Clueless

The park at the top of the street isn’t an off-leash dog park.  Heck it isn’t even a dog park if you want to be technical.  It’s a soccer field surrounded by trails.

Most people who walk on the trails either have a dog, or have had a dog in the past.  Most of these people walk(ed) their dogs at the park off-leash.

There are a lot of people who use this park, but most of them don’t care to walk their dogs with me.  When I mentioned that in a post a couple of days ago, a few of you asked why.

This is the way I see it.

I’m a conscientious dog owner.  I want to make sure that my dogs are well-behaved and respectful.  I do not want to be the reason that animal control says you can’t walk your dogs up here anymore.

Okay, I do admit I fall into that…..what did Kristine call it?

Oh yes…..MDIF (my dog is friendly) category but for the most part I’m very consciousness when I walk my dogs.

I keep my dogs close by and do not like them to be out of my sight for a number of reasons.

Poop

I always pick up after my dogs when they poop.

Okay you got me… if Sampson goes off the trail and poops, no I do not go in after that, and yes  I might sometimes push some poop off the trail if Delilah decides to squat where she’s walking.

But I never, ever leave my dog’s poop anywhere that someone could step in it.  When they poop in the field, I pick it up.

Besides, I need to make sure their having normal poops. 🙂

People

Most of the people walk with dogs, but there are some who walk alone.

Let’s face it, not all people are dog people and those people do not want to come across an unaccompanied dog that they have no idea whether the dog is friendly or not.

This person could call animal control or worse, scare or hurt your dog.

Or your dog could hurt someone else.

“S’s” dog Brady is a jumper.  Not too long ago he jumped on a mentally disabled person causing them to lose their balance.  The person went down a number of stairs, somehow (amazingly) managing to remain on his feet.  Imagine the trouble ‘S’ and Brady would have been in if he hadn’t.

Property

Delilah loves to run off the trail and scope out other people’s property.  She will scrounge around looking for food.  Maybe this doesn’t bother some people, but what if she damaged something?  Remember the time she got caught on the air conditioning unit?  It’s a good thing (for me) that she didn’t do any damage, I would have been responsible for that.

Other dogs

The few people who do walk their dogs on leash do so for a reason.  Perhaps their dogs are fearful, maybe they are runners like Delilah.  They do not want unleashed dogs rushing up to their dog.

One would hope that no-one would let an unpredictable dog off-leash but we all know that not every dog owner is responsible.  I like to supervise any meetings my dogs have.

Injury

We are walking on hiking trails.  This means there are rocks, cliffs and fallen trees.  How can I help my dog if (s)he becomes injured if I do not know where they are?

Not to mention animals.  There are wild animals that could really hurt my dogs up there.  Granted they should not be out during the day, but I’m pretty sure if they’re rabid they don’t worry about what time of day it is.

Illness

I have big dogs, I worry about bloat.  I’m very cautious about making sure we wait two hours after eating.

Sometimes I walk before breakfast, but I still make sure to wait an hour before I feed them their meal.

But there are kids who like to go into the park at night and have bonfires.  They sit around the fire drinking alcohol and baking potatoes.  Not that a potato should hurt my dogs, but you never know what else those kids are doing.

And it’s not just food items that can be dangerous, there are bugs, small animals and plants that can be dangerous to your dogs.  If you don’t know where your dog is you cannot monitor what your dog is eating.  And if you don’t know what your dog ate, you can’t tell the vet and get the proper treatment.

You get the point, right?

Most people who walk their dogs where I walk don’t think like this.  Walking with me doesn’t jive with their way of thinking.

I sometimes feel like I’m the only one who walks up there that even has a clue about what could happen with/to their dog.

Are you like me, surrounded by people who don’t train the same way you do?

WTF Wednesday

Please note this post is not meant to make light of the deeds described here, only to make fun of, ridicule, bully and just plain beat the shit out of the idiots who commit these stupid acts.

The entire post was going to be devoted to my Canadian friends.   Montreal to be exact.

Wicca the Pit Bull

If you’re on facebook you probably heard about Wicca, another Pit Bull euthanized for a incident where the owner states the dog did not bite, only grazed.  It is a similar case to Lennox where the owner appealed but was rejected.  Sadly Wicca was euthanized last Thursday.

What makes this case even worse, is the city is trying to pass a new law where a dog involved in a bite incident can be euthanized within 24 hours, leaving very little time for the dog’s owner to take any legal action.

To this I say, Montreal, WTF?

