Ok, this afternoon my daughter starts screaming that the neighbor's dog from the other end of town (town's 4 blocks long) is in my yard and trying to go after the chickens, so I rush outside to find the dog was, sure enough, trying to get into the chicken yard. I called him but he wouldn't come, he was intent on getting into the yard. So I told my older daughter to try to get the dog to follow her, and I told her to take him home, but he wouldn't listen. Finally the kids distracted him and he came over, tail wagging. By this point I was so frustrated that I had already called the sheriff's department and they said they were sending out the dog catcher. Well, we stood out there an hour waiting and waiting, and we were hanging on tight to the dog because he tried to go across the street into my other neighbor's yard, and she has chickens too. I didn't know if hers were out, and I didn't want to risk this dog grabbing a hold of one of them. So while we're waiting, we're petting the dog, and I realize he's rail thin. I mean I could palpitate EVERY rib, right through his double coat (he's some kind of collie/malamute mix, with other breeds mixed in), and I felt bad that he was so thin. This dog is the brother of the two puppies I took in last summer when this same neighbor let the dogs walk right out of her yard because she didn't want them. Those puppies were rail thin too. She got rid of all the pups that way, but kept this boy, I'm guessing cause he was so cute. I got rid of those puppies after they killed my only show quality hen at the time. This dog, his name is Brownie, I've heard stories of him going through neighbor's garbage looking for food, and my kids said they've seen him getting hit. Well, he isn't wearing a collar, but the hair around his neck looks like it was either cut or worn off, and my older daughter was petting his neck when she felt something weird, so she pulls his hair back on his neck and gasps. There is a HUGE gaping wound full of pus on his neck! So she looked around and found a few more wounds, but most looked as they had scabbed over. My thinking, after watching too many episodes of Animal Cops, is that he had a collar on, and it grew into his skin, and someone pulled it off. I fed him, watered him, and put him in a pathetically small pen (same one I use for my baby chicks) and we're STILL waiting for the dog catcher to come. I felt better after seeing the neck wound that I called. Especially since my kids said they have 4 more dogs at that house! I was aware of maybe one more, but not 4 more! I know this neighbor will find out quickly that it was me that called, and when they come down to complain, I'll be prepared. I took pictures of the wound in the dog's neck. It's a shame because he really is a sweet dog, very friendly, just incredibly HUNGRY. He probably looked at my birds and saw an easy meal. My poor birds panicked so bad though because they just suffered a dog attack a little over a month ago and it left them terribly traumatized. I still feel bad though. The neighbor that owns this dog is strange, but we've had no problems with her or her family, and I feel like I'm causing a problem. Lord, PLEASE don't let this come back to bite me in the butt...
I'll update when they come to get the dog. And I will be telling them about the other dogs at that house. I know they have a really old poodle that can't even walk around much. Poor thing's knees don't work anymore. At least I THINK it's old. Only saw it once or twice. It's back to waiting now to see when the dog catcher will show up...
I'll update when they come to get the dog. And I will be telling them about the other dogs at that house. I know they have a really old poodle that can't even walk around much. Poor thing's knees don't work anymore. At least I THINK it's old. Only saw it once or twice. It's back to waiting now to see when the dog catcher will show up...
