07/27/2026
Trigger warning
Abuse Control
I want to talk about a challenging subject.
Recently, there was a post on social media discussing a dog that was living in an environment that was unacceptable. It appeared there was not any food or water, the dog was living on concrete with multiple piles of f***s readily seen in the photo.
According to the original poster, they had called animal control multiple times and it was taking too long for the situation to be resolved. They also stated a year ago Animal Control gave the dog back to this particular Home.
As happens on these emotional posts, many people made comments about the poor dog needs to be picked up right away, those people should rot in hell, etc.
One person asked for the address, and according to their comments, went and picked up the dog. This is also called theft.
That person then posted photos and videos of the dog with them stating "it would never go back to the owner. They were making sure of it and would work with animal control. That they were going to give the evidence they collected."
Don’t we all wish it was that easy.
Don’t you wish that in every case of animal neglect/abuse, child neglect/abuse, senior neglect/abuse you could just go in ,take the animal, child or senior, walk out, tell the police what happened and have everybody just decide that’s the truth. Woohoo that is enough evidence to bring charges, convict, and impose sentencing on somebody.
Maybe we all wish that’s how it worked, but it’s not.
We need people who are trained and understand how to take care of the animal, child or senior. We need people who understand the laws, how to build a case, how to collect evidence, and how to make sure the people who perpetrate the neglect or abuse are not put in a position to do it again.
When we step in front of law-enforcement, in our own form of vigilante justice, we prevent that from happening.
We prevent the possibility of collecting evidence by interferring in the investigation.
Without the evidence law enforcement, which includes animal control, cannot bring up charges.
Without charges, there’s no conviction.
Without a conviction, the perpetrator gets to commit the same abuse or neglect again and again on countless future victims.
I am not animal control. I am not an expert on the law.
I am a person who’s been a Pet professional for over 40 years and has worked through countless cases in a variety of situations. I have had to work with animal control to build a case against my own neighbors more than once. It’s hard. It’s damn hard. But if we want to stop the abuse and the neglect, we have to be part of the solution. We cannot block the collection of evidence, the potential prosecution and conviction, and a complete stopping of the behavior of the humans to do these things. We cannot be the obstacle, When we choose vigilante type behavior, we are the obstacle.
In this particular case, the “rescuer” did not have the knowledge necessary to work with this dog. They gave tthe dog the wrong nutritional support which caused bloat, which is a life-threatening situation.
They surrendered the dog to a local emergency hospital who had to reach out to the organization responsible for animal control in that city. Now the taxpayers are paying for additional medical care rather than that money going to animals that were already needing financial support. The city animal control organization reached out to the county shelter organization, they now have possession of the dog.
Despite the person who stole the dogs claims "that the dog would never end up in that family’s possession again", they actually set the dog up to go right back to them. Legally, the owners have to be notified their dog is at the shelter. They will have three days to claim this dog. The person who thought they saved the dog, not only caused severe medical challenges, but set the dog up to go right back to the people and sabotaged the investigation to stop the abuse and neglect from happening.
How can you make a difference?
If you find yourself in a situation like this, start a log. Each day write down when the dog is fed, when the dog is watered, and if it does not happen, whether or not the dog has shelter. If you can do video, add video. If where the dog is kept is unsanitary take pictures with date and time stamps.
Call animal control repeatedly. Understand they receive far more calls than they can give adequate time to. We have far more animals in the shelter then we can give adequate care and support too.
If that upsets you start being part of the solution.
If you want animal control to have the ability to do more then we have to change the legislation that ties their hands. We have to increase funding. When we ask you to vote, get out and vote with us to increase humane treatment of animals.
Lastly, I want to touch on some comments that were made about our animal control officers and support staff.
There are very few jobs in the world that are harder than working with the innocent against neglect and abuse.
The people that take these jobs, are for the most part there, because they care. They face the horrors every single day. Despite typically low pay, they come back every day to do it again.
Unless you have stood there, in the gap, supporting the animals, the children and the seniors who are suffering abuse and neglect. It is not OK to speak derogatory about the people who are. I can already hear you saying, but there was this one person who was not doing a good job. If you know of something like that report it, because it’s not ok.
I can tell you, I know a large percentage of our local shelter workers, SPCA workers, volunteers, Humane Animal Aervices employees, and Animal Control Officers. I don’t know a single one that does not care deeply.
Please use the comment section of this post to give a shout out to somebody working in the Animal Shelter or Rescue community that has done something you appreciated. Big or small doesn’t matter. Let’s take the time to let them know that what they do matters to us.
Thank you for reading,
Becca Hintz
www.beccahintz.com
Wintegrity K9
Animal Community Alliance -ACA See less
Becca Hintz Start where you are. Find what you need. This site is a place for dog lovers, animal professionals, and anyone working to make life better for people and the animals they care about. Whether you are looking for effective dog training in Vacaville or nearby, or seeking guidance through th...
