MrsMurphysChowder t1_j7ul7b6 wrote on February 9, 2023 at 2:57 PM

You did a great job calling them all out in the comments. Time to rally the neighbors in the immediate area, and possibly offer the guy help cleaning up his property and adopting out some of the dogs? The article says he's disabled so I'm thinking 2 things might be factoring into his inability/unwillingness to properly care for these dogs he calls his babies:

Perhaps he relies on the sale of the dogs for part of his income, and is too proud to ask for financial help or is not eligible for financial help.
Perhaps his disability prevents him from doing the labor required for proper care of the dogs and he does not have anyone to help him. I don't know the guy personally, I am just conjecturing, however I am disabled and unable to work and yet do not qualify for any assistance so I can see how that might be an issue for someone else as well. I am definitely not defending leaving dogs out in Sub-Zero temperatures, but I always try to look at situations from a kind perspective. This article is the first I've seen mention of his disability.

IamSauerKraut t1_j7uw6fq wrote on February 9, 2023 at 4:10 PM

If the guy is not able to properly take care of dogs due to some disability (if it does not involve mobility then why is it mentioned?), then perhaps he ought not to have that many dogs.

MrsMurphysChowder t1_j7uwu4l wrote on February 9, 2023 at 4:15 PM

Well, agreed. But if he already had the dogs before he was disabled I can see that it would be hard to part with them. I mean he could be lying completely and not be disabled and not really think his dogs are his babies, or he could have just fallen into an unmanageable situation and feel unable to ask for help.

IamSauerKraut t1_j7uxzef wrote on February 9, 2023 at 4:22 PM

Whatever his situation, John Ames failed in his duties to his dogs during incredibly low temperatures. He could ask for help, sure, but a 2ndary issue here, as I see it, is the failure of town employees to do their jobs.

MrsMurphysChowder t1_j7uyqv8 wrote on February 9, 2023 at 4:27 PM

I agree that everyone, including the owner, the town officials, the SPCA, the reporter, and PETA, have all failed these dogs. Just trying to see a way forward that gets the owner invested in change rather than getting his back up.

archilchimes t1_j7x30vc wrote on February 10, 2023 at 12:35 AM

Thank you for the kind words. I completely understand what you're saying (this is the first I've heard of the disability, too; I obviously don't know its nature). I'm honestly not looking for an unkind resolution here: something like you describe, where there was a a gradual, community effort to get the dogs better homes in some manner, would be great. It's just that the guy has iron-clad protection in perpetuating the current situation (when he, by the law, shouldn't), and it's a situation, as discussed, that invites suffering. There needs to be a path to better for the dogs and the community.