When did people lose all common sense?  I know the old saying if common sense was common…. but come on!  Pull your heads out of your asses and think about it.  What causes a dog to bite?  Why are the circumstances not taken into consideration?

Is there nothing more pressing going on in your community that you cannot focus on?

What if you were to spend your money say on fixing the economy? Instead of persecuting dogs because they look a certain way.

I thought Montreal’s stupidity was more than enough for a W.T.F. Wednesday post and then I saw this.

Rep. Steve King defends the right to watch dog fighting and this GOP Rep. Steve King Defends Dog Fighting, IOWA – Warning if you click on one of these links you will see the results of dog fighting.

Apparently Iowa’s representative King opposes an amendment to the farm bill, which he verbalized at a tele-townhall last week.

I could go on a rant right here and call Mr. King every name under the sun, but if I cannot articulate my words and be concise in my criticism than I am just as ignorant as he is.

I’m just going to quote Mr. King  here, “It’s wrong to rate animals above human beings,” he told the questioner. To make his point, King argued that “there’s something wrong” for society to make it a “federal crime to watch animals fight” but “it’s not a federal crime to induce somebody to watch people fighting.”

Let me explain the difference to you assbag. (Ok, sometimes articulation is over-rated.)

People who CHOOSE to fight do so of THEIR OWN FREE WILL.  They know full well the risks involved in fighting and take those risks willingly.

Unlike dogs, bears and roosters who are starved, tortured and tormented oh and did I forget, EXECUTED when they lose.

It really makes me wonder where we are headed as a society when our elected officials have this kind of mentality.

Complaining doesn’t work.

You can write as many letters and e-mails as you want, you can call every day, every five minutes even, sign as many petitions as you can but unless you have your representative’s cell phone number or can schedule a face to face, the reality is your representative won’t hear your words.  An admin in his office is writing down your comments and generalizing them with her weekly reports.

Yes Mr. King you had 52 people call and complain about your comment regarding dog fighting.

Thank you Susan, duly noted.

Real change.

Just because your congressman/representative isn’t reading your e-mails doesn’t mean you CAN’T make a difference.

We   live in the world of social media.  You can blog it, tweet it, facebook, google+, pin it, the possibilities are endless.  The point is to keep these critical animal issues in the spotlight.  Send information to your local news networks, ask them to cover the stories.

Shine the light on the ignorance associated with BSL and dog fighting.

Oh and if you live in Iowa, your voice is heard at the polls.

It’s the only way.

WTF Wednesday

There is nothing remotely funny in today’s WTF post.

I can’t even believe I’m actually typing this WTF post.  When I say I have a feeling of horror that is threatening to overwhelm me, I’m dead serious.  I want to cry.

There is an event that takes place at a campground in Indiana in September.  It involves live turtles and a cruel and brutal murdering.  I refuse to name the event because I don’t want my name or my blog associated with such a thing.  I am including the link to the petition here.  If you read the petition you will understand.

I beg you, please take a minute out of your day and sign this petition.  Please share it on your facebook page and any other social media you can think of.

All I can say is REALLY?  WTF KIND OF A-HOLE DOES THIS?  And brings their children there to watch it.  It’s supposed to be a family campground, WTF are you teaching your kids?

Bunch of f*cking hillbillies is right!

The petition has a number of e-mail and phone addresses to contact people who could stop this, I plan on writing to every one.  I would urge you to do the same.

I am however afraid of what my e-mail will say.

WTF In My Neck Of The Woods

Ok, I have to switch gears, if I don’t the blog will just be a post filled with cuss words.

I had a WTF moment this morning during our walk.  Do you remember the woman with the yellow lab (Norbert) and the Springer (Kingston?)  I wrote about them in the post about Delilah getting her leash caught in someone’s air conditioner.

Sampson, Delilah and I ran into them again this morning.   Apparently our walking buddy was heading in for a walk and they all went in together.

My friend said join them and so we all headed down to the field together.

And Kingston took off.

His mom pulled out a whistle and blew it and said, It usually works, he’ll come back eventually.

Yes he will.  Until the day he doesn’t.

I continued walking the dogs around the field because, well…..I’m there to walk, not stand in the field and wait for someone’s dog.  After a good three or four minutes the dog came running back out of the woods, at which point I was near a trail and said, I’m going to head in this way.

Off we went and we were joined a short time later by Kingston.

We headed up towards my friends house where we found them waiting AGAIN for Kingston.  I said, I would have text you and told you I had him if you weren’t here when we got here.

