UPDATE: Mama has been rehomed, but the underlying issue remains. We need stricter laws governing animal neglect here in San Marcos, TX, and across the country. Continue signing and showing your support, ESPECIALLY if you are from San Marcos, so I can get this petition to the City Council!

This is my neighbor's German Shepherd.  I call her Mama.  She lives in this tiny, TINY pen that is covered in sharp metal pieces and broken pipe.  She is dirty, skinny, and completely neglected.  I have never, not once, seen a single member of her family pet her or even interact with her, let alone take her out of this filthy pen. 

Mama barks all day and all night: she is undeniably and criminally bored.  She bites the metal fence surrounding her:  penned up all day, she's losing her sanity.  She is wasting away.  Yet, despite the clear neglect and possible abuse, she is incredibly sweet, loving and playful with me when I visit her.  She just wants love.

I have called animal control on my neighbors more than once, but because she has water (it's absolutely filthy rainwater), food (scraps flung over the fence every day or two), and shelter (it appears to be an old air conditioning duct), she does not fit the law's description of "neglected."

Unfortunately, Mama isn't the only animal living in these liminal conditions:  pets that live out their lives legally "cared for" but terribly neglected in every way that matters. 

Once this petition has enough signatures, I will send it to the City Council of San Marcos, TX, to urge them to pass stricter laws concerning animal neglect. Please sign!