Unfortunately here at the Winward house we have had a lose in our family. Our dear pet bunny Hoppy who has been with us just a short awhile (four months) has passed on. And this is where I lead into my soap box moment, dogs and the people who own them. Now I do not have a problem with dogs nor do I with dog owners, but it's how irresponsible some are that irritate me. We live on a cul-de-sac with five house. Everyone except us have dogs. Four out of the five dog owners are wonderful. Their dogs are mantained in the boundaries of there own property, however our next door neighbor to the left finds it a joy to share their dogs with everyone. They have a beagle and a German Shephard. The German Shephard was a nightmare from day one. He is a puppy and wound up. He has repeatedly knocked Addison down and terrorizes anyone outside. We actually have friends who will not talk a walk in our neighborhood because of this dog. The German Shephard does have a shock collar (that does not phase him) that is supposed to contain him. The beagle we have enjoyed up to the last month. She is let free to wander where ever she pleases. I have had to clean up after her on my new grass and once on my carpet when she sneaked into my house when the door was open. But I've kept my peace thinking there are worse things neighbors could do... until yesterday. We had put up a fence about three weeks ago to keep our girls out of the canal in our yard. Well the beagle has found a way to sneak through one of the gates. Yesterday we enjoyed a family picnic outside and brought our beloved Hoppy out to play with. We went inside for afternoon naps and I left Hoppy outside to play on our nice grass. When Justin returned to work out in the yard he found the Beagle in our yard and Hoppy's neck broken. I went to the nieghbors about this and they kept saying not our Beagle, she would never do something like that (has no one told them that Beagles by breed are hunting dogs?). ShOur neighbor went on to talk about how our fence will not keep out her German Shepard because they can jump and she does not ahve a fence because her animals would find a way around it. I was hoping they would feel some remorse about their dog comming into my fenced back yard and killing our pet, but this morning I had to call them to come get there dog out of my yard again because he was hanging around where we buried our Hoppy (thats the last thing I wanted was for her to dig Hoppy up). Yes we will be having a long conversation with our neighbors about there responsiblity as a pet owner to keep them contained on their property. So if you own a dog good for you, they are wonderful animals, but do not think they are a blessing for everyone else. Contain Them!
