Did I do the right thing?

[Martha & Cooper]

I took a drive today with a couple of my neighbors and showed them where I used to live as a teenager.   My heart broke when I saw a dog chained to a tree in the front yard.  The chain was wrapped around the tree several times and the poor dog was shivering.   I stopped the car and looked and could see no sign of a water bowl, no dog house, nothing for shelter. The dog look a little listless to me from the car. 

Don't have any idea how long that dog was there, but I came right home and called the hotline for abused animals.   In my mind, I figured that if the dog was just there temporarily, it is better that they check it out, than if the dog is there all the time and nobody calls. 

Would you have done the same?   Was I wrong?

UPDATE:   I drove back over there this morning and the dog and the chain were gone!   Thanks goodness! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is me giving you a standing ovation, Martha. You did exactly the right thing, and I definitely would have done the same.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm right next to Karen clapping away.  I'm sure this poor dog appreciated this so much, Martha!

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Absolutely the right thing to do...I hope you have an opportunity to see if it did you any good.

Humans suck sometimes.

[Bonnie and Kona]

I feel a little ill just reading this. You absolutely did the right thing. I don't care if he was out there 1/2 hour!

[Sharon & Monty]

KUDOS!  You are my kind of woman!  

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

You did great! I would have done the same thing!

[Carol and Banjo]

Martha....I love that you did the exact right thing!  Hats off to you!

[Martha & Cooper]

Thanks, I feel better about calling.   I just kept worrying about that dog until I got home and called.   We have been having popup showers all week and I can't imagine that poor dog chained to that tree and no place to get in out of the weather.   I really hope that is not the case.    :-(  At the very least, the dog should have had a bowl of water and some way to keep warm.    I wanted so badly to go and unchain that dog and just put him/her in my car, but you just can't do that.   Cooper is getting extra snuggles from his Mom today.   I am hoping I hear something back from the Humane Society, but the voicemail said the calls are kept confidential.   I did leave my phone number.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Martha, I call the police for this kind of thing. There are ordinances in every town about providing shelter, etc. With this being a holiday weekend, the Humane Society may not get the call, so you may want to notify the police, too, if you're worried.

[Martha & Cooper]

Thanks Karen,I will try that tomorrow if the dog is still there, but I am pretty sure the police should already know.   They do routine patrols around our entire town.   We are not that big.   Our police force is another story for another time though.  

[Carolyn and Ruby]

Don't second guess yourself! You did a good thing.  If it turns out that this was a very temporary situation and the animal was not being harmed, you still did nothing wrong by reporting a concern.

 

Always error on the side of the innocent.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

yes you totally did the right thing!