Dog Living Outside for Years Gets Her Very First House

[Judi Lynn]

Dog Living Outside for Years Gets Her Very First House
By NICOLE PELLETIERE
Dec 4, 2015, 3:14 PM ET


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Animal Rescue League of Iowa

Bella, a dog in Hardin County, Iowa received her first home on Thanksgiving after living outdoors for almost three years.
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A pup from Hardin County, Iowa, got a sweet surprise this Thanksgiving when she was gifted a brand new dog house after living outside for almost three years.

"She seemed very friendly," Josh Colvin of Des Moines, Iowa, told ABC News. "She went in the house and came back out and went into the house [again], so she was liking it, you could tell."

"Dogs are social creatures. They want to be next to people, to their family," he added. "If we can make the dogs more comfortable in the winter time, we are obviously going to take that route. We want to offer solutions."

Colvin, the Animal Control Services Manager for the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, said it was the week of Thanksgiving when local authorities were contacted by citizens concerned by a tied up Labrador mix living in her owner's backyard.

More:
http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/dog-living-years-house/story?id=35579608

(Hope someone can enlighten the owner about keeping her fur friend inside, treating her with a little compassion, for crying out loud. At any rate, the neighbors' concern will go a long way for this helpless, loving dog.)

[frogmarch]

1. The dog is still living outside!

So what that she now has a doghouse? She did have a metal shed. I don't see much difference. She is still tied up and living outside instead of in the human's house with them, right? It is HOPED that her jailers will someday build a fence for her so she won't have to be tied up. Fat chance.

Is this supposed to be a heartwarming story according to ABC News? It makes me both angry and sad.

[roody]

2. Tied up? I would f***ing rescue her.

[catbyte]

3. Poor baby. That makes me so sad. Why even have a dog if it's tied up and ignored?

Assholes don't deserve her. Harsh, but I'm not sorry.

[japple]

4. The level of ignorance among people who have pets is staggering. They get a cute puppy

from a friend or (worse) Craigs List and then when it grows up, they put it outside and forget about it for the most part. Oh, they might give it food and water and a shelter to keep off the rain/snow, but that is about the limit, and they think of themselves as a good pet "owner." If it becomes a problem (barking because it is bored or never gets any exercise) they just take it to their local animal control facility and surrender it, sometimes trying to absolve their guilt by saying, "my child has an allergy...we're moving and can't take it with us...we are having a baby." The cycle is often repeated multiple times in the same family.

My veterinarian gets local people to build dog houses and donate them to house-less dogs. If anyone in the community contacts her about a dog that is chained up, living outside, she will provide a house for the dog. Georgia law requires the pet owners to provide shelter, food and water. There are many animals (esp. cats) that don't even get those basic necessities.