Saturday evening was…eventful. And by ‘eventful’, I will say it involved my neighbor’s new dog (who she cannot control, keep on its leash, etc.), a neighbor down the street’s daughter, and the cops. In front of my house. I thought it was going to result in World War III based solely on the level of hostility and yelling that occurred before the police arrived.

The dog, heretofore to be referred to by her name, has been getting loose. I can’t say that I blame her. That woman can’t take care of herself, leave alone a dog!

Friday evening she got loose and was running through my yard trying to kill small animals. It took my idiot neighbor and her husband over 20 minutes as she sped through my yard, the yard next door to mine on the other side, and then proceeded across the street into two additional yards before they were finally able to get her back on her leash. Interestingly enough, no one called Animal Control. (I’m being facetious.)

Saturday night was an entirely different story. Maggie got loose for the umpteenth time and tore down the street where she bit another neighbor’s daughter before they were able to catch up with her. Instead of handling the situation like adults over 50, they left the child behind with a dog bite because to them, it was “no big deal”. UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE. 

The father got in his truck and sped down the street, parking across the street from my house. Maggie was now on her leash being “walked” as if she’s well-behaved when the father got out and screamed at my utterly insane next door neighbor “Is that YOUR dog?!” Arguing ensued over his child’s welfare and she had the nerve to tell him it was “Just a scratch and NO BIG DEAL.” Additional words were said, she was blowing the entire situation off, and he flipped out and said “I’m calling the cops.” and proceeded to wait with a few of his younger children. That’s when other people started gathering. Welcome to the nosey neighbor society.

The father was furious, as undoubtedly any of us would be. When the police arrived (apparently the township is low-budget, they sent one officer, not two.),  she immediately turns on her lying voice. I know it because I’ve lived here since before she moved in and I’ve heard her use it many times. She is one of the fakest people I have ever met. I knew she was lying before she even opened her mouth, but the priceless part was her waddling across the street to the police officer with her cell phone recording everything. Really? What is she going to use that for? YouTube? Was she expecting to be arrested? It was ludicrous, but I cannot do it justice because I was dying from the stupidity of it all.

The father had a very valid point; he wanted to make sure that Maggie was fully vaccinated and that his daughter did not need a rabies shot at the Emergency Room. He asked to see her papers (I can say that even my cats have these little rabies disks with their paperwork that prove they’ve been vaccinated) and she had NOTHING to produce, except a phone number for where Maggie had apparently been “fully vetted” (her words, not mine). Instead of the officer writing her a ticket, which I KNOW they LOVE to do, or fining her, which SHOULD have been done on the fucking spot, he simply says he will follow-up with the shelter and leaves. He didn’t even look at the bite wound or the dog, which I find utterly mind-blowing.

This was a child and I cannot abide by an animal tearing down the street and biting anyone. It’s unacceptable. Her father wouldn’t have lost it if it were truly “just a scratch” or if the situation had been properly handled as in, “Let’s call 911 and get someone to check you out, sweetie.” As a precaution. That’s the right thing to do. It’s the responsible thing to do. One of our neighbors is a vet, she could have looked at the bite and determined whether or not it didn’t look right or if it would be okay with at-home first aid.

Second, this is also a dog’s life. She’ll be a great dog for someone, but not them. The dog is as innocent as the child, but it is in the custody of the wrong people. In turn, I am personally going to wait to see if she gets loose again. If she does, I am going down to the police station myself and filing a report because they are the last people in the world that should be caring for a pet. They scream at her all the time, which explains why she runs from them and bolts for the gate the second their backs are turned, and neither of them is home to give her the attention she needs. None of the other dogs in this neighborhood are barking their heads off at three a.m., but she is and I often wonder if they’re putting her outside at night. The thought hurts my heart. It’s only been the last few days or so where I’ve seen her being taken for walks, before that, she was only allowed in the backyard where she’d incessantly be yelled at “No Maggie, NO!” every other second or where she’d follow them around like a really unintelligent animal. I suspect the walks, where she physically pulls her “owner” (and I use that terms so loosely, it’s not even funny) down the street, is because neither of them want to scoop dog poop off their sainted yard. Some people TRULY shouldn’t own animals because they have no idea how much responsibility it entails.

For many years I wanted a dog, but I had a moment where I sat down and saw how much work it would be and I made the decision to let that dog go to a family that would be able to give it more than I ever could. Maybe not in love, but in the day-to-day physical stuff that I simply cannot do any more. I could never give a dog a full life by confining it to a yard, not being able to walk it or take it to the dog park, etc. It would have been selfish and I’m many things, but selfish isn’t one of them.

So yeah, that was Saturday night. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

copyright © 2015 by Lisa Marino & Blackbird Serenity LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.