Saw something today which damn near made me LOSE IT...

...and I beg y'all's indulgence while I do so in a 'safe' (and totally understanding) place.

My neighbors have several animals- two cats, two dogs, plus some other critters in the house.
One of the dogs, Precious (a cocker spaniel), is "Dad's" dog...spends her time either in the garage with him or out in the back yard. She's been de-barked because of a neighbor (NOT me!) complaining to Animal Control about what really was incessant barking.

So today, the Little Red-Haired Girl has Precious out of the garage and loose. Precious has absolutely NO sense...doesn't understand territory, manners...NOTHING. She chased a couple of my cats, but it appeared that this might be a sort of game between them- the cats' fur wasn't all stood on end, and they weren't going anywhere NEAR full speed...but I did get annoyed when the dog went into MY house.
I had the doors open because I was doing some stuff, and Precious just waltzed right in. :mad:

Little Red-Haired Girl came to get the dog, and that's when I saw what almost caused me to lose it. There was this HUGE scar (a bit over half the size of the palm of my hand), all pink and hairless on the dog's back (her coat is shaved down now...don't know if that's a 'puppy cut' or just really short).
"Ohmigosh, what happened?"
"Oh, she had a maggot infestation...she had this sore and maggots got into it and they were eating away and laying eggs."
:wow: :grr::nuke:

What kind of person neglects their dog so much that it becomes infested with MAGGOTS? :wtf::nuke:

The dog is OK now...and Little Red-Haired Girl said something about they're trying to teach Precious about being an 'inside dog'...which is an improvement, but still...
I don't like the way they care for their animals.
My cat Finnegan came from them, because Little Red-Haired Girl wanted the cat "Baby" to have 'just one litter' before being spayed. As far as I know, Baby never did get spayed, but she did get given away, as did Crazy and Delilah (Finnegan's brother and sister).
I did give them the heads-up about a low-cost spay/neuter clinic, but that's all I could do...didn't have the $120 it would have taken to fix all four of them (including Finnegan...who DID get neutered).

"Mom" jokes about how she wants to come back as one of MY cats (because of the care they receive).
I can see why she wouldn't want to be an animal in her own household.
I do feel badly for her...weird dysfunctional family dynamics, which I won't go into...but maggots on the dog?

That's just too much.

used to clean dead tissue from wounds. This sounds like it might have started with some other
type of wound/infection and then blow flies laid eggs in it and the maggots hatched. Agree with you that
some folks don't know zilch about taking care of their animals....z

I think it was a case of not paying attention to the dog's grooming and it got a sore under the mats...and the rest is history.

I know me biology well enough to realize that the maggots probably prevented a worse infection, since they were clearing away the necrotic tissue.
It's the fact that the dog got so matted in the first place. Another cocker they had that was a 'backyard dog' had a coat so long and matted that it looked like tree bark around the feet...I shudder to think what was going on under that coat! :yoiks:

I am going to very gently suggest to the Little Red-Haired Girl that she keep Precious on a leash when she's out and about...
not just so she doesn't go into my house again, but because that dog has absolutely NO sense about ANYTHING...
like a street...or cars...or why dogs shouldn't occupy the first while the second is coming down it.

Maybe she will, maybe she won't...but I will have done what I can to prevent a tragedy and heartbreak...:shrug:

It comes from hair matting, especially in the summer. Two of the dogs were Old English sheepdogs.

I've HAD it with irresponsible pet owners. In less than 48 hours, I found three stray dogs. One had a tag with his owner's name, so I called and waited with the dog (despite the fact that I really needed to ride 28 miles with my riding group). The owner's mom came, in probably a $50K mercedes and said "This f*cking dog is more trouble than he's worth." He seemed very sweet to me.
Next day, I go out to toss out trash and a little Rat Terrier looking thing runs up to me. My neighbors said he'd been around their yard all day, looking for food. So I snatch him up and take him inside; but he's not allowed in the house, because my husband and I have two other dogs, one of whom is 13, blind and very cranky with strange dogs (the puppy is also not fixed). So, I set him up with food, water, blankets, a radio and toys in our garage. He loves playing with my younger dog (who's about 5x the size of the little pup). He cries a bit when I put him back in the garage, but goes to sleep.
Anyway, yesterday, I go out to put signs up about the little pup, named Tito. ANOTHER stray dog runs up to me, with city tags on. I take her to the pound, to get looked up. She's chipped, but of course her owner never answers the phone. I had to leave her there and it broke my heart.

I swear to god, I'm so tired of bad pet owners. My dogs are both street rescues and are spoiled rotten. I'd keep little man, but it's so unfair to my old boy. If we don't find him a home, he gets neutered and my husband will keep him at work (a boarding/daycare facility for dogs). If old timer dies, he'll be part of our family.
Tag your dogs. Don't let them run around neighborhoods like little hellions. Keep your info up to date. Spay/neuter your pets. Why the hell is this so hard for people to figure out.
:rant:

Know some people who've got a tomcat who is constantly getting into fights...
and AS a tomcat is contributing to the unwanted/unplanned surplus kitten population.
BUT...since the tom isn't having the kittens himself, it's not their problem. :eyes:

There's a low-cost spay/neuter clinic coming up here next month (which my little D'Artagnan WILL be attending)...
costs $35 for the procedure and they'll throw in a rabies shot. How cool is that? :thumbsup:

I asked "If I kicked in the $35 it would cost for their tom to attend as well, would they PLEASE have him neutered?"
Nope, they said. Not interested.
Apparently the cat's rompin' stompin' Studly Hunglo status affects the size and performance of the man's equipment.

:wtf:
I was told by a another friend that if the cat was neutered he'd be kicked out of the house.

:grr::nuke:

Severe cognitive dissonance here...because otherwise these are pretty decent folks.:banghead:

masculinity hangs on how many kittens he can father (by surrogate)? :eyes: