BUSTED..................

Yesterday, early afternoon, I had a visit from law enforcement in the form of animal control. Besides being mildly annoyed that he showed up five minutes after I had finally sat down to eat my lunch, I was really saddened by his visit.

First, it was obvious that this was NOT this guys favorite thing to do, and I felt bad for him that he was having to play "bad cop," when he was clearly not comfortable doing so. The poor man rang the door bell which of course sent Ben and Emma into bold barking fits of noise. I invited him in and he ask if the dogs bit; I guess he HAD to ask since it is a hazzard of his job, but you've all seen pictures of my dogs and fierce looking they are not. I told him "No! They wouldn't bite him, they would just try and get out, or keep barking if I stepped outside to talk with him.

Once inside he shared the reason for his visit; (His words, not mine.) "You're neighbor is out to get your dogs." He went on to tell me that this neighbor was keeping a log and taking pictures, and was planning on taking me to court. WOW! I explained to the officer that with the business I run lots of people come to the door, and if they don't know about the dogs they often open the door without sticking their foot inside first, (a trick I teach all frequent visitors) and off the dogs go for a little joy run. At this point he refered to his clip board and ask if they had been loose at eleven thirty that morning. Sure enough. Either the young man that helps me weed my garden didn't latch the gate, or else the meter reader had visited and left the gate open, but as I was making lunch I heard this scatching sound coming from the garage and when I looked out there were their two happy faces, panting tounges and all.

By this time, the dogs had figured out that the officer wasn't there to visit with them so they went back to snoozing on the sofa. The officer continued to share my neighbors complaints and this one was my favorite. "You allow your daughter to walk the dogs, and she is unable to control them." It was all I could do not to laugh, but even the officer had a smile on his face when I told him that my daughter was seventeen, and while she might let them get away from her for fun, she really has no problem controlling them. (They weigh about twelve pounds each.) I could tell that the officer had many conflicting emotions, having to do his job and follow up on the complaint, but finding it hard to believe my little cuties were really a menace to the neighborhood.

I was quick to claim responsibility for my dogs. I understand the leash laws and know I am suppose to keep them from running loose at all times. I really tried not to offer excuses while giving explainations as to why I am not always successful at this. Bottom line is we need to get better at stopping the dogs from being dogs if we want them to remain part of the family. This makes me sad for them. I understand the not everyone is a dog lover, first hand in fact since I used to be in that camp.

Mosly, I feel really sad that my neighbor has nothing better to do with his time than keep a log of my dogs transgressions. He was here when I moved in eighteen years ago, and though he never spoke directly to me, he has screamed at me once when I was in the middle of chasing Ben to disipline him for running away and Ben stepped onto his grass. He has also called the city on me a couple of times when the trash people dumped my trash and left a couple of pieces of it in the road. (I was happy that he did this as at the time I was calling the city for the same reason. They had changed trash companies without a citizen vote, and the new company was leaving trash all over the place. I actually thanked him for calling that time.) My point is neither of us has spent a lot of time over the years getting to know one another or being friends. Imagine my surprise, while at the community center last fall getting flu shots for the residents ,when this man came up to me and started chatting and shared with me that he was battling bladder cancer. He was feeling upbeat about his recovery, and I offered him encouragement, wished him well, and walked away thinking it very strange that he had bothered to talk with me, especially about such a personal subject.

So, me in my little glass half full world, added this man's health problems to my prayer list, and he put my dogs on his hit list. As Alanis would say, "Isn't it ironic?"

As soon as the officer left, I posted notes on both doors to warn people not to open the door before someone comes to it, and have posted their leashes at the door to hook them up before opening. I am debating whether or not I should start chaining them up when they go out to potty as a safegaurd to the gate being left open. And I am stepping up my prayers for my neighbors peace. Please join me in that, as well as praying that Ben and Emma adjust to the new rules of captivity. Thanks!