How scary! Glad your dog is back with you safely. I would be so furious as well. What an ugly person to call animal control and not try to return the dog when they know who the owner is. No excuse whatsoever. GRRRRRRRRRRR.

You do all you can to make sure things are ok and then something like this happens. Nobody should have a scare like that.

Poor kid: what a mom to be stuck with. I'm glad KiKi is safe and home again.

Kittymoon, I can tell by your Grrrr that you have a hint of my feelings on the matter! Don't mess with my babies, ya know?!!

Hoov, thank you... KiKi is lazing away mainly inside these days and so adorably happy we're back together :)

There are a ton of things I'd have different for those boys, you know, but of course it's not my place :( Thankfully I see them in my yard and we just hang out... they do ask what I'd do about this n that and why and I tell them.

It's frightening to think what some normal-looking folks will do as a CYA, I think. I prefer out-and-out criminals for their honesty, frankly ;)

Don't know if anybody is interested in this tale, but now I need a bit of advice, too :(

I have seen her twice since her son told me what happened, and she keeps telling me that she is So Sorry, that KiKi was trying to attack her and the man from Animal Control, and that she doesn't know how he got out. She said that her children never came on my property while I was gone.

Well, the shoes appeared that day and remained in front of the portico until I gave them back to her son; KiKi wouldn't attack anybody and Animal Control said that he was a great boy [the lady who got him drives by my house everyday on the way to work, etc and is familiar with my animals so she wondered what was up with me when he was brought in, noticed how he was doing, etc].

Turns out not only was her kiddo right by the portico, but his truly and awfully ill-behaved cousin was visiting him that day. And, nothing will ever explain why she didn't call my Dad's cell # or mine or leave a note!!

What the heck am I supposed to do as she tries to 'discuss' this with me? She keeps stopping after she says he tried to 'attack her and her guests' as if I'm supposed to apologize, and I just kind of say 'uh' and walk about the garden.

Any suggestions on what to say? I'm just so through with her I don't feel like discussing a darned thing and would rather her stay in her own yard. Civil, fine... but I don't feel like discussing anything more than the weather, you know?

She made a big mistake, and wants you to forgive her.
I would tell her that her child made a mistake, and let the dog out. But first I would find a neighbor who loves dogs, then tell her that she could tell that person if it happens again because that person would not feel uncomfortable putting the dog in its yard.

You also might give her an index card - a pretty yellow one, that has your Dad's number on it or even keep one on your property that she could access if she needs it. If you label your roses, you could put out a fake one with the number on it when you are gone.

I am a real coward, not because I don't have the nerve to stand up to people, but because most people can hurt me more than I can get the satisfaction of expressing myself to them.

You are vulnerable if you are going to be gone, and are going to leave your dogs behind.

Does she know what could have happened to your dog? In a diplomatic way, you might let her know, and in that way stress the importance of contacting your dad.

Also, why don't you put a very high hook on your fence or a security hook that would require a tall person to reach around to unhook it. You might even put a bar across the gate or chain it, and keep it secure so that only an adult could get in. Ours is like that. We have a latch on the inside, but I can barely reach it from the outside.

Good luck
Sammy

Thank you, Sammy, for your thoughts.

We put a padlock on the portico, but they must have found the key in the shed. I hadn't thought of that!

I told her that what was scary is that in one more day KiKi would have been put up for adoption or put down, so I was glad I had heard about it from Animal Control!

She didn't respond.

She was surprised Animal Control had called me/my sis... apparently she thought I'd just have no idea what had happened to him when I got home.

I think I'm making it clear that I don't want to chat and just want to go about my business in my yard. Ah, well, her morals are her own business in the end... and the fencing on that side is definitely still on this year's agenda!!

What I don't understand Mere, is that if your sister was watching them, how come she didn't know the dog was gone? If she knew the dog was gone, why didn't she call animal control? Sounds like he was there 4 days already by the time you got the call.

I'm not going to comment about the neighbor. You can bet I am in my head though...

"Sounds like he was there 4 days already by the time you got the call"

????

My sister hadn't been out that morning yet, as Dad and I were due in early ourselves. No, she did well or clearly I'd be upset about her, too.

When I was telling my neighbor that KiKi would've been put up for adoption, etc "in one more day", I was emphasizing to her how late it was that she'd [just] told me anything about it [and only after her kid did, of course].