Neighbors

Dear Intrusive Neighbor,

Mind your own business. I know you called animal control because they left an application for a pet license in my door. Do you know why they left it? Because they could leave nothing else, there was no legitimate complaint; they just wanted us to know they had been there.

Today I came home and found your plastic water container wedged in the fence, so that our poor thirsty dog could get a get a drink. Has it occurred to you that maybe she has water left out for her in the yard? And maybe not one water bowl, but two? Has it occurred to you that our large back yard, which is completely fenced in and has plenty of tree coverage for shade is an ideal place for a dog to hang out all day? Has it occurred to you that each day before we decide to leave her out we check the weather to make sure it won’t be too hot or cold and that it’s not going to rain? Probably not.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION, we feel that our beloved Sadie is much happier spending the day in the yard than she is spending the day locked up in the house. She can run around and burn off energy. She can go to the bathroom anytime she wants. She can watch the goings on in the neighborhood. She can lay in the shade and sleep. She can hang out in the yard with our 18 year old cat. Yes, eighteen, we must be do something right to have him survive all these years with us.

So I come back to - mind your own business. We take very good care or our pets, they are members of our family. I wonder if you, the giver of unneeded water, would spend the time or the money that we have to nurse our animals back to good health when they have been ill. We have always gone above and beyond to provide a good home. Those who actually know us, know that we are very compassionate people who dearly love and care for animals.

One final note, please don’t leave plastic containers of water in my yard. My cat is allergic to plastic and if she drinks out of it, I will need to take her to vet and put her on a ten day course of steroids to clear up the rash. How is that for irony, you think you are helping an animal who is actually perfectly fine and happy, but in the process trigger a problem for another…

Signed,

Finding it hard to be neighborly in this hood