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Extremely Matted Dogs Owned By Colleague - What To Do?


Alkhe
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Bear in mind that if you bring it up with him,and he either reacts badly,or does nothing,if you then report him, and it's followed up, he's going to know it was you. I would just report him straight off, that way he will never know who it was.

It must be awful having matts....it's bad enough when you have a ponytail that's too tight and pulls....it must feel terrible over your whole body :(

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Does he go to the park at a regular time?

Perhaps ring the rspca with his number plate, but also tell them when he goes to the park, it needs to look like somewhere there reported him, don't mention you know him, just you see him at the park.

They may wait till he comes one day.

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I have just filled out a report on the RSPCA website with details of the problem; I'm not sure what the normal process around this is, but I explained that I don’t know the man’s exact address but would be more than willing to be of assistance in any way, etc. Fingers crossed that I get a call or something, and see what can be done. In the mean time, the next time I see him at the park hopefully some of my park friends will be there- will definitely speak to some people there tonight and get them on board.

Thanks again for all of the advice, everybody. Much appreciated!

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I find it odd that a man would have dogs like Cavoodles and Maltese type dogs.

I find it odd that a man would have dogs like Cavoodles and Maltese type dogs.

Why?

Plenty of men have little fluffy dogs :D

i've rarely seen it. i've seen the girlfriend or the wives have the fluffy dog but never the man. i have a fluffy dog and most mens opinion of her is i should have gotten a real dog and not a yappy rat.

Don't talk like that infront of my 6'3" truckdriver husband with his much loved Shih tzu (and I have the big dog!)

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:( poor dogs!

Alkhe, sounds like a good plan. The more people who are willing to make subtle-ish comments to him at the dog park, the more he'll realise that its completely unacceptable (hopefully).

I have been in a similarish situation recently. The man around the corner who I think is an alcoholic, has let his little terrier become so obese that its stomache is literally about 2 cm from touching the ground. It pants excessively and struggles to walk up and down its driveway :(

I have been wondering if I should do something about it, and what to do about it.

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:( poor dogs!

Alkhe, sounds like a good plan. The more people who are willing to make subtle-ish comments to him at the dog park, the more he'll realise that its completely unacceptable (hopefully).

I have been in a similarish situation recently. The man around the corner who I think is an alcoholic, has let his little terrier become so obese that its stomache is literally about 2 cm from touching the ground. It pants excessively and struggles to walk up and down its driveway :(

I have been wondering if I should do something about it, and what to do about it.

Oh dear :( Sounds like my grandma (minus the alcoholic part).. I've been slowly working on her about how dangerously overweight her dog is getting - slightly easier when it's a trusted family member though!

It’s such a fine line sometimes, between interfering and being nosy or rude, and doing something because it’s unconscionable not to. I suppose it’s just a matter of assessing each situation as it comes, and the imminent danger that a situation poses for the dog and its welfare, as well as the likelihood that anything you do or say is going to make a difference. :shrug:

I’ve seen some people with good intentions completely alienate or offend other dog owners with the tone and manner in which they’ve spoken to them. Eg, someone brought a tiny young puppy to the park and was walking them around, and another owner started firing questions at them about how old the dog was, they shouldn’t be walking it on the grass so young, has it had its shots? What about parvo? Etc etc etc. The woman walking the dog was almost in tears, and it was just totally the wrong approach for the other owner to have taken. Though she really was concerned about the little pup, she went about it in totally the wrong way :(.

Good luck with your situation!

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Guest lavendergirl

If you find out which is his car, get a groomers card and put it under his windscreen wiper. Maybe he will take the hint.

Only if the particular groomer is happy with that. You never know what his reaction may be - he may think that the groomer put it there and take offence :)

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Could always secretly follow them home from the dog park. I guess this could be considered stalking though...haha

:laugh: If stalking is in the name of welfare is it classed as stalking or personal investigation :laugh:

Personal investigation is a good way of putting it :)

In all seriousness though, i hope this man gets the wake up call he needs. Poor dogs :(

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One of my male friends has 3 fluffy dogs that are all high maintenance, he is separated from his last wife but he was always the dog enthusiast anyway. He takes fantastic care of the dogs, cleans their eyes every day, gives them medication and there's something about him that all dogs love. His were all rescued abuse cases (I found 2 of them in the pound on separate occasions and rescued/fostered them) and he has worked wonders with all of them. The most recent one was purchased in a petshop on a whim and then just left to fester for over a year in the backyard, only contact was when he had food thrown at him. He's still shy of some people and scared of men he doesn't know but his transformation is incredible.

In this case, I'd report this man, there is simply no excuse to leave dogs like that. If you can't afford grooming, don't get a dog that needs it. Quite simple really.

