The SPCA could argue that just because it says a dog would like acreage does not mean that it approves of "outside dogs".

But that wouldn't wash. Real dog rescuers and real animal welfarists turn down any applicant who says, "I have a big back yard for the dog while I am at work". Or, "I have a acreage for a dog to get plenty of exercise in."

Statements like this are red warning flags to anyone who understands a dog's mental, emotional and physical needs.

Dogs get quickly bored with the yard, even the acreage and a morning walk around the perimeter of the property does not remotely meet a dog's exercise needs. They do not do Pilates out in the yard. Nor do they amuse themselves with landscaping the yard, or cultivating the acreage, except for digging holes out of boredom and frustration. That is why so many yard dogs are chained or penned.

And past puppyhood, they get bored with each other too. Dogs have been bred for millennia to be companions to humans and research shows that puppies bond to their human more than they do to their siblings and even after a few weeks, to their mother.

Dogs want and need first to be a valued member of their human pack. Second, to be stimulated with fun and novelty. Third, to run their legs off for at least an hour a day. Contact with other dogs is a close fourth, but not so much for the dog's sake as most are not wild about other dogs, but so that they are safely socialized. Food, water, and shelter are way down the list of "must haves" for dogs.

We have seen dogs that the SPCA sold to be outside dogs for the rest of their miserable lives. The SPCA culture of "sales" rather than "welfare" is still in place. Hiring real animal welfarists would go a long way to changing this culture, but the SPCA's history, even recently, is to drive away humane employees.