Calling All Dog People

We have been adopted.

Last Thursday a dog showed up in our yard. It is not unusual for us to have dogs in our yard because the neighbor across the road always has 1 to 4 in her possession at any given time. The people just to the west have 2 running around also, so I didn't think too much about the dog that was hanging out somewhat near to us.

However, it didn't take me long to realize that this was not just a dog walking through for a visit. This one liked our yard, especially our front porch. We ignored it. We told it go home. We were civil to it, but not inviting.

Friday morning as I headed out there was no sight of the dog. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Friday afternoon it was back. I called the neighbor across the road to see if she happened to get a new dog that just didn't like her very much. She said she didn't, but she would love to have it. She even came over, lured it to her house, and fed it. That was so nice! Unfortunately, her current dog is not so nice. He chased it so fast back to our house that the new dog jumped up onto our porch and slammed into our house. Nice.

We weren't home yesterday, so we didn't think much about our new problem. But, today it became apparent that we had to take care of this issue. It's not that I hate dogs, really. I even had one when I was growing up. And I cried when dad had to "take care of it."

But it can't stay. For those of you who think I'm really mean, I have very good reasons. Really. My five year old is deathly scared of dogs. He won't go outside to play anymore. My two year old loves dogs so much he has no common sense around them. I babysit a girl who is allergic to dogs. This dog took a bag of trash out of our dumpster and has trashed our entire 3 acres. See? Good reasons. That, and I don't really like dogs.

Today I started trying to figure out who to call to help us out of this matter. The first person said to call the Sheriff's office. I did.

They said to call the Humane Society. I did. Apparently they are only open from 2-5 on Thursdays and Fridays. Okay...

Someone else said to call a local vet clinic. I did.

They said to call the City Shelter. "Even though I live in the country?" I asked. "Yes." Okay....I did.

The City Shelter said to call the other local vet clinic. I did.

They take country dogs! But....they aren't allowed to come pick them up. Of course they're not.

After work my husband tried to tie up the dog so we could take it in. The dog was not impressed. Being the kind and compassionate guy that he is, my husband decided not to let the dog choke itself to death. It is currently running around with a rope around its neck.

I have no idea what happens next.