I didn’t stop my progress at all, I just kept the dogs moving as it was close to an hour and it was already quite warm.

Meanwhile, Kingston took off again.  I could hear them calling and whistling for him as we made our way back to the car.  It went on for a good five minutes.

I really wanted to say WTF is wrong with you?  Have you know care for your dog’s safety or well-being?

Besides the fact that your dog could ruin it for others by not being respectful, what if your dog got stuck, or hurt?  What if he fell off a rock or someone shot at him?  Do you think this stuff doesn’t happen?

News flash, it does.

All. The. Time.

Wake up and smell the coffee before you put your dog in such a predicament  that you can’t get him out or worse yet the authorities take him from you.

I can’t handle anymore WTF for today, the turtle murdering just did me in.

Hot Car = Dead Dog

With the onset of summer comes the stupid people who leave their dogs in cars.

You know it’s true.

A number of my fellow bloggers have been posting about this topic in the past couple of weeks.

Have you seen, Once Again: Dog + Hot Car = Dead…Get It? by Mel at No Dog About It Blog or Dogs And Hot Cars : The Real Tragedy by Kristine at Rescued Insanity?

I’ve been known to hear a dog bark in a parking lot and troll the area looking for the dog, and then I will call the cops.

I work for an engineering firm.  Last week my boss sent me to a local town hall to drop something off.  I pulled into a parking spot and a pick up truck pulled in next to me.  Seeing as 1) I’m a woman and have had it drilled into my head to be aware of my surroundings and 2) I’m a writer with a very active imagination I looked over.  I saw the tell-tale ears indicating there was a dog in the truck. 😦

As I approached the door to the building the man (probably in his late 50’s/early 60’s) was right behind me.  I paused and asked him if he intended on being in the building long.  He said no.  Then almost as an afterthought asked, “Why?”

I explained that I worried about the dog being left in the vehicle as most people aren’t aware how quickly the vehicle heats up.  He responded that he was aware of vehicles heating up, which was why he needed someone to help him.  (I took that to mean, he was going to use that to get a quick response.)

My business took 5 minutes or less.  When I came back out to my car I noted that his truck was still parked there and the windows weren’t cracked very much at all.  It was a nice day, probably in the 70’s and not humid, but still my car was warm after me being only gone 5 minutes!  I debated on what to do.

I had to go to the post office which was about 30 seconds down the street, so I made an agreement with myself that I would do my business and then check back on the truck.  If it was still there I would go inside and raise the roof or at the very least call the police.

When I came back from the post office (possibly 10 minutes later) I breathed a great sigh of relief to see the truck gone.  I can tell you my heart was pounding in my chest as I approached the town hall.

This morning I saw another post Is That Outfit Really Worth Your Dog Dying? by Jen from My Brown Newfies.  Jen works for a vet’s office and her post explained a lot about the physical reaction a dog has when it’s in a hot car.

In the comments Jodi Chick mentioned how she carries thermometers from the Dollar Store and bumper stickers and slips them inside the windows.  (She’s brilliant if you ask me, besides with a name like Jodi…)

Ever since I’ve read that I’ve been on the internet hunt for bumper stickers but I keep coming up busted.  I did however use the website that was posted on Jen’s blog picture and found MyDogIsCool.com where you can download and order fliers.

I still would like a bumper sticker though, preferably a magnet so if anyone knows where I might find one……I’d be really grateful. 🙂

Just One Day

Today was Just One Day.

I feel really bad that I haven’t posted about this event before now.  When I first heard about it I thought what a great idea, liked it on facebook, shared it when I saw it pop up in my feed, but totally forgot to blog about it.

In retrospect I should have blogged about it sooner so YOU could have blogged, tweeted, and shared it yourselves.  Ah the best laid plans.

If you haven’t heard about it, let me share their goal from their website, “We are asking animal shelters across the USA to take a pledge not to kill any savable animals on June 11, 2012. For Just One Day, “Euthanasia Technicians” will put down their syringes and pick up cameras. Instead of injecting animals with lethal doses of sodium pentobarbital, they will photograph them and post them on the Internet, on Facebook, on twitter. On June 11, 2012, they will market their animals to the public, they will reach out to rescue groups, they will host adoption events with discounted rates, they will stay open for extended hours, and they will ask their communities to help them empty the shelter the good way.”

