My friend won't help her dogs flea problem?

Question

While at a friends house the other day, I saw that her dog was infested with fleas. The fleas were so bad that you could see them on the dogs fur from 5-8 ft away. It was the worst flea problem I've ever seen. The dog has redness/bumps all over and is obviously MISERABLE.

The dog is also underweight. My friend told me he recently lost weight and I suspect it's due to the fleas. I warned my friend that her dog could get very sick, even die. She said she was going to have the dog flea dipped. I offered her some Frontline Plus and she refused. After offering a few times, and then even asking her to please take the flea meds, she still refused.

I feel AWFUL for this dog. I can't even go to my friends house w/o getting bitten by fleas myself and I feel so incredibly sad for the dog. But I am powerless.

We are dog lovers and believe you should care for your pets like you would your kids. The dog can't help himself. How do I handle this tactfully?

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I am glad to see I'm not the only one who feels so strongly about this poor dog. I will talk to her tomorrow and tell her how important it is she help the dog. If she doesn't remedy the problem very quickly (within about 24 hours) I will report her. I agree, she should NEVER OWN A DOG!

Answer 1

yes, the fleas could be the cause of weightloss... but i suspect the dog has worms too if she allows it to have fleas.

a few fleas inbetween treatments is fine. a infestation which is causing the dog pain and making him sick is not.... allowing the dog to go untreated is not ok when it is affecting his health.

this is called neglect.

if you are her friend, TELL her what she is doing is tantamount to abuse, tell her the dog is obviously sick and go WITH HER to the store to get some FRONTLINE.

if she refuses, tell her you will report her if she doesnt. be serious when you are telling her this - she probably doesnt understand the seriousness of it.

if she still refuses - convince her to take the dog to your local humane society or no kill shelter..

if she still refuses - REPORT HER.
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Answer 2

If you already tried talkin to her and yoo even offered her frontline and shes still refusing then i think she wants the dog to die. I don't even think its cause she doesn't have money. She just doesn't care. And if she doesn't care yoo need to do something about it. Animals cant talk so yoo need to be the voice for them. That is sooo annoying. Especially if you offering her the medication. She can go to jail for animal cruelty. Are yoo close friends with her? If not i would say report her. Cause that dog is going to die sooner or later. And yea the dog is losing weight cause of the fleas there probably sucking the life out of him. That is sooo sad. I mean a minor case yoo don't have to report it, but if yoo can see it from 5-8 feet away yoo need to be more strict about it. Or when shes not looking just apply the frontline on the dog.

Answer 3

I know she's your friend, but as an animal lover YOU HAVE AN OBLIGATION to to something, you're NOT powerless! This is a form of animal abuse, & your not speaking up about it means that you're taking part in that abuse.
Fleas are not healthy for he dog, but also very unhealthy for the people living with the dog...You'll be helping your friend stay healthy as well.

Simply contact your local animal control, pet rescue or veteranarian & let them know the details of what you saw. If the facility you call cannot help, they will give you the correct # to call for help. You don't have to tell them your name, so your friend will never know that YOU said something, unless YOU tell her.

They won't make her give away the dog, they'll just come to her home, see the dog for themselves, & legally require her to give to dog treatment. She'll have plenty of time to take care of the problem- If she still doesn't do anything by the required time, only then will they take the dog away.

Answer 4

First of all call the ASPCA and call them now! Why would you care about ending a friendship with such a cold and uncaring person? If she gets pissed off because you called because you cared "OH WELL" At least you did something to save that poor dogs life. You do know that flea infestation will eventually kill that poor dog and it's a terrible way to die. If you won't make the call to help the dog then please give me her address so I can make the call. I would call on my own Mother if she was slowly killing any of her pets. Please make the call. This upsets me so much thinking of what that poor dog is feeling. Or please get some frontline on him/her as soon as possible. You have to do something!! It is your duty as a caring human being to help .

Answer 5

Bless u for being a caring person. Ur friend does not deserve to own a dog as she apparently cares nothing about its welfare. The dog is suffering and she refuses ur help, ur only alternative is to report the situation to the humane society or any animal welfare org. Tell her u r her friend, but u cannot stand by and watch her dog suffer needlessly, either she gets help or accepts ur help or u will turn her in for animal neglect.
And do it, if u lose her as a friend, u haven`t lost much as she is heartless and u just may save a defenseless dog`s life. Good luck and may ur good deed bring u rewards.

Answer 6

You must report her for the dogs sake yes the dog can die from a flea infestation and other problems caused by fleas. the redness and the bumps means that the dog is allergic to flea bites and something must be done soon or that dog will die . You must report her she is a horrible irresponsible dog owner . please do something . if you dont want to report her then ask her if you can borrow the dog and treat it yourself and know that you tried . I hope I helped. good luck .

Answer 7

I would call the SPCA (also known as the ASPCA) or Humane Society and report that person for cruelty. You can do this anonymously. PLEASE do something because this dog is suffering horribly and the dog is probably already sick! Tact has nothing to do with it and your friend isn't interested in relieving the suffering of that poor dog. I think it's great you offered meds for the dog.

Answer 8

Reporting her is 100% the best decision. Since the dog has lost weight and has a skin infection, she has committed animal cruelty. Make sure you explain everything to Animal Control when you make the report, and call them back in a week or so to see if they actually did anything (normally, they don't do anything at all).

Answer 9

You should report her 4 animal cruelty. If she can't take care of a dog, than y own one? That dog could have some serious illness that should be taken care of by a vet or something.

Answer 10

You know what I would do and since you have the Frontline is sneak it on the dog when she isn't looking
You aren't powerless, the dog is and thank you for caring about him but you must take some sort of action