Dear Mary-anne. The dogs in my neighbour's yard look maltreated, what can I do?

QUESTION:

My partner and I rent the top floor of an old house that looks down into our neighbour's yard where they keep two big dogs.

I'm not sure what breed the dogs are, but they're huge and angry. The owners never takes them out, he just throws food out the back door and yells all the time. The yard is disgusting because the owners leave a tap running, so the ground is muddy and they never pick up the dog poo. The dogs fight viciously over scraps, or else just lie on the wet ground. It's a terrible life for them.

We've complained to the animal cruelty people who came and visited, but nothing changed. I don't want to complain again because we're the only ones who look down into the yard and they'll know it was us.

We are recent immigrants to New Zealand and we're uncertain and a bit nervous.

ANSWER:

I wish I could reassure you that this is a rare, isolated situation. However, in this country, we have high rates of abuse – both with domestic violence and animal abuse. Unsurprisingly, it would seem the two are linked. 

As regards the dogs, there's a belief that our legislation is too lenient towards offenders who mistreat animals. I read that the SPCA prosecuted just 62 of the 15,584 complaints it received in the year from 2017-18 – a disheartening figure indeed. The SPCA are overworked and underfunded. This proviso sits at the bottom of their website: However, our legal powers are limited and some situations that may appear distressing are actually not against the law. Some situations may be meeting an acceptable minimum standard, but may not be best practice. Whilst our inspectors will always encourage best practice, they can only enforce minimum standards.

I don't know who you rang and complained to, but I'm wondering if the dogs in the yard fall into this category of not best practice, but meeting a minimum standard. No-one wants this and it would be distressing for the animal protectors too. Like you, I feel sorry and horrified about these dogs. It's admirable that you tried to help them, even though you're wary of the owners. Your status as recent immigrants shouldn't make any difference to your ability to recognise abuse – or report it – and you don't need to feel intimidated by your neighbours. We regard our police highly in New Zealand and you can go to them if you are worried for your safety. 

You can also complain again, or make enquiries about any action or monitoring regarding the well-being of these dogs. Please be assured that what you see next door to you is not indicative of the way the majority of New Zealanders treat their animals.