Weather and schedule permitting, I bike to and from work. When I began this regimen some months back I began encountering an annoying yappy dog which repeatedly came up and barked furiously every time I stopped by the fence within which it lives, which I must do regularly because that property abuts an intersection and stoplight. In the interests of making the AYD less irritating I started carrying two hot dogs with me every time I know i’ll be riding by it; I’ll feed the AYD one hot dog on the way out and another on the way in, and now when I come near it comes close, raises one foot, and looks at me attentively waiting for the treat. It also gets furious if I fail to provide any meat.
The AYD regularly slips out of the fence. When I first began encountering it I thought its owners were being careless with it. But a couple of weeks ago I realized that its owners have in fact abandoned it; the people who lived in that house moved out and left the dog behind. A woman who lives in a house next to the dog’s lair confirmed this. I mentioned this to my best friend the other day, and she opined that I should take the dog in, averring that by feeding it so regularly I have taken on a moral responsibility for it.
I don’t intend to take the dog in. While I’m no longer phobic about dogs (yeah, therapy!), I still don’t like them much and refuse to have one resident in my home. Hot dogs and dog treats are as far as I’m willing to go.
Anyway, we’re now at the thread question. Have I assumed any moral responsibility for this stray’s welfare by regularly feeding it? Why why not?
No, you have not assumed moral responsibility. You’ve improved the dog’s lot in life to the extent you’re able to do so under the circumstances. Karana nods in your general direction. If you did decide to adopt the dog, you’d get a full blown smile.
I don’t think that you are obliged to help the dog, but having taken enough interest in him to toss him hot dogs somewhat regularly, does your level of caring not extend far enough to trying to help him now that he has been abandoned by his owners?
The next door neighbour who is aware of the dog’s situation should have already called some kind of animal welfare agency - like a shelter, a rescue or animal control. But her, having failed to do anything about it, has left it up to others to take action so the dog doesn’t starve to death or otherwise suffer. I think as a kind and ethical person, you are in a position to help the dog in some way, not necessarily adopting it - especially as you have no desire to care for a dog, but at least alert someone in an official capacity who can help the dog.
Or turn your back and walk away because it’s not your dog and not your problem.
No, it does not. I began feeding the dog for entirely selfish reasons. I care about the dog only in the sense that, given the choice between feeding it hot dogs and dog treats to make it less annoying and beating, macing, or electrically shocking it to drive it away, I choose the former.
I’m actually willing to call a rescue shelter to get them to pick the dog up. I just don’t care enough to follow through.
If it were a cat, I’d probably care more. I like cats in and of themselves.
I’m not sure of that. I don’t see the dog every day. At most I am providing it four to six hot dogs a week, and no water. It is clearly not starving or dying of thirst, either it has enough hunting skills to live off birds and rats or whatever or someone who actually lives in the neighborhood is giving it food as well.
Also my main motivation is to make it less annoying.
I’d say the thing to do is find a home for the dog somehow. My current best friend was essentially abandoned, he had other friends feeding him for almost a year, and then when his home was about to be torn down I said he could come live with me. He’s a great dog, something I could tell right away, and I knew it work out mutually. That may not be the situation with AYD. But if there is a shelter you can contact, or someway to advertise that this dog needs a home perhaps you could find the time to try to help him find a friend to live with. As for moral obligation, I don’t see anything that you could find a majority of people to agree on. You are making this guy’s life better now whether you intend to or not (and I think you actually do intend to), but you aren’t obligated to do that for any reason I can think of.
Whether or not you’ve been feeding the dog, you have learned that its owners have abandoned it. For this reason alone you are morally obligated to have the dog taken to a shelter, placed in the care of a rescue organization, or adopted by a responsible owner.
I agree that I have a moral responsibility not to harm it without a good reason, which is why I haven’t beaten it with a stick or maced it to keep it the frickety-frack out of my way. Where do you see my moral responsibility to it deriving from?
Christian Brothers was a quarter century ago, mi amigo. All I remember about St. Francis is that he gave some beggar his cloak. Can you explain what you mean?
That’s the joke. Me not realizing this isn’t one of your hypotheticals is proof that I din’t read the tread. (Which I did actually, I was just kidding you.)
How about this? I am a dog person. Cats are ok but I can’t deal with their rejection. Or their pointy ness.
A year or so ago I took car of a cat that was hanging out at my friends’ house. I got him in a cage and drove him a half hour to a no-kill shelter and paid $70 for them to take him.
So I saved a cat for you. Will you save a dog for me?
Even if I were willing to take the dog in, which I’m not, it would be a lie to claim that I’d be the one taking care of it. It would be my wife, who already has three young children (the oldest out two year old daughter) to look after. Hardly fair to her.
To say that there’s a moral responsibility in this situation is too strong, so I answered that there is none. You don’t really have a moral responsibility until you choose to take on that responsibility. (i.e. once you adopt it, you can’t just kick it out again when the mood strikes you.) There are too many random things surrounding us to take a moral responsibility for anything that just wanders by.
However, there are a lot of good-better-best kinds of ways to approach this. Feeding the dog at all is better than doing nothing. Taking it to a shelter is better than that. Adopting it is better than either one (assuming you’re a responsible pet owner).
Zipper’s not saying to take in the dog, but to help it. I’m 1000% a cat person, but I hate to see any animal without a home. You say you’re willing to call a rescue organization-please, please do so. If they won’t come, how many of us will it take to beg you to take him yourself?
