Don’t leave your puppy out in a thunderstorm.  This puppy is chained to a tree in his people’s back yard.  The lead is too short for him to reach the shelter of the patio area.  He has food and water, and (theoretically) that bushy tree-like thing might offer enough shade on a blazing hot day, but this baby can’t get out of the rain.

While I believe that not leaving any pet tied to a tree without the ability to get out of the rain is such blindingly obvious wisdom that no one should ever have to be given this advice, there are those who lack general common sense or the ability to read (as in: pet care manuals).  I understand that in some states it doesn’t rain 300 days out of the year, but here in Oregon rain comes and goes frequently all day long, three seasons out of the year.  So if you leave your dog in your yard without access to shelter there is a very good chance he will be rained on.

What’s worse than being rained on, for a dog, is being stuck outside (alone) during a wicked thunderstorm.

Here are some reasons not to leave a puppy out in a thunderstorm:

1.  They can get sick.

2.  They can get struck by lightening.

3. They can become neurotic puddings who will make you miserable.

4.  They will be afraid.

5.  Your neighbors will pound on your door and might even scale your fence to get the poor baby out of the rain.

6.  You will be tortured by dogs when you get to hell.

If you must leave your puppy for hours on end every day he should be inside where he is around familiar smells and not exposed to weather.  Because puppies are notoriously incontinent you may need to keep him in a crate.  Give him some things to chew on, something that has your scent on it that you don’t mind getting ruined, and be sure that the puppy has gone to the bathroom before incarceration.

I am not endorsing that anyone leave a puppy by himself for hours on end at all.  If you don’t have someone home to be around the puppy you may not be an appropriate person to have one.  Grown dogs can handle hours of alone time much better than puppies.

Since I confronted the owners of the puppy pictured above (who claimed they “didn’t know it was going to rain” IT’S SPRINGTIME IN ORGEON, OF COURSE IT’S GOING TO RAIN!) the puppy has not been left outside on his own at all.  Certainly not in the rain.

The next time you are tempted to leave your puppy outside during a thunderstorm how about, instead, you put the puppy in the house and leave yourself chained to the tree?