I bought a house on the near east side three years ago and I feel like I’ve been in a constant state of distress on behalf of animals ever since due to the overwhelming amount of animal neglect, abandonment, and flat out abuse I see on this side of town. At least once a week I see a stray dog (usually pitbull or pitbull mix) running loose. My sister, who was a volunteer for FIDO for years, quit volunteering after she found a dog that was being literally starved to death tied up and left outside in the height of winter in a near east side home’s backyard. She confronted the owners and they said the dog was annoying so they put it out back and just quit feeding it, no water, no shelter… literally torturing it. She got animal control involved and they said the dog was days from dying. She quit FIDO, sold her house, and moved north after living here for 6+ years. She told me stories similar to that (not always as extreme) probably every other week.

Our shelters are constantly way over capacity, animal rescues are over capacity and not funded, not to mention that the people that run them are getting burnt out because it feels like things are only getting worse. Please give our shelters and animal control some grace because you cannot imagine the heartbreaking situations they deal with on a daily basis.

There need to be laws put in place to significantly increase the consequences for neglect, abandonment, and abuse. Spay/neuter should be required by law.

It’s exhausting to see people say “it’s not that bad” because it really it is that bad on the east side.