Dogs are valued companions, meant to keep someone calm in times of distress and provide unconditional companionship. Though, based on what’s been both seen and heard on both main and east campus, there’s cause for concern in regards to how man’s best friend is being treated. In promontory, there are a handful of dogs that are left alone the majority of the day and are very vocal during that time.
In building C of promontory, there’s a dog promontory residents are very familiar with that barks on a very regular basis when left alone. The dog has been left home alone to bark at all hours of the day throughout this past Fall semester, and now, with the Spring semester. This has been an issue brought to the RA of both building B and C, as those in B facing west can hear it (even with the windows closed), and according to the RA’s and the past community director, nothing could be done due to the fact that the owner wasn’t home when the dog was barking.
Ray Kaiser, a resident living on the same floor of the consistently distressed animal says, “I hear [the dog] almost all the time. Being so close to [the dog] is especially difficult when I’m trying to buckle down and do my homework. Moreso because I’m worried about the emotional state of the dog.”
Kaiser also proposed an interesting point – there’s a startling and disgusting amount of dog feces around each of promontory’s buildings, as well as the parking lot. According to Kaiser, an owner actively choosing not to pick up after their dog raises questions about what else the owner chooses to ignore about their dog. Kasier said, “The [feces] everywhere is worrying not so much as that’s a bad thing for the dogs, but perhaps shines some worrying light on the owners in general. It doesn’t exactly paint a picture of competence as a dog owner.”
Almost two miles away in east campus, there have also been accounts of mistreatment. Raquel Magadan-Sanchez shared an experience she had where a neighbor’s dog was kept outside in the backyard at night and was kept there for several hours – barking and whining anxiously until a child let the dog inside the house.
“I just feel that people need to take into account that if they can hear their dog barking all night, so can everyone else,” said Magadan-Sanchez. “If they aren’t going to have their dogs inside their homes, they shouldn’t have them because dogs are companions – they deserve love and affection.”
Shaylea Stark, a resident of east campus, retold an event where she ended up reporting to non-emergency services where a dog was left locked in a car for several hours, “I took [my dog] on a walk at 11 a.m. and saw a dog in a car. I came back an hour later and it was still there. Then I had class at 4 p.m. and it was still there. I think a lot of students forget that dogs require a lot of time and attention from an already busy schedule.”
Stark was able to deduce through her friends who were familiar to the situation that the dog was being kept in the car due to issues the owner was having with another roommate’s dog. Unfortunately, Stark hasn’t been able to find out what became of the dog, or whether or not it’s still living with its owner.
“If you notice a pet around Promontory that is causing a community concern, either with noise, being off leash, seems aggressive, or is causing damage to the grounds, please call the RA on call right away,” said Kait Gruber the community director for the promontory apartments. “We as Residence Life staff cannot be everywhere at once and with information from students in the moment, it allows our staff to react and resolve any issues around our community to make everyone as comfortable and safe as possible in their home away from home.”