My sister and her fiance adopted a large dog together. A few months later, her fiance passed away from cancer. She is stuck between a rock and a hard place. As a result, the living conditions of her dog is bordering animal cruelty. Looking for some advice.

Backstory:

So, after my sister and her boyfriend got engaged, they adopted a dog together. I'm not exactly sure of his breed, but he looks almost exactly like Scooby Doo (size, color, and all), for rederence. He is a big dog. He is also only a puppy. He is very curious, energetic, and playful. He's a smart pup.

It is my understanding that before he passed away, her fiance was the primary disciplinarian and trainer of their dog. Together, the three of them lived in a town house where, even though there wasn't a whole lot of space, I would have considered it to be just big enough to keep everyone happy.

After my sister's fiance passed away, she decided to keep the dog. It is the last and most significant connection she has to remember him. The dog's presence comforts her and helps keep her loneliness at bay.

But here is the problem. My sister, a third grade teacher, is a very gentle, soft-spoken soul. After the funeral, she moved into a tiny, one bedroom apartment, where she and her dog live. Because of her softer demeanor, she is in no way able, or willing, to properly set boundaries and acceptable behaviors for her dog. Especially one of his size. Her typical disciplinary action is to look in to her dog's eyes, hardly raise her voice, and say "[dog's name] no, don't do that", or "stop it", as if he were a person capable of undestanding exactly what she means. So, because she can't properly train him, she locks him in his questionably-sized crate for a minimum of 9 hours every day while she goes to work. She can't let the dog roam free without it getting into mischief and destroying stuff. The only time she let's him out of his crate is when she gets home, to sleep in bed with her. She is often too exhausted to do anything after work.

The areas available to walk him are not good, either. There is no real sidewalk along the road next to her apartment complex. There is only a thin strip of coarsely strewn pebbles on top of even sparser grass which is sandwiched between recurring additional apartment complexes and the road. It's really no place for a dog to walk.

So far, the dog has chewed through two separate plastic trays in his crate. On one occasion, he apparently growled at my sister as she tried to put him in his crate one morning.

I should also mention... this. dog. barks. He's been over to my parents house a few times. On the occasions where my family has gone out to eat while I stayed home, my sister locks him in his crate, and he relentlessly barks and cries out as soon as the door closes. (I was in the basement, so the dog didn't know I was home). I'm sure this dog could and would go on for hours, but after about almost an hour of having to listen to him from the floor below, I couldn't take it anymore. I let him out of his cage, and he immediately ceased his barking. I can only imagine what must go on in her apartment while she is away, and what her neighbors must hear. I don't think she is even aware of the severity of his barking when she's away.

Another detail about the dog: he has a fungal infection in his lungs, and his medication makes him very thirsty. Thirsty enough to over drink, apparently. My sister does not leave any water for him while she's away. (Or food for that matter)

What should I do to steer my sister in a direction to improve her dog's condition? She does not make enough money to pay for third party pet services like a doggy daycare or a walker. She is lonely, and her emotional attachment to the dog is such a sensitive subject that the moment my mother even mentioned doing something about it, she burst into tears. She doesn't want to lose the dog.

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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/e1ari4/my_sister_and_her_fiance_adopted_a_large_dog/