Below Freezing - Neighbor's Dog's Outside

[Anonymous]

Is it dangerous for a Doberman (or any dog) to be outside tonight? I'm in Fairfax and it's 27 degrees and windy.

My neighbor's dog is trotting around the neighborhood and my neighbor's not answering her phone. I've emailed her that her dog is loose...

This is not a dog that is socialable and I'm not about to approach the dog myself.

[Anonymous]

Dogs cannot be loose no matter the weather.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I know that the dog should not be loose, ever. This isn't the first time that owner has had her dog unsupervised...should I call animal control? It's Christmas eve...

[Anonymous]

My neighbor did this once, left her dog on the back porch for hours in 13 degree weather. I called the police, and the neighbor told them she had forgotten the dog was outside. Call the police.

[Anonymous]

It is cold for a dog without a thick coat to be outside. If the dog is loose, it could be in danger from traffic etc. If no one is able to approach the dog, I would consider calling authorities or a Humane Society shelter for advice. Is your neighbor out of town?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I've had run ins with this neighbor before about her dog. It's never gone well. I think she is out tonight, but not out of town.

[Anonymous]

Call the Humane Society. The officers will come out and make sure the dog is okay.

[Anonymous]

If it doesn't have a microchip (if you know this already), I'd get him to another county's shelter somehow. That dog needs to get away from that owner and maybe someone who cares about it will adopt it.

[Anonymous]

Myob

[Anonymous]

Update. Owner got my email and responded that she was napping, put dog in fenced backyard fence and had her phone turned off. Said dog must have gotten out somehow.

Dog was outside for about 2.5 hours.

[Anonymous]

Was dog in the yard, or running around the neighborhood?

Dogs are fine outside in the cold. They have fur coats.

[Anonymous]

call the police. They will come out and take a report and take care of the dog and report the situation

[Anonymous]

Oh for gods sake the dog will be fine. He has a fur coat. You sent owner an email which is good in case the dog is lost or escaped. Beyond that, myob

[Anonymous]

Dogs are NOT fine out in the cold. A dog's fur is the equivalent of a human wearing long underwear. Gauge from that. Would you like to be out all night in long underwear alone? Also, some dogs do not have "fur." You are thinking of a German Shepherd and Retriever and the like but many dogs are not insulated like this and actually have to have a coat on in the winter.

The standard for a dog living outside is the dog has to have an insulated doghouse to live in where the animal can take shelter from the elements and maintain its body heat. Some dogs CANNOT live outside. At all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dogs are NOT fine out in the cold. A dog's fur is the equivalent of a human wearing long underwear. Gauge from that. Would you like to be out all night in long underwear alone? Also, some dogs do not have "fur." You are thinking of a German Shepherd and Retriever and the like but many dogs are not insulated like this and actually have to have a coat on in the winter.

The standard for a dog living outside is the dog has to have an insulated doghouse to live in where the animal can take shelter from the elements and maintain its body heat. Some dogs CANNOT live outside. At all.

+1. This is the answer. Your neighbor is treating the dog abusively, period, and you know it. You can make excuses, but that's the fact.