Elderly next door neighbor and her elderly dog aggression issues

Question

My next door neighbor lives alone and I would guess that she is in about her mid to late 60's. She has a husky who is 13 years old. As of about 2 weeks ago, it came to my attention that her dog has suddenly become aggressive.

She claims that the dog has recently acquired arthritis, yet she continues to take him out on long walks. She has a couple of dog bites on her arm that were caused from this dog. She talks to the dog in ways that are a bit beyond normality. She believes that the dog communicates with her based on his facial gestures.

Over this last weekend, she peered over the fence while I was in the backyard, waving me to go up to the fence. When I did, she showed me a fresh dog bite that her dog had given her about half an hour before she showed it to me. Her hand was dripping with blood and she had an open wound. She refused going to the doctor by saying that her dog is up to date on his shots so she doesn't have any worry about her bite getting infected.

She told me that another neighbor must have called the police because when she was walking home with her dog after he bit her, the police stopped and offered her assistance- she refused, again by telling them about her dog being up to date on his shots.

That same day, her dog was refusing to go into her house after the walk. I told her first off, that she shouldn't be walking him if she is aware that he has arthritic issues. She just ignores me when I offer advice. After about an hour of trying, I was able to get her dog into her house.

A few days later- today, the same thing happened with the dog out in her front yard for about 8 hours, refusing to go inside. He was walking around my front yard and near my other next door neighbors yard, but once we got him back into his owners yard, he would stop and lay down. I was able to get him back into her house with a trail of dog treats.

I think that she, my neighbor, is very neurotic and I really don't know what to do or who to contact. This evening, we called Animal Control, but they said that because the dog wasn't a stray, they couldn't do anything- nor did they offer any suggestions on what we could possibly do to alleviate this issue.

Does anybody have any idea/s of what I can do or who I can contact, that can come out and talk to this woman and evaluate her dog (and maybe her, too)?

Answer 1

If you know any children or sisters then contact them. This indicates some serious problems.

Try and get in the house to look for problems.

Dogs are a pretty good judge of character. Dog was not aggressive to you. She is abusing this dog even if she does not understand it.

When the dog was in your yard it was a stray.

Answer 2

You can contact Adult Protective Services at your local Department of Social Services and they can evaluate her safety.

Answer 3

You could try reaching ASPCA although I'm pretty sure their time would be better spent elsewhere.

As I read in your comment, feeding chocolate could well be animal cruelty... Even if they cannot help, they might be able to point you in the right direction.

According to what you said, both the woman and the dog have become unsafe together. I'd try and contact organisms that would be able to help on any side.