Leaving one's canine unattended

I hate to see this: some people leave their dogs outdoors, alone, for hours on end. Dogs are social animals with a pack mentality. They see themselves as members of the pack or leaders of the pack to which their owners also belong. When they are left alone, they seek out others with whom to socialize. Thus I heard a dog in a backyard bordering an alley Friday night barking at anyone who walked by. I walked over to investigate and came upon a beautiful female Alaskan, about 60 lbs., with a grey and white coat. She jumped to put her forelegs on her fence and stopped barking when I came up to her. “Sasha,” read her tag. Very friendly, she just wanted someone to keep her company. I felt bad that I couldn’t stay. Her fence proudly displayed a very funny “BEWARE OF DOG” sign. “She’ll lick you to death,” joked a friend who also stopped by. A few houses south in the same alley (2900 block of Jerome to the 2900 block of Birchwood), another dog also barked for attention. I worried about him because he was sensitive to my touch and wore a very heavy collar; I thought perhaps he was being abused or trained for fighting. I didn’t think I had enough evidence to call 311 to report the owners, though. It just isn’t fair to keep dogs alone for hours on end. Just being in the same room while ignoring the dog is a far better option; the dog considers that sufficient companionship.