It makes me very angry when I see dogs that are matted like you describe. Renbury Pound in Sydney is full of them this week. Indeed, one was so bad they couldn't tell if it was male or female. At PAWS we get dogs who can't walk properly because their legs are matted together, even those who have maggots underneath all the matting and it goes on. Pretty much 99 out of 100 dogs that PAWS rescue that are the type that need grooming, come in hideously matted .. it is appalling and cruel.

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One of my male friends has 3 fluffy dogs that are all high maintenance, he is separated from his last wife but he was always the dog enthusiast anyway. He takes fantastic care of the dogs, cleans their eyes every day, gives them medication and there's something about him that all dogs love. His were all rescued abuse cases (I found 2 of them in the pound on separate occasions and rescued/fostered them) and he has worked wonders with all of them. The most recent one was purchased in a petshop on a whim and then just left to fester for over a year in the backyard, only contact was when he had food thrown at him. He's still shy of some people and scared of men he doesn't know but his transformation is incredible.

In this case, I'd report this man, there is simply no excuse to leave dogs like that. If you can't afford grooming, don't get a dog that needs it. Quite simple really.

It makes me very angry when I see dogs that are matted like you describe. Renbury Pound in Sydney is full of them this week. Indeed, one was so bad they couldn't tell if it was male or female. At PAWS we get dogs who can't walk properly because their legs are matted together, even those who have maggots underneath all the matting and it goes on. Pretty much 99 out of 100 dogs that PAWS rescue that are the type that need grooming, come in hideously matted .. it is appalling and cruel.

I completely agree with you dogmad, on all counts.

The thing is, it doesn’t take much at all to keep a non-shedding dog or other breed that requires regular grooming, in good nick. Yeah, it’s great if you can get your dogs professionally groomed every 6-8 weeks, but it’s not necessary if you spend a couple of minutes each day with your dog to maintain their coat etc. I grew up with Poodles that were never professionally groomed, but were also never matted, ever. We clipped them at home with scissors and gave them regular baths etc. It’s not hard!

Just from patting my dog and the general affection and playing that we do every day, I know that she doesn’t have any matts anywhere and could take care of any problem areas- matts don’t just come instantaneously. It’s really not hard to keep a handle on these things! It doesn’t matter how busy you are, there is no excuse.

I was at work with this man (we used to be on very good terms, hence me looking after his dog!) when he decided to get another dog. He found the puppy on gumtree and bought it that weekend- I tried to convince him to go to a shelter if he was dead-set on a Maltese x Shih Tzu, but he was adamant that he wanted a puppy and wouldn’t consider getting a puppy from a shelter or anything. From memory, he wanted this particular cross because they’re friendly or something, and he loved the temperament of his Spoodle (or Cavoodle.. I’m thinking Spoodle because of the size but it could be either, I can’t remember). That dog is an absolute gem by the way, such a gorgeous and loving little dude. It’s just heartbreaking to see him now.

He has been reported to the RSPCA – I will post when/if I hear anything or have any further updates.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all – just thought I’d give a little update.

I contacted the RSPCA a few weeks ago and got a call from a woman to follow up. In my report I mentioned that I don’t know the person’s address and wasn’t sure whether this precluded them from being able to investigate. The woman who called said that she had been out to inspect the property, but that the man in question had sold it to the current occupant a few years years ago. When I said, hang on, I didn’t give you a property number, she said that they must have had one on file from a previous report attached to his name. Alarm bells. :mad

Anyway, without a property address they can’t go out to inspect (obviously) so she left it with me to try and track down an address. No such luck, but when she called this morning she let me know that she would make contact with him via phone and see how it went.

I’m at work at the moment, and just overheard him on the phone to her. I could only hear snippets, but it involved ‘I’m a responsible owner... Well ok...' and something about Friday. I’m very happy that this has been taken seriously and followed up by the RSPCA, and just thought I would let everyone know. I will report back if I hear anything else- not sure whether the RSPCA woman will get back to me or what the process is, but if anything happens that results in the dogs getting clipped, I’m happy.

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You can ask or a case number if you want to keep following it up :) they are generally happy to give you updates but best to call if you want one! I've only reported a couple of times and both cases resulted in ongoing investigation/monitoring.

I'm glad that these dogs will hopefully be clipped and feel much more comfortable!

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Oh well done with all of your progress! It's great to see people who actually action their concerns rather than just complaining that the poor dog is being neglected. Such a sad thing they already had him on file.. Let's hope something good comes out of this for his little dog.

Keep on keeping us updated :)

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I think you have handled this really well and you had some fantastic suggestions. I would have told him his dogs were in pain and constituted neglect and if he didn't take them to a groomers I would contact the authorities.. I know..wrong thing but it is how I am.

I had not seen this thread before. Anyway well done and hopefully these two poor wee dogs will be much more comfortable in a few days. Breaks my heart.

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