How Can You Be an MVP?
Use Your Voice
You see the same dogs on your routes day after day, week after week. Vets are required to report suspected abuse, but they see dogs once per year at best or never at worst. Because you see dogs regularly, you might be these dogs’ only hope.
Signs to Spot for Spot
Signs like bloody wounds and limping are the most obvious, but there are others. Look for dogs that are underweight, where you can see not only very defined ribs, but the spine, hips, or shoulder blades. Another sign is nails so long that it is difficult for the dog to walk, splaying out toes in unnatural positions.
Do you see a fresh water source for them, or are they drinking out of puddles? How about food? Do they have shelter, equally important in the summer as in the winter? Does the yard stink, indicating feces not being cleared from the dogs’ area?
Do you always see the dog tied up outside (Cook County has rules about how long a dog can be tied out)? Is the dog attached to the tie-out using a cable, chain, rope, or other hardware instead of a collar or harness? Is there junk or debris in the yard, or anything else, that makes it look unsafe for a dog to navigate?
These are strong indicators of abuse and/or neglect and deserve investigation.
Dog Fighting Is Abuse... and Illegal
According to The Anti-Cruelty Society, signs of dog fighting may include:
- A large number of [muscular] dogs being kept in one location, especially multiple dogs who are chained and seem unsocialized
- Dogs with multiple scars on their faces and legs
- A dog wearing an extremely large and heavy chain collar that may have a weight or padlock attached
- Dogs tethered by extremely large chains
- Dogfighting training equipment such as treadmills, tires, or “springpoles” (usually a large spring with rope attached to either end) hanging from tree limbs
- Unusual foot traffic coming and going from a location at odd hours