This hound (mix? looked houndier in person) was running in traffic on Canal Street (*NO* traffic sense whatsoever) Sunday around 5pm. I followed him up Maple St., but lost him near the corner of Locust when he started cutting through yards. He was traveling at speed. I called the ACO and left a message with dispatch.
Sorry about the crappy photos.
He gets around
I’ve seen that guy ranging around Elliot.
I just saw this guy yesterday
I just saw this guy yesterday at the Neighborhood Schoolhouse, he seems sweet I hope he gets home and stays out of the road!
Hound
This dog was around Harris ave. quite a bit last month. Seems very friendly. Almost got the dog into my fenced yard. But the dog is definitely lost or abandoned.
better solutions and values needed
I thought the town of Brattleboro no longer employed an animal control officer? Does anyone know?
This is the second account of a dog wandering the streets of town recently. I hope that we can approach animal related problems in the community (more accurately, problems resulting from human attitudes about animals and their own responsibility and actions toward them) by building on what we actually know about animals. I don’t believe we can simply shoot them or put them “to sleep” any more than we would an innocent two year old found wandering the street. Best to try to address the humans responsible.
Across various scientific disciplines researchers have concluded that animals are conscious beings that feel emotions (e.g., fear and pain) similar to human children http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/opinion/sunday/dogs-are-people-too.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 ); so much so, that the international scientific community drafted a formal declaration of consciousness ( http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201208/scientists-finally-conclude-nonhuman-animals-are-conscious-beings ). In essence, science accepts that human and non-human animals are not equal. Rather, they are equivalent. We should look at the problems we know exist in this community regarding animals and form policies and responses that reflect established knowledge.
Dog at large
This animal spent about a week in my neighborhood last month. He is young, friendly to other dogs, but had no interest in coming close to me. So thin. I decided that he was a stray, and lamented that there was no one to call. I tried the WCHS website, to see if anyone had reported him missing, but that feature may be gone. Meanwhile, he followed his nose and the trash truck out of the neighborhood. I hope someone can tame him soon, but I agree with Zippy that perhaps a community conversation about the fate of lost or abandoned animals is in order.
Compassion for the least able ...
I would welcome the chance to meet with others willing to discuss problems related to improving animal protection in town.
It sounds pretty clear not only is this particular dog alone, he is probably cold and starving from being on the streets for too long. We could begin the conversation by recognizing that these are domesticated creatures, not wild animals capable of survival (for long).
I've seen this dog often.
He does get around. I first saw him in February, on Maple street. Then I saw him again on Spruce street in March; he followed me and my dog into the retreat trails for a while, then took off. After that, I saw him on the 20th and 22nd of April, near the corner of Spruce St and Western Ave. My wife saw him two or three times in the same period. He was always very friendly with our dog, but never let us touch him.
When I saw the dog in March, he had a green collar and no tags. When I last saw him in April, he had a shiny new red collar and a couple of dog tags. Like the others in this thread, I could never grab the dog to look at his tags.
Based on his changing collars, I suspect this dog has a home that he returns to every once in a while at least. I hope whoever cares for this dog (to the extent that they do) gets him leashed, as he’s a friendly, handsome dog, and I’d hate for him to get hurt. The last time I saw him he had a close call crossing Western ave.
Hmmm
Maybe we can triangulate where he belongs by where he goes and doesn’t go.
For example, I haven’t seen him on Cedar St., though he’s been spotted on Spruce…