It's been a pretty quiet day today, no fires, no rampaging dogs, just an ordinary day on the 'farm'.

The weather is getting colder, by SC standards... those of you who are living up North, where it has begun to get *really* cold at night, probably think that we are soft and pampered... and we are [smile]! However, with the cold coming on, we are starting to see the arrival of the fall colors on the trees.

It seems as though we were waiting, just yesterday, for the cold weather to stop, so that we could plant our spring gardens, and now it is time to prepare those same gardens for winters' bite. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the concept of a three-season (depending on the weather) garden. What luxury, to be able to eat fresh food from your garden (almost) all year long!!

No photos of the fall trees yet... check back in a few days... they should be out in full force then :-)!

I did.

This past Saturday, while doing some yard work, I walked out of my fenced-in yard, and as I slipped through, Joey, my black Lab,

and Jadzia, my chow

shot out past me into the front yard. Before I could blink, they were gone. My two eldest daughters went looking for them, only to find out from my neighbor that they had had a short scuffle with one of *their* dogs, and headed for the highway behind their house.

We got into the van, and looked for them, but did not see them.

Later that afternoon, we got a call from my neighbor. It turns out that her daschund, who was in the scuffle with my dogs, had been found under the house, with a bad bite. In fact, her intestines could be seen through the wound.

Oh. No. ....

So, we got the numbers to the nearest animal hospitals with weekend services (good luck with that on a Saturday), and the neighbors were off. Daisy Mae (the daschund) was cleaned up, and bandaged up, but needed surgery. That was done on day before yesterday (Wednesday), and if all goes well, Daisy Mae was none the worse for wear (whew!) I paid the vets bills/expenses, and my neighbors were gracious and understanding about the whole thing.

SO, all's well that ends well, you say?

No. This was the *second* time that one of them had gotten out; that time Joey had eaten three of their chickens before I discovered what was going on. It seems that I have (unknowingly) been harboring menaces. And both my neighbors and I have small children.

So, the only logical course was: the dogs had to go.

Animal Control came and got them yesterday. It was one of the most difficult things that I had to do.

But, what was even worse, is the reaction of others. It seems that it is better to have dogs that attack other animals (and potentially people), than it is to get rid of them. I don't understand this. Why is it more important to keep the dogs, rather than keep people safe?

Don't misunderstand me: I loved my dogs. But I know that after chaining them up, then building a fence (around almost one and half acres) to keep them in (lots of $$$ there), and still having them get out and cause mayhem, for the sake of my conscience (what if their baby was walking around and got caught in the dogfight?), and peace with the neighbors (we *do* live here, after all), it made sense to get new dogs (puppies, that hopefully will not have the overtly savage traits of their predecessors).

I have discovered, in the past few days, that Chows, in particular, can 'turn', and cause the problems that I have had. And, no, these dogs were raised with my children from puppies, and they were not abused, etc.

So, it's to the Internet (gotta love it) for research on family-friendly, gentle dogs that will be content with a large, fenced-in yard, and not keep trying to escape.

I miss my dogs.

For the dogs... a great idea!!

Link

Back Row from the left: Scooby Doo, Goofy, Underdog, Astro (from the Jetsons). Front Row from the left: Snoopy, Droopy, Grimmy (from Mother Goose and Grim comic strip) and Ren (from Ren and Stimpy animated TV show).

(Not in photo: Odie, Muttley, Hong Kong Phooey, and Spike from the Tom & Jerry show.)

Professor Peabody, Pluto, and Huckleberry Hound were smart enough to get out of jury duty, lol!!

Gary Varvel is the artist. You'll find more of his work at IndyStar.com