Their facebook page had a map of the United States with a color chart at the bottom.  Each color represented a number of shelters and as shelters joined the cause, colors changed and the update would say, “California just turned pink.”  It was exciting to see the amount of shelters participating in such a worthwhile cause.  California was the winner with 41 to 50 shelters participating.

My facebook page kept getting updated with the exciting news like this, “More exciting news: Roanoke Valley SPCA in Virginia reports 33 adoptions on a day they are normally closed. They report adoptions at the municipal shelter, which is also normally closed. And they report a full parking lot. Way to go Roanoke!

Meanwhile, one shelter ran out of animals after their 186th adoption in Florida, another shelter was emptied in Tennessee, another in Arizona report lots and lots of empty cages as animals are being adopted in droves! “

When I took a look at the map I realized every single state had organizations that participated. Some of the shelters were reporting they don’t have hard numbers on how many animals have been adopted because their computer systems just couldn’t keep up, they won’t have hard figures until tomorrow.

I’m not sure when there will be a total number but I just can’t wait to hear about it.

Now doesn’t THAT warm the cockles of your heart?

Pitty Post Day

When I first read about the Pitty Post Day on I Still Want More Puppies blog, I thought that’s a really great idea and I’d love to participate, but…..

My dogs aren’t Pit Bulls and I’m not sure what I would write about.

Truthfully, I don’t have a lot of experience with Pit Bulls except for the two next door to my tenant house, and they are both really sweet dogs.  I asked myself, what in the world do you think you could contribute that a number of fabulous bloggers haven’t already said?

And I got nothing.

At least nothing that others haven’t already said far better than I and nothing I haven’t already said before on this blog.

Pit Bulls get a bad rap.

Let’s face it, any dog can bite, and you probably never hear about it.  But if a Pit Bull bites, it makes national news and all of a sudden people are calling for a ban of the breed.

We need to punish the deed, not the breed.

I googled “which breed of dog bites the most?”  Not surprising the two websites I would have trusted with statistics, American Humane Association and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were website where I couldn’t find information regarding breed specific bites.

There was however a lot of information about preventing dog bites, which is something I believe everyone should read before they bring a dog into their home.

So which breed of dog DOES bite the most?

Well back in July of 2008, the Poodle and the Dog Blog  reported that according to a study published by Applied Animal Behavior Science, Dachshunds were the breed of dog most likely to bite.

How can you help?

Education is of course key and the more people we can educate about the proper ways to raise and train dogs, the safer our world and our dogs will be.

Breed specific legislation is no different than racial profiling, and racial profiling is unacceptable in our society, so why isn’t BSL unacceptable as well?

This is a blog hop, you can get your linky code here.

W.T.F./WOO HOO Wednesday

My W.T.F. Wednesday is pretty light in terms of quantity but the W.T.F. content  is strong.

In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m a little behind in news and slightly scattered about writing topics down to save for W.T.F. posts.  Which is why a BIG W.T.F. should have gone out last week to the  Maryland Court of Appeals for ruling that all pit bull type breeds are “inherently dangerous.”

Yes, you read that right.  America’s dog is labeled inherently dangerous by a panel of people suffering from HUMAS (Head Up My Ass Syndrome.)  That’s like saying all 52-year-old red heads write dog blogs.

What?

Exactly.

So hey Maryland COA, siriusly, W.T.F. is wrong with you?

Punish the deed, not the breed.  Don’t think your setting any precedents here, dog lovers united will not tolerate this.  Take your head out of your ass and look around you.  Go talk to someone who rescues pit bulls, check out the Humane Society.  Some of the sweetest dogs on the planet are….yes pit bulls.

I’d tell you to open your eyes but with your head so far up your ass you’d only see your stomach anyway.

Turning from the stupidity of the Maryland Court of appeals, I found some Woo Hoo news about animals today!

The County of Frederick, Maryland is defying the Maryland COA and refuses to “Profile pit bulls into extinction.”  Instead they will address issues of aggression on an individual level.

See, not everyone with the authority to make decisions in Maryland has their head up their ass.

And yes, there are already animal activists asking the Governor to overturn the ruling.

In the ‘I’m proud to live in CT’ news, we had three great pieces of legislation pass the house last night!

H. B. No. 5409 “To facilitate the reimbursement to consumers for veterinary bills incurred for the care of sick dogs or cats adopted from pet shops, to clarify certain pet shop penalty statutes and to prohibit pet shops from selling dogs and cats obtained from substandard domestic animal mills. ”

CT pet stores are you reading this?  You can’t get your animals from mills anymore!!

