Where have all the sane people gone? Do you ever wonder what the heck is wrong with people? Of course you do. (And we all know that Nabbalicious has every right to wonder that.) One of our neighbors has two dogs and one of those electric fence things. Apparently, the younger of the two dogs (she's some kind of beagle) has a collar that sometimes doesn't work with the fence, so she gets out. I've seen her running around sometimes and always go tell them because, silly me, I thought they cared about their pets. Since then when it doesn't work, I guess, they've just been tying her to a tree in their backyard and leaving her there for God knows how long. They were gone all weekend with that poor little dog tied to a tree. And she barked all day and all night. For three days. And I can't even be mad at the dog. She's a sweetheart. Who knows for how long though considering how she's treated. I'm half in shock and half furious. But they're our neighbors and I don't think it's wise to wage war. I've been wrestling for a while with calling someone about how those dogs get treated. They're outside in all kinds of weather. Rain. Snow. Ice. You name it. The problem is... what happens to them if they do get taken away? That's why I haven't said anything. Today while I was spending the entire day indoors, I saw animal control outside that house. I went outside to see what was going on. The people on the other side of the house with the questionable dog owners called the county about (an unrelated) rottweiler that's been milling around for weeks. (But it's been hanging out with the two dogs next door. Yes, we have dog issues around here.) David and I have seen that dog all over the place. He came up behind me one night last week when we'd gotten home late. And he touched his nose to my hand. I just stood there because I didn't know what to do. He turned around and went away. Scary. So the dog catcher caught the rottweiler and put him in one of those compartments. The neighbor said she'd seen it chasing some kids so she called the county and they came right away. She told me that the dog catcher said they've picked up that dog before and the owners just pay the fines instead of fixing the problem. WHAT!?! Come on, people. We both told him about the dogs next door not being treated very well. Apparently, another of the animal control people left a note at that house on Thursday and they guy we saw today said he was going to look into if that house is being investigated -- or whatever their version of that would be. So we'll see what happens. The whole thing just makes my heart hurt.