Neighbas Gotta Go

. . .Or at least their dogs.

Friday one of the dogs next door was loose again at about 4:00 when two of my daycare parents were picking their children up. One mother decided she had had enough and gave the animal shelter a personal visit.

An officer came out right away and knocked on my door. I walked him around the side of the house as he asked me for information on the owner and if he was home. I told him one of the owners was home but the other was taken to jail early this morning (I had nothing to do with that, really). I did not see the loose dog right away so I took the opportunity to tell him exactly how often these dogs (or one or the other) were loose and that I was tired of it. His response as he gazed in the dog's yard was, "I see problems already." He has no idea what problems go on over there. Before I was finished, from around the fence of the next neighbor's yard came the prodigal dog.

The officer tried to snare him with his noose but had no luck. The dog even showed his teeth at the officer. The animal control officer went to speak with the owner and then came over to speak with me.

I asked him why he wasn't taking the dog and he said because the owner was home and agreed to tie him up.

WHAT?! I asked, "Let me get this straight. You can come over here twice a week and ask that man to tie his dogs up and if he agrees that's it, no fine, no nothing?" Apparently so. I told the officer that if he doesn't take the dog(s) now they will be loose all weekend and might bite someone. He said he couldn't do anything.

The animal control officer's supervisor spoke on the radio just then and asked if he picked the dog up. He told him no and a short conversation ensued. Then the guy got in his truck and left. A minute later he was back parked in front of my house and the big boss at the animal shelter pulled up. They both went next door and had a short but very loud conversation with my neighbor Mr. Kennedy.

The daycare parent that went up to the shelter called me and asked if it was all right if she borrowed my living room Monday afternoon. I agreed and she scheduled a meeting with the animal police and a few of the daycare mothers that wanted to see those dogs gone.

The animal control officer tried once again to talk Mr. Kennedy out of his dogs peacefully but the man isn't the conversation type so we held our meeting. Mr. Melson took statements from all of us and went back to file the complaint for a vicious animal hearing.

I don't know how long it's going to take but I know we are losing the dogs soon. Now, how to get rid of the people. I'm still working on that.