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Old September 21st, 2006, 05:59 AM
Cygnet Cygnet is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 86
It was never in the "dog's best interests" to leave this dog (or any dog) chained, but I don't think it is the law many places (certainly not here) that owners are not allowed to keep dogs on chains. I don't necessarily think that the fact that he is now old and dying suddenly makes it worse than it was for the previous ten or fifteen or nineteen years. I also don't know for a fact that he has had "no medical care." Did you read that somewhere?

One person's "dog lying there" and "probably starving to death" could possibly be another person's contented old dog lying in the sun and enjoying his last few days of life with the people and other dogs he knows and adores. Sometimes old dogs, and dying dogs, look pretty horrible. When to let go and euthanize them is an individual decision. Lots and lots of people feel that they know better than a dog's owner. I have treated dogs that other people felt should be euthanized and frankly, wouldn't have taken kindly to somebody else deciding what was in my dog's best interests.

Moreover, even with kids, the standard isn't (and probably shouldn't be) simply the best interests of the child. If I truly believe, and can prove, that I can do a better job of raising your infant than you can, that doesn't mean that I get to take him from you. There is a heavy presumption that a child is better off with his biological parents. There should be a heavy presumption (I think) that a nineteen year old dog is better off with the people who kept him alive and cared for him for nineteen years than he is with strangers.

If this dog truly has gotten "no medical care," then I think that the presumption is overcome that he belongs with his owners. If they weren't offering him food and water (as opposed to his being sick and unable to eat or unable to keep weight on), then I think the presumption is overcome. I am happy to lobby for and support laws that say that merely because he is on a chain, the presumption is overcome.

I do agree with you that laws can change and sometimes stuff like this is necessary to get people to look at laws like dogs on chains.
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