Animal Abandonment (and a Rant)

I’ve been noticing a solid white dog in our neighborhood over a month now. He strikes me as a loyal abandoned dog. He is practically waiting… just waiting… in the same area. He just breaks my heart.

Why do people abandon their animals? It’s so heartless and cruel to just dump a poor helpless and innocent animal without making sure of its welfare. They often suffer a lingering death. It is actually illegal in many places (and states) to abandon a pet. But, people who do this are rarely caught.

This dog is somehow managing to find food and water because he is maintaining his weight. Although, as time passes, he acts like he’s losing hope. In the beginning, he was perky – always alert. Now, he practically sleeps all the time and acts depressed.


Here he is lying in the grass. He’s usually out there in full sun and it can get mighty hot here. It’s now in the mid-80s every day and soon will hit the 90s.


I got a little closer, steadied my hand, and when I was ready, I whistled to get his attention. I had to quickly snap this picture because, in the past, he would get up and quickly walk away and disappear into the brush nearby.

I’ve tried taking pictures with my point-and-shoot. Then I tried with a Canon EOS Rebel with EFS 18-55MM lens. These final pictures are a result of using the Canon Rebel with a 70-200 f/2.8L zoom lens. By the time I got to this point, the dog was actually beginning to trust me because he didn’t just disappear. He did anxiously get up, walked across the street and then settled down by the wall instead of doing his usual disappearing act. So, I quietly walked over talking to him all the while…


Here he is. I finally managed to snap a decent picture of him – the way he actually looks. The poor thing is not very trusting of people. I wish I could do something about him; but, we have a rental and the lease forbids dogs. Because he isn’t so trusting, I dare not try to “rescue” him. He seems to be holding his own though. I pray that he gets rescued soon. It’s a sad life he has… just waiting… waiting for his people to come back for him…