Dogs!

I have had a problem the last five years that has finally taken me to a new level. The two small towns we live in do nothing to keep dogs where they belong. People here do not have fences so most of them are kept in their yards by chains or just the occasional yell. I love dogs and have been known to take in several strays. These dogs though, belong to people that are not taking care of them.

My kids are terrified of dogs. I have no idea how many encounters they have had when they were playing carefree in the back yard when a dog came up and scared them. Some of the most aggressive dogs have been the little ones so it doesn't matter what size your dog is, or how tame, my kids will be afraid of it. This has been a huge annoyance when we go visit other people and my seven year old is standing on their couch.

There are loose dogs at the school every day. Kobi was apparently snipped at during recess. The other day, someone saw me yelling at Josh to walk on into the school or I would spank him. That was an interesting look I received and I am sure he thought I was a horrible parent. I have had enough of Josh's fear and mostly of people not leaving their dogs at their house.

If you are wondering about the dog catcher, Rooster died about six months ago and the city hasn't found anyone else to do it. However, there was another tragic event where he ran over a dog in front of my house because he couldn't catch it. That didn't work so he shot him. The kids would comment about the blood and guts on the street for weeks afterward. I think they thought that was a pretty good idea.

So what has set me off? Friday, I had to shew three dogs off my porch and front yard in order to bring my kids in the house from school. Two of the dogs did not have tags, but I know who they belong to because of a previous request to their owner to not let them wonder around town. (She doesn't take much better care of her little kids.) The other dog was a brindle colored pit bull mix, I didn't want to look at his tag. But what has me feeling extremely invaded is they have helped themselves to our trash. Our garbage is only picked up here on Wednesdays with curb side service. We keep our metal can on our front porch so it won't be attractive to the dogs. Unfortunately, they have found it and have been putting it all over our porch the last couple of nights.

We are to be stewards over the animals. We are to treat them in a humain way. I do think these dogs would all be better off dead than to be neglected. They are left to roam free in 15 degree temperatures with snow and ice on the ground. If cars are not a bad enough threat, the train has killed several of them. They are thin and hungry enough to need to eat my trash. I am mad, but I do have some compassion for the animals.

I wanted a paint ball gun for Christmas. I was going to put an article in the paper that said, "If your dog has paint on it, I will apologize to you if you will keep your dog in your own yard." James nor Santa gave me a gun. The superintendent keeps a tazer gun at the school because he has been attacked several times while trying to get them off the playground.

What do you do when you have no law enforcement? (You can imagine the drug problem here.) We have talked with the owners, tried to get help from the city, now it is our turn to do something. What legal suggestions do you have?

Walking with a big stick,
Kathy