[user104658]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

I was just putting myself in their position, if it were a relative of mine, I would much rather be approached by my neighbour first

I agree with that too. I'm are very confused on this one. I think approaching the family first would be the best thing for the family... but on the other hand, I think going straight down the RSPCA route would most likely result in the best outcome for the dog (by allowing them to get a look at the situation "raw", as it were, rather than the family taking action that makes it LOOK much better when in reality there are still problems).

I guess if you were to make a direct comparison to suspected child abuse... if you see it you should ALWAYS contact the authorities before alerting the family to the fact that you've seen bad things happening. If you let them know then it's much more likely to have been given a "fresh coat of gloss" by the time anyone gets there. Once aware, people will dress up a bad situation where they are struggling to make it seem like it's less of a problem than it is...