How To Rescue Chained Dogs and Practice Nonviolence At the Same Time

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

11. Actually, many cities have laws that militate AGAINST having

dogs chained to fixed points either at all, or for prolonged periods.

My own town, for instance, requires that dogs on chains be attached to 'runs', where the chain is allowed to move along something like a laundry line, rather than to things like trees.

But if the person was in the hospital, to the point where their pet was left emaciated and too weak to stand, chances were the animal would have been dead before they got home anyway, since they also apparently weren't coherent enough to even call a friend or relative to take care of the dog for them.

So I wouldn't call this a 'thoughtless crime'. I would call it a rescue, albeit one that could have been handled in a different way. As you point out, calling the police might have resulted in the dog being rescued from a neglectful owner as well, as well as getting the owner arrested for cruelty and neglect. As it stands, the owner got off without any punishment for their neglect. On the other hand, we've seen far too many instances of police simply shooting dogs, so it's sort of a toss-up.

If I had been the owner, I would want someone to rescue my pets if something happened to me that left my pets uncared for and starving. Far better that they be happy with someone else than left to die because people didn't want to get involved.