Mark, I'll share a tragic accident I witnessed in 4th & Gill some years back, in the hope that someone here might avoid allowing it to happen to their own pet.

Some dog owners down the street from me were unable to keep their pet inside due to their landlord's lease restrictions. Since their back yard wasn't fenced-in, either, they reluctantly kept their dog chained in the back yard while they were at work. They were dutiful pet owners, providing the animal ample food and water, solid housing, and lots of playtime after they returned home in the afternoon.

Sadly, they failed to notice a potential hazard in that their dog's chain was long enough to let him reach their next-door neighbor's chainlink fence, as their neighbor's back lawn *was* fenced-in.

One day while the petowners were at work, their dog burrowed under the neighbor's fence, then tried to jump back over the fence into his own back yard. The petowners returned home from work to find that the poor thing had hanged himself in the process.

If we must chain our dog, then, we need to be cognizant of the latitude he can still roam, and of what potential hazards lie within that range.

We were also grilled on the yard/fence/chain issue when we adopted our pup a decade ago. They also required us to sign a statement that if we should ever have to give her away she must be returned to that shelter.

Over the years we got postcards from them. It was a combination of fundraising and questions regarding us and the dog/placement for case study.

Did the dog grow into the dog the shelter described she would be?
No. They said "oh, 50 pounds at best". She is a 110 pound eating, sleeping, poopin' machine.

No. If this dog has Lab in her it must be test lab cause she is horrified of water.

My point is that they followed up over the years like this was a real adoption. Good for them! Animals are a lifetime commitment- the life of the animal.

One thing that deeply bothers me about dog ownership out here is that so many folks think their dogs must be permitted to run. They let their dogs out as they leave for work in the morning. They don't see or apparently care what those dogs do all day while they are gone. Then again these are the same folks who allow their seven year old kids to run ATVs all over these roads without helmets.

If you live in the county and have an animal control issue you might as well not even bother calling. The last time I did, I was told to "shoot the dog and leave it by the curb" and that they would pick it up the next day. Um... excuse me?!
The time before that I discovered the anonymous caller issue. In my neck of the woods it is just not good idea for me to essentially rat a redneck out.
On my drive home I witness multiple examples of what I would call cruelty but I will not call again.
MB