At this point, I'm just hoping Matilda recovers. There aren't too many small kids in the area, but a few people do have their grandkids visit them. It's hard to imagine that any would have been unsupervised long enough to make it all the way to my house because our neighbors aren't very close by. Even though the recently acquired duck is loved by the area kids, I still have a hard time believing that any of the younger kids would have been over without their parent or grandparents supervising and asking permission first. I know all of teens in the area. There aren't too many. There are 2 girls 3/4 of a mile to the north that I would consider beyond reproach. I have known them for years. If they had let the birds out, it would have been an accident and they would have stayed until I got home. They never come over anyway. There are 2 new teens that moved in to the south recently. I have known there mother for years. We aren't best buddies, but I don't think the kids are trouble makers. Again, if they messed with the pens, I think they would have let me know if they accidentally opened it. My strongest suspicion is the neighbors that own the dogs that caused the massacre last fall. Yesterday was Thursday, and for some reason Thursdays always seem to be their trouble maker days. My birds were killed on a Thursday, and their other off leash episodes seemed to occur on Thursdays also. Possibly it's their day off. I don't know. They did steal my cat once ( I know because she said it in court during the civil trial for dog damages). Maybe they were trying to steal a chicken. They may have also been trying to make them bait for another neighbor's pitbull. I did see him loose yesterday. However, he never leaves his yard and is friendly. He understands and respects his boundaries very well. Maybe I just have a suspicious mind. DH was trying to convince me that I had possibly left the run open, but I specifically remember checking the run doors before I left for work. They were both closed!!!
