Neighbor's pit bull was in our yard chasing my ducks again today. Last summer, it killed my goose and one of my ducks. Year before that, two ducks. I caught it in time today and chased it off, locked the ducks in. Then I went storming down to the neighbor's, while on the phone with animal control. Dog had run home and was standing in their front yard.
Nobody's there.
Dog's watching me. She's obviously wary but not aggressive. In fact, her body language says downright submissive. I relax my body and drop my hand, look over the top of her head. She comes over and snuffles. I look down. Suddenly we're friends. She's grateful.
She lives in a kennel the size of my ducks's nighttime pen--10 by 10. Never, ever comes out unless she escapes. No walks. No affection. No life outside the chain link. Can you blame her for trying to escape? Next door to her is the male dog they breed her to. Over and over and over. Her nails are so long that running on the pavement has pushed them into her pads and caused her to bleed. There's a bare patch on her nose. Her back sways and sags, and her teats hang halfway to the ground. Skinny. She is so grateful for a back scratch.
I want to put a stop to what they are doing to her, but I am powerless. She tries to follow me home and I have to chase her off. I have children at home. And ducks.
Animal Control comes. Nothing they can do as long as she's being fed and watered and contained. If I attest that she escapes regularly, they can eventually impound her. The pound where pit bulls are automatically put down because they are a "dangerous" breed. I can sign her death warrant. Or I can let her go on living like she does, escaping occasionally to kill my ducks.
I must remind myself that this is not my fault. But she looks at me and trusts me. I want to love everybody, but it is hard to love the people who do this to her.
Poor dog.
What would you do?
Nobody's there.
Dog's watching me. She's obviously wary but not aggressive. In fact, her body language says downright submissive. I relax my body and drop my hand, look over the top of her head. She comes over and snuffles. I look down. Suddenly we're friends. She's grateful.
She lives in a kennel the size of my ducks's nighttime pen--10 by 10. Never, ever comes out unless she escapes. No walks. No affection. No life outside the chain link. Can you blame her for trying to escape? Next door to her is the male dog they breed her to. Over and over and over. Her nails are so long that running on the pavement has pushed them into her pads and caused her to bleed. There's a bare patch on her nose. Her back sways and sags, and her teats hang halfway to the ground. Skinny. She is so grateful for a back scratch.
I want to put a stop to what they are doing to her, but I am powerless. She tries to follow me home and I have to chase her off. I have children at home. And ducks.
Animal Control comes. Nothing they can do as long as she's being fed and watered and contained. If I attest that she escapes regularly, they can eventually impound her. The pound where pit bulls are automatically put down because they are a "dangerous" breed. I can sign her death warrant. Or I can let her go on living like she does, escaping occasionally to kill my ducks.
I must remind myself that this is not my fault. But she looks at me and trusts me. I want to love everybody, but it is hard to love the people who do this to her.
Poor dog.
What would you do?
