I do not know why you brought this here unless it has to do with one of the members I will not name and her struggle with a dog who is not being cared for correctly?

I don't see this as a loneliness issue but a pet appreciation issue and there is a place here for pet appreciation....

http://www.dailystrength.org/groups/pet-appreciation-month

Other topics are allowed.

Don't cancel it unless you want to.

There should be serious jail time for animal abuse, because of the suffering of the animals and because it is proven to escalate to deviant violent behavior toward humans.

A person who delibrately harms an animal should have the same thing done to them and see how they like it!

Is the point that you can contact those organizations, to see if they have volunteers in your area? That perhaps they will go a step beyond what your local animal control can do? I wonder? I wonder if they step in, or if they are called in later by animal control officers.

Oh Lord. I worked for our local Humane Society for a while. As soon as people in my neighborhood and beyond heard I was working there they began calling me at home with their stray animal troubles, I just cleaned kennels and walked the dogs there. I wound up taking in two more cats that I needed like a hole in the head before I quit. Humane Societies have limited space, please try to care for the animal yourself or file a complaint when you know people are hoarding and collecting pets. Spay and neuter laws should be more stringent and properly enforced too. People can be rather rude when they are told the animal can't be taken in at this time. Some even threaten to do horrible things to the dog or cat if it isn't taken off their hands. God help the world.

As in :
Soc'ty4Prevention/Cruelty Go'vt
------------------------------ -----------

State Humane Assoc or Soc'ty for Governor
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Mayor
(volunteer I think?) Councilman
Local Humane/Society
(volunteer often?)

are these the hierchies?

Jurisdiction as in State Police trumps municipal

Thanks Sara. I need to keep remembering that we don't want to ruffle feathers where we don't have to or bring extra work to someone when we don't have to.

Asking for a referral I'm thinking of, mainly, when I think of these officials.

If it's figured the Animal Control officer (of which there may be only one on the staff there) is the last resort, a lawyer may think differently. ....There are ways.

calebb it appears your fishing for a hierarchy of who is there to help some animal or animals in your area and as such we would need to know the area in order to research it for you....our city has a humane society of MO and they take a lot of the animals that are abused or puppy mill abusers animals from all over our state....but the government has the power to go after the abusive people with laws against abuse and a dept that is in charge of enforcing that or those laws....I do not know in MO I think it is the Agriculture dept....could be entirely different in your town/city or state.....let us know what we should be looking for and we might be able to research something to help you get the need met that you seem to be seeking a step up approach to getting help someplace...

Power to pet lovers (all of us).

Bill'sFriend that's what I am fishing 4. :) Here in Indiana I could dig it out, but as for elsewhere I don't know. And the personalities are different -- Animal Control where I live are nice ppl & will work with you.

Two hiercharchies, right? One being gov't (prosecutor etc). The other being Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals type tradition. Very old tradition..1866, volunteers often. Well actually in my area there are . 1) Humane societies of Indianapolis and my own county, and . 2) Society for Prevention(etc)..of Indiana. Parallel.

One starts at the bottom of (each?) hieracharchy and goes upward. "Appeal."

(One more perservering than another.)

My town has, as part of public works, shelter and animal control

Your Reply/Post is the kind of thing to get us thinking. DS/Pet Appreciation I had ignored -- my error, didn't know for sure they existed. I think they should be approached but I have no idea how. At least no ideas so far. I'm just afraid they are mellow ppl and not into a "fight City Hall."

Below Councilperson (city) is precinct committeeperson (party). Some of those ppl R just looking for a cause.**

.....A reason I thot this was not OT is: lonely ppl often feel
..... helpless and that the powers that be are against them.

Are politics another activity ppl can get involved in to meet ppl? They R certainly needed.

. . ** Don't chose the side you sympathize with, chose the person who is into pet protection. In Chicago they are called "ward healers"; they know people and fix problems.

I would say everywhere is controlled somewhat by government and they also are responsible to the citizenry by groups like humane society....in my state our humane society has no city state or federal funding but they take the strays or those animals that are abused off the hands of the state city ect....governement and politics is usually not where I would go to get unlonely....humans in that area step all over others stabbing backs and scratching backs both to get ahold of power....most of them (in my humble opinion) have a lack of skills of kindness and more a skill set that includes making the decisions for others who might want some other decision made...

Calebb, Thank you so much for the links and the thought you have put into this! I have looked at one of the links and it has much information and is broken down by state. I have to say, I feel more empowered, after reading some of the info. I know I need to keep watch, take notes, and pictures. Right now, since the animal control visit to the neighbor, the dog looks ok. So there is really nothing more I can do, unless I notice it starts getting too skinny again, or this winter, if they do not create shelter. The animal control officers remark about an 18" overhang being appropriate shelter is bs! But I had already paid attention and on really hot days, I noticed a tree for shade, and that the dog would hang around the other side of the house, so their must have been some kind of shade over there. Now this winter when it gets below freezing, I certainly will contact humane society or some place other than just animal control. Because there is no way an 18" overhang off the roof is shelter from below freezing weather!

Animal control in our area couldn't and wouldn't do much. So our Humane Society opened a new position for a humane officer who goes around actually fielding complaints and checking on the animal. I agree 18" isn't an appropriate shelter. Neither is a dog house appropriate shade for a dog with pups stuck out in the open in the middle of the summer which is what I had to complain about once. They at least draped a tarp over part of the kennel and that was fine then.

I will try humane society next, but thought I looked and we didn't have a local one.

In PA where I live, one Humane Society serves the whole county, but we're all out in the sticks out here. Pretty much one of everything serving everyone. One road in and out of town too...just kidding...feels like it sometimes though.