So, this evening a 120 lb Rottwieller is meandering around our yard. Of course, the little dogs (our Casey & my sister's Anna) are going nuts because some big bloke is invading their territory. At this point, I could make political parallels, but that would be digressing from my rant, so I won't...
Back on task--I went out to check on him and try to get him to move along. He is actually a very nice calm dog complete with tags. (I have never had that big of a dog so I never realized how they can shoot a stream of pee... Oops! Digressing again.) However, the tags are just the license and the rabies tags. No personal ID at all. I think no problem, I will just call Animal Control. The number is right there on the license. Well, of course, one cannot call just one number. To make a long story short--never mind I really want to make the short story long.
I have to call another number to get to talk to someone because it is after 5 pm after all. The guy I talk to can't help me because the tag is too new and he doesn't have the owner's information and he only pick's up animals that have been hit and takes them to a veterinarian. So, our choices are keep the dog until tomorrow and call animal control again or just let him go. My sarcastic tongue gets the best of me and I reply, "So, we let him go so he can get hit, then you'll come and get him." (I really need to read the book of James about bridling the tongue again.)
The point to this that really ticks me off is this: I pay to license my dog every year that money goes to Animal Control and the one time that I need them they are closed. I hate paying fees and all that to begin with, but when I don't even get what I pay for I really hate it.
BTW, we hooked the dog to a fire hydrant just out of site of our house. We will call in the morning if the owner doesn't pick him up. We just couldn't let him go and get hit...
UPDATE: When DH took Casey out for his evening walk, the dog was gone. He saw him tied up in a yard where he walked.
12 comments:
Wow, I have the same story! A few years ago, we had a dog get into our back yard. He had come under the chain link fence, and was wearing a huge chain on his neck. This chain was way to heavy for him to begin with, and then he got it tangled in the fence and was stuck. After several calls, we were told the same thing, "We can only pick him up if he's been hit". I explained that he was tangled, and was a big dog, and I needed him out of the yard so I could let my dog out there to go... They said something on the lines of, "Well if you get him loose from the fence, just let him go. Maybe he will find his way home." !!!! It didn't matter to them that he had like 20 to 30 feet of this logging chain attached to him, and we lived on a pretty busy street. Okay, now I'm making a book in your comment section. To make a long story not as long as it could be, my husband got him loose, he ended up being a nice dog, we found his owners down the road, and took him home.
It makes me wonder what the ASPCA would have to say about it, if anything.
Please make sure to read my added note to the post about the man who wrecked his car to keep from hitting the dog. My heart breaks for the woman who lost her mother to keep from hitting the deer. I know what you mean about it being driven into your head to never swerve, I'm the same way. Okay, just wanted to make sure you knew I'm not some kind of nut case that wants everyone to swerve and take their lives for deer and dogs.
My dad's neighbor used to let his two huge dogs out of his house to run wild through the neighborhood every day. Then one day my dad's cat (of 10 years) was in the wrong place at the wrong time and those dogs attacked and killed him.
You can imagine how I feel about letting dogs run free.
This is so upsetting. It is so careless and irresponsible of people to let their dogs run free. Once, we were driving through our old neighborhood and almost hit a gigantic roteweiller that was running free. We slammed on the breaks (there was nobody behind us) to miss it and a few seconds later came running a woman with a leash in one hand, making gestures indicating that "dogs will be dogs" and "isn't this a funny predicament?" I'm glad she was just on the tail of her dog (or else I would have called animal control in an instant), but in my opinion, that's not close enough. Not only is it careless, being that the dog obviously had no qualms about running into the street, but in an area where the average child's age is 2 years, I'd consider it reckless. Also considering that our house was about a block away, it worried me that had we been home, our dogs would have been outside. The dog normally may have been a nice dog, but you just never know what may set one off. We are careful to take precautions with our dogs around any children or animals, and they are only 15 inches tall and very calm in demeanor. I can only imagine what could happen with a large breed known for violent behavior. My husband was attacked by a familiar nieghbor dog when he was very little and will always have scars on his face to show it. He's lucky there wasn't more damage. It's not a "dogs will be dogs" matter, people. Keep them contained and attended! If not for the sake of others, at least for the safety and love of your pet.
Please let me aknowledge that I did not extend this rant to it's highest potential by (fully) expressing my distaste for the dog owners in my parents' nieghborhood, where I no longer feel safe exiting my car at times because of all of the large, roaming dogs. Or that the nieghbors two doors down from our new house can't seem to keep their dogs contained. Nice dogs, maybe. But still completely unacceptable.
Wow, this really got me fired up.
Whoa! I didn't know this was such a hot topic.
So are you the new owners of a Rottwieller? You will probably need to take out a second mortgage to feed him!!
It's a very hot topic! Irresponsible dog-owners are the lowest scum on earth - well almost. I can think of a few lower.
Yeah, I hate it when people let their dogs run free, too. It is especially annoying when I am walking mine... OTOH, this rotty may or may not have been let to roam free. After all, afterwards it was seen properly tied up. I know our dog has managed to escape that a time or two, though I am not really sure how...
The worst time was when we would be walking our eskie. Dogs would run up and the owner would say, "Oh, he's friendly." But our eskie was NOT friendly toward to other dogs.
Wow. I hope he stays safe...
Lost animals are often hard to deal with, especially if they are indoor animals that don't know how to survive outside. You handled it right.
It is weird that this can be a hot topic but it can be. My youngest son is afraid of dogs so having them roam freely creates a lot of problems.
Our neighbors own a dog that gets upset when children scream. One day my kids were just being kids without provoking the dog or being mean at all. It jumped the fence into our yard. The young neighbor lady blamed my kids for it jumping over the fence. My kids were then afraid to play in their own backyard. I was furious. Thank goodness my husband talked to the lady's boyfriend and he admitted the dog had been abused and that he would build a bigger fence. Its a good thing they worked it out because the lady and I probably would've gotten into a pretty big fight.
You don't endanger my children with your dog and then blame it on them. I was beyond mad.
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