I guess I'm posting this just to get a second opinion on the whole matter. I [21M] am about to move into a new place with my fiance and away from the shitty room mate [25F] I'm currently living with. I've been considering calling the local humane society to report her after moving out, but I'm not sure if I'm just imagining things or overreacting or something. I know it's better safe than sorry, but I also don't wanna potentially stir up a bunch of drama if it isn't needed.
She's got two cats, a ball python, and an elderly, disabled dog (some kind of pom mix, I think). Until about a month ago, the cats and dog had a near constant supply of food (they were fed the same food, which I already know isn't healthy), but now all three of them SHARE one can of wet food a day. The cats are losing noticeable weight, and have started knocking down the trash can and stealing food of the counters in attempt to get any more food. There have been a few instances where they don't get food for several days, and then she'll joke about how they're "so fat" and should be fasting anyways.
The dog isn't as active as the cats, since she has some sort of hind leg degeneration (I don't know what exactly), but she's let out once or twice a day and usually ends up pooping and peeing all over the house instead. She actually escaped a few months ago after being let outside and forgotten about, and was taken to a local shelter. The shelter refused to give the dog back to my room mate because of the condition she was in; beyond her disability, her fur was shaved over the summer despite being double-coated, she has some kind of untreated fungal skin infection, and her nails were extremely long. Supposedly, the dog has extreme anxiety involving getting her nails cut, but they were bad enough that the shelter accused my room mate of being neglectful. Eventually, she paid some fee to get her dog back, and none of her conditions have been treated.
I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with the python too. I have my own so I know the signs of good health and how they should be cared for. He seems semi-regularly fed, and his tank is decent, but he's so extremely lethargic to the point where he defecates all over himself in his hide, where he literally never leaves. When he is taken out of his tank, he's forced to be around the other animals, which is obviously stressful but according to her, she's "conditioned" him into being comfortable around them. He's got very little muscle, and acts NOTHING like our BP, who's very healthy and active. She doesn't seem to mind how unnatural his behavior is. I'm really concerned about all of these animals, and it is distressing being in a situation currently where I can't do anything about it. I try to care for all of them as best I can, but I'm not home a lot of the time and when I try to communicate concern in a polite and reasonable way, she even seems offended by my concern, and would lash out of anger if I dared suggest that what she was doing was wrong.
TL;DR: My room mate feeds her two cats and disabled dog very little, and occasionally doesn't feed them for days at a time. The local shelter is aware of how poor her dog's health is, as it has multiple untreated problems that cause her a lot of pain and discomfort. She also has a very sick ball python, whose well-being she doesn't seem too concerned with either.
So, what do you all think? As I was writing this, I realized it's pretty fucking obvious that she's not fit to be a pet owner. But I guess I still want to know anyone else's opinions. Also, when the time comes to report all of this, what kinds of steps should I take? Should I get some kind of statement from the shelter that kept her dog? What other kinds of evidence would be helpful?
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/ausv4b/is_my_room_mate_an_animal_abuser/
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