We are on a first name basis at the local SPCA thanks to our old yellow lab. I can assure you this is not a good thing. If they offered a frequent flyer program or issued tax deductible receipts for impound fees then then sting of repeated "pick ups" wouldn't hurt so much. Needless to say, they don't have a club card so we need to figure out a better system of pet confinement. You would have thought that after 13 years either we would have smartened up or our dog would have tired of running away. Regardless of his arthritis and large growth on his back leg, he can't seem to resist the temptation of roaming the neighbourhood scoping out garbage. To make matters worse, the SPCA is located less than a half kilometre from our house. How convenient.
On his most recent visit the kind ladies had a soft heart and (after my sob story) said "how about we just pretend he never came here today".
"He's old, somedays he barely makes it off his bed" I told them, "our other dogs are always fenced or contained but this old guy is clearly not a public hazard".
So, this morning when I went for a run with our other hound and her sister in crime (my sister's dog) I had to make good on my declaration that I always contain these pooches. The fact of the matter is that when I run with them I don't usually use a leash. But now that the SPCA has given me a free pass I had better follow the rules more carefully. As I was dragged down the road by 200 lbs of fur sharing a single leash I regretted my claims of being a perfect pet owner. Great, now I am the neighbourhood weirdo who is too cheap to buy 2 leashes so instead risks life and limb taking 2 massive dogs for a run on what was designed to walk one cocker spaniel. I did my best to control them but have to confess that my bylaw following persona only lasted until I reached the trails at the end of our street. "The SPCA isn't open until 10" I told myself "I will figure out a safer method and turn over my new leaf tomorrow". I guess that I will be making a trip to the pet store today. Arrggh.
It's okay - I'm pretty sure we were all the neighbourhood weirdos before.
ReplyDeletehaha! I love you guys!!
ReplyDeleteWe had a dog that did that too, it was more than 1/2 km to the spca and she thought it was her home, I chased her through the woods, across roads, everywhere. she drove me nuts!!!!!!!!