H. B. No. 5446 “To allow pounds to complete and retain vouchers for the purpose of payments to veterinarians for the sterilization and vaccination of certain dogs and cats and to require initial training and continuing education for animal control officers.”

I’m not 100% sure I understand what this means, but I’m hoping it means when someone adopts an animal from the shelter or pound they will need to pay the spay/neuter/vaccination fee up front and the pound will follow-up to ensure the animal is altered and vaccinated.

I do know it will give animals control officers the information they need which should help make their jobs easier.

H.B. No. 5289 “To classify a second or subsequent offense of cruelty to an animal as a felony punishable by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or imprisonment of not more than five years, or both. ”

While I’d like to see this type of punishment levied on first time offenders, I can settle for this.  I would like to see (as Jan suggested) an animal abuser registry similar to the ones for sex offenders.

I found out last Saturday that the Labs 4 Rescue group keeps their own registry and I imagine they are not the only ones.

Did you come across anything this week that made you shake your head and say “W.T.F.”  or did you see more of the jump for joy and scream Woo Hoo news?

Can I Bring My Dog?

We’re having a cookout on Saturday.  It’s actually our Easter dinner.  You may recall I was in Florida on Easter, so I decided our family gathering would be a cookout.

I got a text last night from my cousin who asked, “Can my boyfriend bring his dog?  He’s a good dog as cool as Sampson, you will love him.  You will want to blog about him.”

My immediate response was yes!  Of course, all dogs are welcome at my house.

Then I started to think of the logistics of it.

• People will be coming and going. Some people can only make it early in the afternoon and some can’t make it til later.  I figure this will go down in two waves.  The early crew and the late crew.
• Hubby and I will be busy, he will be cooking and I will be monitoring the food to make sure Delilah does not eat it.
• We will not be able to watch the dogs or monitor their meeting as closely as we would like.
• My friend’s dog is a 120 pound Bull Mastiff…..I picture him like this:

Photo courtesy of http://dogbreedinformations.com

• Sampson can get snarky with male dogs, especially those that are bigger than he is.
• Little children will be running about.

I started to get a feeling.  Not one I could put my finger on, just a feeling way down in the pit of my stomach.  I thought back to the party I was at where I was the only one sober enough to drive the hysterical mother and her sobbing son to the emergency room so he could get his ear sewn back on after being bitten by a dog.

I sent my cousin a text: “I’ve been thinking about the dogs.  I hope you understand, Sampson can get snarky with other dogs especially males that are bigger than he is.  I’m concerned that Hubby and I won’t be able to keep an eye on him like we would want to and with the little ones around it makes me a bit nervous.  Could we wait on this?  Hubby and I can have you, H and his dog over when it is just us and we can see how Sampson does.  Sorry to be such a nervous Nellie…..if the grand kids weren’t going to be there it would be entirely different.  I will tell you a story on Saturday that is weighing heavy on my heart and guiding me with this decision.”

She understood of course.  If she didn’t she wouldn’t be one of my oldest and dearest friends.  And I don’t mean I wouldn’t speak to her, what I mean is she knows me and she knows my heart and my love for animals and she knows I wouldn’t make this decision lightly.

She said her boyfriend won’t come without his dog, which makes me sad but I understand.

Just as I have to do what I feel is right for my dog so he succeeds, her boyfriend feels he must do what is right for his dog.

What do you think?  In a situation such as I just described, would you have someone bring their dog if your dog(s) had never met them before?

What’s In A Name?

This technically should have been a Follow-Up Friday post,  but it was pretty long and I felt it deserved its own space. 🙂

A little background, please.

Last Saturday I wrote ‘Expect The Unexpected.’  In that post I made mention of a woman named Brenda.  I’ve mentioned Brenda before, she always walks with about six dogs.  Many times she has other people and their dogs with her as well.

Brenda trains dogs.  I have no idea what her qualifications are, but her methods are if you don’t pay attention to me, I’ll leave you.  Brenda is friends with the woman who owns the dogs I wrote about on Saturday.

The stage is set.

Flash forward to this past Monday.

I pulled up at the field to walk the dogs and encountered…the LaCrosse team.  Yes, it’s that time of year when the town LaCrosse team commandeer the field.  This means both dogs walk in with me on leash and I keep them on the upper trails so they don’t bust up a LaCrosse practice/game.

