If the dog is being treated so badly that you feel you must steal him for his sake, get the local Humane Society involved (I would imagine that you would be able to adopt the dog if he was removed from your neighbour’s home). If the dog is not being treated badly enough for the Humane Society to get involved, then you don’t really have a reason to steal someone else’s dog. I agree with Manda JO in that case; go to a shelter and get a dog that really is in need.
featherlou, the only time a HS will step in at all is if the dog is egregiously neglected to the point of cruelty. And in the highly unlikely event they “confiscate” the dog, it spends two unhappy & confused weeks in a pen before being killed; though states do vary. The owner most likely will get another dog at some point
A dog can spend its entire life (10-20 years) on a 6’ chain, with practically no interaction with another living thing in any state I know of, as long as it has “adequate” food, water, and shelter. The water can be filthy, the food maggotty, & the shelter a plain hard wooden dog house. The dog can be covered with sores, or have any number of physical ailments; the state cannot force a property owner(dogs are property) to spend money on treatment, unless there is some kind of public nuisnace involved. This is legal in any state I know of.
When I have called the HS, they have an officer drop off, time permitting, a “how to care for your pet” pamphlet. If the owner happens to be home, they may have a word with that person. They take a look at the dog to make sure it has shelter, water, & does not appear to be utterly starving. God bless the humane societies & people who work & volunteer there.
But, I don’t think they have the authority to determine what is really “humane.”
Manda JO makes an excellent & unemotional case, & I agree with her on no-kill shelters, for the most part. I guess I can’t look at this sort of thing unemotionally, though.
Take him, please take him. (don’t tell my SO I said that he’s a policeman 
) I can’t stand the thought of dog’s on chains it’s so cruel. It’s stealing yes, but not in the “normal” sense of the word you’d be doing the dog such a favour. Where I grew up, it was pretty much normal practice to tie dog’s up and it used to upset me everytime, they should be running about playing or sitting with you their “pack”. It must feel to them as though they have been ostraised from their “pack” what a punishment :eek: not sure exactly how dog brains work but I imagine pretty simply) anyway, let us know how you get on with it.
will come bail you out if you get caught. Or we could bake a cake and put a file in it. I think he used a rock pick in “The Shawshank Redemption.”
Where would you keep the dog until you move? Would Grampa be able to keep it on the farm?
I wish you luck in whatever you decide.
Sorry, but I think theft is always wrong. It’s terrible to see a dog so mistreated, but unless there is criminal neglect going on there’s little you can do. It’s not your dog. You have no right to steal it.
Do we know for certain that this dog belongs to the people who are caring for it? Perhaps they are minding the dog for a relative or friend who is away. Perhaps the owners are about to move to a large house in the country where the dog will be free to roam to it’s heart’s content. Perhaps someone else considers you to be a neglectful gardener, and is planning on liberating a particular large specimen from your garden. Will you respect their decision to do so?
Try speaking to the owner, or writing a letter, or leaving a pamphlet on the proper way to care for dogs. Don’t steal - it’s bad for you.