a threat but for 13 years he had done just fine!! He can go inside if he wants but even when it is freezing he sleeps outside on his little heated bed.

Loose running
 

I was walking in the town on the main street the other day and saw the most beautiful pair of yorkies, full grown....so blonde and silver ..very striking and they were free , running the pavement no owners about...next to traffic....I wanted to go and get em to take to the RSPCA, then I thought if they belonged to one of the storefronts in the area I might get done for doggy knapping....so I asked a few of the shop owners, they said those two been roaming the streets for years..it was thier daily walk so to speak, no one knew the owner.I knew they weren't homeless as they were in gret condition and so beautiful, witht he number of thefts in our town of yorkies, I was very shocked they were able to take this daily walk for years.

When I grew up we had a Giant Schnauzer, Evi, and she was an outside dog by choice. My parents rescued her from a dark cellar where she was kept day and night. After that she just hated it to be inside. She had a very big area for herself, was walked 3 times a day so there were no "droppings", she had a nice dog house and sometimes I slept with her in the dog house.

Later in my life I had a Leonberger (160 lbs), Inka, and she was an indoor dog, inbed dog!

Now our Mitzi doesn't go out by herself even though we have a big fenced back yard for her to play and run. But not without us.

You need a permit or a license for almost everything but not for the most sensible things in life: having kids and having pets. I think that's not right!

By the way, we had a dog in the neighborhood that barked and whined all day and night. We called the humane society and they took the dog away. He is now in a new home and is happy and healthy.:aimeeyork

Outside , never in a lifetime . When I had 1 German Sheperd Dog and 2 Collies , they were sleeping in the house . My Yorkies are inside dogs . I can't imagine them staying outside .

That's all I have to say about that...:(

I too have an outside dog... 24/7... I huge and I mean HUGE lab... He is 108 lbs. He wouldn't even want to be inside. Is he chained. HELL NO!! He has free run of my yard.. The kids go out with him and so does Daisy. I don't think that makes me a bad person. It doesn't mean that I love him any less. He's just an outdoor dog. I might get scolded here, but I don't see anything wrong with it. He has a fabulous dog house with a shingled roof that my hubby built to boot.. :)

Edit to say that my yorkies do not and will not ever live outside. Yorkies are not meant for the outside. :)

Parker likes to play outside, but only when we are out there. My husband and I both feel like if you are going to have a dog outside 24/7.... Then you shouldn't have one. I think its sad. It seems like they get left alone and people forget they are even there. I couldnt do it. :(

I know some big dogs like it outside though. I guess as long as someone is playing with them and showing them attention, its ok I just couldnt do it

Tatum would never live outside (small dogs just aren't built for this) BUT we have an Australian Shepherd that is a 24/7 outside dog. She is by no means lonely though. Our kids are always outside with her as is my husband - he's in his body shop on our property when he's not working. She rides in the truck and Gator every time he leaves the house and she has a big padded outdoor bed on the porch. We are in the country and she is a country dog. Tatum likes to think she's a country dog too and gives Stormie a run for her money when they play outside which is quite often. Stormie has a chain link kennel with a nice doghouse inside that she sleeps in. She thinks she has the best life! I don't agree with the generalization that NO dog should ever live outside. Stormie is our watchdog and my husband's outside play friend. We couldn't love her more if she lived inside. In fact, I for one would probably love her a little less if she lived inside because the hair issue would kill me (not really love her less but the frustration would overpower my love for her just a tiny bit)!

On the other hand, my sister has a Great Dane along with two other medium size dogs that all live inside and really don't even care to go outside except to potty. They sleep in bed with her and everything (her husband's a cop on a night work schedule). Somehow that seems a little too much for me but to each their own!

That is so so sad :(