I got Sampson and Delilah almost all the way up to the top of the hill and noticed someone walking in with a pack of dogs.  The dogs saw mine and started running at us at which point I always drop the leash.  Far better for Miss Delilah to meet and greet others on the playing field to keep her from reacting.

Sure enough as I got closer it was Brenda.  Included in her pack was a small dog and her little puppy and he was a real cutie.

I said, “The LaCrosse team is down in the field, it’s that time of year when we need to check the schedule before coming out.”

Brenda said, “Like that will happen.”

Ok, whatever.  I’m just sayin’ if you don’t want to worry about your dogs running off and jumping on some four-year-old you might want to do some planning.  But who am I?

Brenda had entered the ‘loop’ which is fairly small but allows you pick up two different trails.  Coincidently that was where I was headed and I didn’t see an issue, but apparently she did.

She said to one of the dogs, “We’re going to have to wait.”

Ok.  Again.  Whatever.

She decides to head down the wide path towards the field with her entire pack of dogs, except for…puppy.  Who decided he liked my pack better.

Meanwhile I’m trying to get my dogs on the trail and puppy is right there, jumping at my dogs saying, “Come on let’s play.”

Brenda is still walking down the path.

I don’t know what to do.  Do I stop and wait for her to come get the puppy or for the puppy to figure it out or do I keep going with the puppy following me?

I’m unsure.

All of a sudden from down the path I hear “F***!”

Here comes Brenda, “F***, I’ve got F***ing 20 f***ing minutes to take a f***ing walk.”

She gets to the top of the path and points in front of her and says, “Get your little a** over here” and then to me, “Excuse my language.”

Excuse your method of dog training is more like it I thought to myself.

The scary thing is, she calls herself a dog trainer and oh yes, she has the business cards to prove it.

Expect The Unexpected

A few weeks back I wrote a post about responsibility, if you missed it you can read it here.

My intention this morning was a half hour morning walk and then another half hour, forty-five minute walk this afternoon.

Alas the best laid plans……

We were joined this morning by Brady and his mom, and then shortly after we were joined by three more dogs.

Just dogs.  No person.

The dogs were the ones I wrote about in this earlier post.  But their human was nowhere to be found.  I’m pretty sure I heard her whistle a couple of times, but she never called for the dogs, and she never showed her face.

There are two entrances to the park. We noticed a vehicle at one entrance, which is the one Brady and his mom use.  The next time we approached the area, there was no vehicle.  But we still had two extra dogs.

Both dogs had collars on, but there weren’t any tags to identify them.

I called them:

White Dog

And

Brown Dog

At first I couldn’t place the dogs, but eventually I remembered the woman and how the two brown dogs (not to be mistaken for the 2Brown Dawgs) had taken off on her the last time.  I thought maybe she had parked at the entrance I use, so I told my friend I would try to take the dogs with me and see if she was waiting.

She wasn’t.

I didn’t know what to do.  I text my friend and asked her if any vehicles were up her way.

There weren’t.

I then asked her for Brenda’s number so I could call and let them know I had two of the dogs, but Brenda didn’t answer.

The white dog left, but the little brown dog stayed near me and took little bits of kibble from me.  I tried to get him into the car so I could at least bring him home and put him in the fenced yard, but he wouldn’t do it.

I put Sampson and Delilah in the car and started walking back up the hill, hoping I could get the dogs to follow me, but the brown dog wandered off too.

Since they didn’t answer to white dog and brown dog, there wasn’t too much I could do.

So as much as I hated it, I got in my car and left.

About an hour and forty-five minutes later my friend text me and said they WERE Brenda’s friend’s dogs and they were at home, safe and sound.

I’m not kidding when I say this woman LEFT the area, without her dogs and was gone a minimum of an hour.  Not to mention her dogs have no form of identification on them!

Sampson and Delilah ALWAYS have a tag with their name, my name and my cell phone number on it, even in the house.

Because you just never know!

When we were in the process of trying to sell our old house, during one of the showings the prospective buyer let Sampson out.  OUT.  Not in the yard where it was fenced, no out in the front which was very close to the busy street.

Luckily for us our neighbor saw him just walking around and was kind enough to get him and put him inside the fence.  Thank god we didn’t have Delilah at the time because that would have been a whole different story!

If our neighbor hadn’t seen him, at least he would have had a tag with a phone number to call.

What about your dog, does your dog have tags?  What kind?   Do they wear one all the time, or only when you are out?

Oh and Happy St. Paddy’s day, we had a yummy corned beef dinner!!