Pets left home alone

[jcalexis]

Do you live your pet(s) home alone? is it a crime if you do? please let me know.

[lywb2168]

I am not sure what you mean.  If you are gone to work or school and will be gone all day, make sure you leave food and water and take him/her for a walk (in case of a dig) before you leave and that is perfectly fine and understandable. If you mean like overnight or alone for a couple of days and it is a dog, then yes if is not a crime it should be. If you need to go on a trip and cannot take the dog with you find a kennel or a frinds/neighbor who could come and walk him and make sure it has enough food and water.

If you are talking of other pets like hamsters and birds, that do not need walking then it might be right.  I understand that cats are also easy to leave alone, since they use their litter for their business and you could probable get a food feeder that will keep them fed and probably with enough water.  But if you are going to be gone for more than 2 days, you should always get someone to come and check on any pet just to make sure that they are OK and that they have enough food and water.

[hotcocoa]

When I go on a trip for a few days, I put my dog in the kennel and leave my cat at home.  My neighbors(who are wonderful) come and feed/water/entertain my cat daily.  I feel my pets are in good hands when I'm away.

[Nancy5]

I also am not sure what you mean.  If you are going to work/school  you have no choice but to leave your pets alone for the 8+ hours you might be gone.  Make sure there is food/water for the pets, clean litter box for cats, and take your dog for a walk or if you have a fenced yard, let him out  before you go.  Don't go and let your pet out alone.

If you are going for a few days, it's ok to leave cats alone as long as there is plenty of water, food, and extra litter boxes.  More than 2 days, I would have a friend or neighbor coming in to check on them.  If you have a dog, no way, either board them, have a friend stay at your house, or if they are agreeable have your friend take your pet to their home, but dogs can't be left alone for long periods of time.

Hope this was the answer to your post.

[yaayme]

Yes, I leave my cat home alone, but not when I am going out of town. I leave her with my parents or siblings if I am away for long periods of time. 

[lvstephanie]

When I go to work, I'll take my dog outside to do her business, but after that I usually can leave her for 8+ hours until I get home. Every once in awhile she won't be able to hold it until I get home, so I might find a present on the kitchen floor. But that's usually if she isn't feeling well; a few weeks ago she was pretty sick and even when I come home for lunch, she'd have left me a gift. My cat is fine for longer periods of time. Although he'll give me an earful if it's after 6 and he still hasn't gotten his supper (even if he has some dry food still in his dish).

However if I'm going away for a few days, I either bring them along (like if I'm going to my parent's over the Thanksgiving / Christmas season), or I get a friend to come in and check on them each day.

I also got a home security system installed, less to protect the house from break-ins (my little 200-lbs. mastiff is enough of a deterrent) but more because the fire alarms are connected to the system, so if the smoke alarms go off, the security company will dispatch the fire dept. and call me so I can rush home and check on my pets. (My ex-roommate helped "test" this out by burning stuff on the stove and then not turning off the alarms before the firetrucks were called out to my home).

I think it also depends on the animal... Some are more independent than others. I had an uncle (whose wife was a stay-at-home mother) that had a very dependent / needy dog. The dog would whine any time everyone left the house, and would act up clawing furniture etc. if they were gone for even an hour. They once had to take him to the vet when they got home from going out to eat, since he had tore open the inside of his mouth trying to chew through a baby-gate that they had put up to keep him from going into the basement. When I was going to college near their home, they'd sometimes hire me to "doggy-sit" if they wanted to go out in the evening, even though the dog shoud've been fine being alone for a couple of hours.

As for the legalities, that is solely based on the state (and even city) that you live in. I'm sure most places have some type of laws that dictate how long of an absence is deemed animal neglect (or if not a set time-frame, then other conditions like lack of water, feces on the floor, etc. where it becomes criminal neglect / abuse).

[wccohn]

As long as my dog has food and water he's fine at home alone.

[dmahoney]

We have doggie doors, so our dogs can come in and out as often as they like. But I would never leave them alone for days.

[minioncookies]

leaving pets alone home depends on the time frame. If you are going to work or be out for a while then it's ok as long as you leave food and water and let them out before you go. Dogs can't always hold it in for a long time so you wanna make sure you either let them out or have some one letting them out now if you have a fenced yard i'd just leave a door open I leave the door open for my dogs they come and go as they please. On hot days I put extra water out and leave the fans running so they can cool off. Now if your going on vacation or whatever the case and are going to be Gone longer than a day then you need to put them in a kennel or you need to have someone come over and take care of them because .neglecting an animal is animal cruelty and you could be charged with a fine and serve jailtime. It is not acrime to leave animals alone as long as its for a. Short period of time and they have food and water. Also beware that people can also call you in on suspision of animal cruelty and you can end up losing your pets if you leave them unattended without food or water for long periods of time. Animals have feelings too and can get dehydrated just like humans. I think if your not going to take care of an animal you should not own one.

[BlackSheepNY]

Do you live your pet(s) home alone? is it a crime if you do? please let me know.

Home alone for a short while is OK.  Home alone for days or weeks (when that animal is a dog or cat) and needs to be walked, put out to go to the bathroom, should have fresh food/water (or a cat box that needs to be cleaned) on a daily basis - is not right.  Someone should be caring for these animals while whoever it is, is gone for a period of time.

You weren't very specific on what you really meant so, if you see a neighbor who is leaving their animals alone for long periods of time and these animals are left out in the open, with no shelter/food/water or are chained up for days, or appear to be too thin, unkempt, or hurting, you need to report it and FAST.

[bhiett]

Be really careful what you leave for pets to play with when you are going to be gone for a long time.  We saw a poor little puppy with his head stuck in a big plastic jar and could not get out of it.  We were able to help him get it off but he could have broken his neck or suffocated if we had not intervened.

[pressman]

Do you live your pet(s) home alone? is it a crime if you do? please let me know.

  It all depends on how long you will be gone,  If it is hot and I will be gone for a couple of hours the air is left on, or I will leave a light on if we will be home late .  It is not a crrime

[dbsaus1]

Generally speaking yes, It is OK to leave your dog at home while you are at work. Just make sure he/she does not get overly anxious while you are gone.

[6265AT99]

Do you live your pet(s) home alone? is it a crime if you do? please let me know.

Everyone leaves their pets home alone for some part of the day because let's face it, we all have work or school or even errands and you just can't take them everywhere you go.  So I would say it's not a crime unless you leave them for an extended period of time without anyone checking on them to provide fresh water and food and of course, if it's a dog, take it out for a walk.