DOGS, POLICE, AND RENOVATIONS

The neighbor’s dogs are still there – and Bob is again walking past the houses, mine included, that have animals which will, of course, bark wildly. Early Friday morning I had just come back upstairs from tying Smooch in front of my garage door when Grump, who fortunately was on the gallery, went ballistic, alerting me that something was not right. I looked through the window and saw the two mean dogs loose in my yard, and they were running up towards Smooch. I yelled, and raced back down, nearly taking a header off the stairs in my haste. The combination of Grump’s angry noises and my yelling and Smooch, who had no choice but to stand his ground and snarl loudly, made them turn tail and run home.

Enough is enough.

I had errands in town, and stopped to talk to the police while I was there. As I thought, they can do nothing, nor can I, if Bob is on a public road walking his dogs as long as they are leashed. As for their coming into my yard, I have to call the Municipality first, who would then authorize the dogcatcher, who will pick them up if they are still in my yard when he gets here... maybe about an hour later??

“I’ve had it, and they’re dangerous,’ I told the officer. “Am I allowed to shoot them if they come back?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. The law right now protects animals nearly more than humans.”

“Really?” I asked. “Well, then can I shoot their owner? I’d prefer doing that anyway.”

She thought I was kidding, so laughed and shook her head again.

The long and the short of it is:
- Complain to the Municipality and hope they do something, or
- Civil court, which could take years and cost a fortune, or
- Wait until the mean dogs do something drastic, call the police,and they can shoot if they think they are being attacked.
- Other than that – endure.

“Or a fence,” said the officer. I nodded. I have already been working on it. It will be expensive, but makes more sense than to keep spending for vet bills...not counting the daily aggravation.

Helen and her son were back Friday night. We picked up the wood and started to cover Helen’s bedroom floor the next day. We got enough done to set up my antique bed in there, so next weekend she’ll be quite comfortable. She is making that part of the house her own, and it’s nice to see her finally feeling that she belongs somewhere, especially since she hasn’t heard one word from her daughter since leaving NB.

I have been writing my Lady’s story (with help from my Blogit friends, for which I am most grateful) and also have a load of work to complete before the end of the month. In the second week of September I hope to go back to NB to visit my brother and his family, and to meet his little granddaughter for the first time. I’ll be driving down, and will stop to pick up the winter tires Helen left behind when she moved back here. That may be interesting.

In the meantime, I’m enjoying the activity (and challenge!), the beautiful weather, my mountains and my bush, and life in general. It makes me SMILE, and you know I’m sharing!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.