Brent, if you see animal neglect

.....like an animal chained up outside in the sun/heat all day, and you feel it is a case of cruelty to animals, you need to call the SPCA (they will come investigate it) or Pinellas County Animal Services. I'm a volunteer at the SPCA, and I know they do some investigating of such things, and will take steps to correct the situation.

I have lived in Historic Kenwood since December of 1995, and I do not believe that there is a disproportionate amount of animal cruelty cases going on in our neighborhood. Quite the contrary, I think we have many responsible, caring pet caregivers here. The cases you describe, I believe, are in the minority. But in your first post, you made it sound like ALL barking dogs were bothering you enough to make you consider leaving, so that is why I thought you meant the majority (i.e., well-cared for dogs) and not just the minority (neglected dogs). Even one case of neglect is too many and cause for great concern. However, I do not believe moving out of our wonderful neighborhood is the solution. Unfortunately, there is animal neglect wherever you may choose to go. Like I said, if there is a situation near you in which you feel an animal is being neglected by being chained up all day outside, please call the SPCA or Pinellas County Animal Control.

Note: Not all animals who are outside in their fenced yards are being neglected. Some are out there to get some fresh air, exercise, stimulation, fun, etc. So I don't want folks to assume if they hear a dog barking in a yard, OH--NEGLECT! Rather, I am responding to your specific concern that you have expressed about dog(s) who are actually truly being neglected. Trust your gut to determine this. If there is a dog who is ALWAYS outside, especially if they are chained up in the sun, etc., and especially if the dog is crying and crying for long periods at a time, then trust your gut. I say you should carefully and seriously consider the situation before calling anyone. You want to walk a fine line between not calling the authorities on your neighbors if nothing is wrong, because that would be AWFUL--yet not looking the other way if an animal is truly being neglected and needs help. Either way, Brent, it is certainly nothing to base a move out of the neighborhood on, in my opinion. Of course, that is up to you, but like I said, the sad reality of our world is that, anywhere you go, there are people mistreating their pets.

btw, since this thread has come up, I'd like to take this opportunity to say that on Saturday, August 17th, 2002, the SPCA is holding an ''Adopt-a-Thon'' and I encourage anyone with a caring, responsible, safe home and a loving heart to come in and see the many cats, dogs, and other pets up for adoption. Of course, you can do this at any time, not just on August 17th. When you volunteer at the SPCA, you truly see the individual eyes and faces and hearts of these sweet animals and the enormity of the situation of unwanted, abandoned, and stray animals is overwhelming. While we can't solve the problem in it's entirety as individuals, by adopting just one animal, you are making a huge difference to THAT animal, and your act is making a cosmic dent in the overall situation.

Meanwhile, Brent: Don't move out of Kenwood--that's a direct order! :)

P.S. PART I:

I'd add the following, and it is so long, it's in two parts *lol*:

...I will admit that, *rarely*, there will be a dog barking for longer than what I consider ''normal'', and when it happens, it is sometimes at a time of day when it annoys me, like, say, 1:00 a.m. or something. One of the very cool things about Kenwood is, most of us know most of our neighbors--some better than others, of course, but we at least know them a little. In my case, I can recognize the individual barks of the different dogs who live within a block of me. Seriously. Anyway, the few times one of 'em barks longers than normal, I've thought: Okay, if this goes on much longer, I'm gonna go see if everything is okay. Especially if I know the dog and know the family, a dog barking for a prolonged period could indicate trouble, as in someone broke into the house or something. So far, the only dogs who have barked for periods longer than normal have been one chow near me, and one little bitty adorable teacup chihuahua. Both of these dogs, I know, are very well cared for. So, with the teacup chihuahua owners, whom I know better than the chow owner, I thought: Okay, they just don't know that the dog is out in the backyard and in a few minutes, I'm hot-footing it over there to see what's what. With the chow, it is trickier, because #1, that dog can be a tad aggressive, so darned if I am going to approach it's house in the dark if it is barking, because rarely it gets OUT OF IT'S FENCED YARD, and it might be barking to get back in, but that dog is NOT one to approach, and ditto for approaching it's property if it is out. So, the few times that either of these two doggies has barked longer than normal, I have just taken a ''wait and see'' 'tude, and all ended up well. Did the barking keep me up a little? Yeah, but it is rare, and to me, it is part of living in a nice, pet-friendly neighborhood. This brings me back to my pet peeve about little kids allowed to treat others yards like a playground by their parents: I am all for being kid-friendly--believe me, I didn't march in the drug marches for nuttin', but rather to make our 'hood safe for kids, as a main reason--yet that doesn't mean I want the little darlings disturbing my peace 24/7 and hanging out in my yard unsupervised. So, Brent, I understand very much that just because a person may be annoyed by barking dogs and feel the owners are being inconsiderate, does NOT mean you are anti-dogs in the neighborhood or anything. I get that, really I do. As long as you understand that a LITTLE barking, as you describe occurs when you walk your dog down any given block, is totally normal. It is only barking that continues on and on that is cause for concern.

P.S. PART II: The saga continues

...me again, here's part II:

....If I hear a dog barking on and on, and it sounds distressed, darn straight I understand your concern--for the dog and also sometimes for the people, if I know the family and it seems odd. But again, if there is a dog owned by someone(s) you feel is NOT caring for the dog right, please call the SPCA. Animals cannot speak for themselves, or free themselves from horrible situations. They depend on the kindness and caring of decent people.

I guess I just want to make the point that there is a difference between just being annoyed as I felt you were saying in your first post by regular old garden variety barking, and being concerned about a dog who is barking in an abnormal way, indicating neglect, etc. Again, a cool feature of our 'hood is that we mostly know each other, right down to knowing which dog is barking, who the owners are, and is it normal. Judging from all that info., we have a lot to go on as far as whether to take action or not, etc.

Sometimes I'll see a dog wandering loose in the street which I KNOW belongs to such-and-such, and I will take action to get that pet back home, just as I would if I saw a Kenwood neighbor's child in distress. Brent, can I tell you something that happened to me a while back (yet it seems recent still): My so-called handyman let my dog out when I was at work, and didn't call me at work to tell me, so hours went by while the dog was out, before I got home and learned she was even missing. Long story short, I spent the worst night of my life looking everywhere for my dog, and the next day I found her at the SPCA. I consider myself an excellent pet ''owner'' (I prefer the word caregive), if I do say so myself, and no one was judging me more harshly than I judged myself that this even happened. My point is, even the best owners sometimes have something happen where their dog gets out. So don't judge people too harshly if the RARE situation happens. ON THE OTHER HAND, if there is a dog in your neck of the woods who is constantly running around out of his/her fenced yard, that is a problem, for the neighborhood AND for the dog, and call the SPCA.

I'm saying, to quote the infamous Hilary: It takes a village. Know your neighbors, trust your instincts, and we can keep things as they should be as far as HK being a safe, quiet, good place to be for humans and animals, together.

link for SPCA # to call on this.

Brent, if you suspect an actual case of animal neglect, please call the # in the following link (if this link doesn't take you directly there, click on ''cruelty investigations''.

http://www.spcaofpinellas.org/checkus/framesetcheckus.htm