Looking For Legal Advice For A Dog That’s Crated Day And Night

Hello. I’ve recently discovered that a German Shepard puppy is being crated in the bed of a truck by my work. The owner lives in a place that doesn’t allow animals. The dog is maybe three or four months? I’ve seen this with my own eyes.

It’s my understanding via animal control (who have been called multiple times by several people over the last month) that the owner lets the dog out for potty breaks and takes the dog for walks but otherwise is likely living in the crate roughly 22 hours a day. The owner claims the dog is a service dog but doesn’t have the papers to back it. Police have been called. Essentially placer county has extremely lax laws about this whereas Sac county would have handled this already. The dog does have water and food and they claim “proper shelter” but the shelter quite literally is a metal crate in the bed of a truck with a plastic tarp on top parked in the sun. It’s still sorta cool out so I can’t claim that’s it’s legally too hot for the dog yet but I did ask animal control specifically what his long term plans are because California starts to warm up in March which is just a few days away. It only takes on bad day and the dog could die from heat. Federal law states their must be air flow when it reaches 90 but when I went by yesterday to photo and document the tarp was completely covering the crate and the truck was parked in the direct sun while it was 70 out. Under a plastic tarp with no air flow. Animal control said they would go out and speak to him but they never did. They also said they would ask about his long term plans and call me back but I got nothing from them.

What options do I have here. I absolutely feel for this person who has the pup but he even told police that the dog will always live like this because it’s a guard dog. Also if it’s a guard dog how is it a service dog?! What service can it possibly be providing locked in a box day and night (even thru the crazy rain and wind storms) How the fuck is this humane?! I’m desperate to get this puppy help. Even inmates in solitary confinement get an hour break a day. This dog is living only a slightly better life than a convicted criminal.

The woman that told me about this initially has been trying to get help for the dog for a month now. We have started going by and photoing and documenting the conditions for solid evidence but this feels helpless till it gets hotter.