Blog
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Crime of the Century
It happened early one morning, just after daylight. The target was sitting very still, back in the shadows. Just when he thought all was safe....
The incident had begun a half-hour earlier when the two law-breakers had joined forces and sneaked (is snuck a word yet?) away and headed cross-country. They reached their destination and slowly approached what can only be described now as the scene of the crime. The intended victim sensed that something was wrong and twitched his little nose and then it happened!
The attack came from the shelter of a row of corn along the perimeter and came right through the tomatoes. Two stalks of corn and a tomato plant were knocked sprawling by the vicious attack but the victim managed to narrowly escape by going under a fence, his little cottontail tucked between his legs.
It was over almost as soon as it happened. The two attackers sniffed around for awhile and headed back home.
My first inkling that something was amiss was when the police cruiser slowed down out front and then pulled into my driveway. I met him outside our garage and hoped there hadn't been an accident, etc.
His first question was "Do you have a black lab?" I quickly tried to think of a way to say no but, since there was a black lab sniffing the officer's shoes, I figured my best answer was "Yes, sir".
"Do you know anyone who has a Warfield Red beagle?" Rat fink. That is what my neighbor will call me if I fess up. But, then, what do I care? "Yeh, it belongs to my neighbor."
"I have a complaint here from a gentleman who says that your dog and the beagle tore his garden completely apart this morning, totally ruining it." He went on to explain that I would need to appear in court, along with my neighbor, for violation of the leash law and destruction of property (something like that) and gave me the summons with the date and time for the appearance. He then headed over to the neighbor's.
I drove over to the scene of the crime in a subdivision (about a mile and a half drive but only 1/2 mile away as the crow flies), walked up to the garden, and saw nothing out of place. As I was standing there a man came out, all distressed, and told me about the aforementioned 2 stalks of corn and the tomato plant which he had since straightened back up. I never said a word, just got back in my car, and sat there staring at him for a few moments before pulling away.
A few weeks later we went to court, listened to several cases as we awaited our turn, and then stood up to accept our fate. It seems that garden guy had called the day before, spoken to the judge, and decided not to show. I drove toward home and then decided to revisit the scene. The garden looked really good except for the heads of lettuce that something had gnawed on during the night. The garden guy came outside with his dog which, of course, was not on a leash. Once again I just slowly drove away.
Now, due to the judge's request that I observe the city's leash law in the future, I have to keep my lab on my property. I do so, along with my other two dogs (I had four at the time but one has since died), by using a wireless fence. Now, my lab can't roam the 75 acres around us because he might hear kids playing and go join in or, heaven forbid, chase a rabbit into that subdivision. She used to be able to swim in any one of three different ponds which kept her cool and the fleas in check. Now, despite our best efforts, the fleas make her miserable.
When the dogs I have now are gone then I will have no more. I have never liked keeping dogs on a leash or inside a fence. That is one reason I bought five acres 20 years ago on a one-lane, dead end road with no traffic so that my children and animals would be free to safely roam around. They should be able to do that unless their temperament is one that would be a danger to others. (The dogs' temperament, not the kids.)
Weekly I see animal shelters on the news appealing to folks to save animals from being euthanized. My daughter, Katie, always says "Look, Dad, they are so cute" as I shake my head no. I wonder how many people have been discouraged from doing so by events such as the one I described. I also wonder if it is better to be euthanized today or run over by a car ten years from now?
Posted by CoachT at 11:00 AM · 1907 Views · COMMENTS
The incident had begun a half-hour earlier when the two law-breakers had joined forces and sneaked (is snuck a word yet?) away and headed cross-country. They reached their destination and slowly approached what can only be described now as the scene of the crime. The intended victim sensed that something was wrong and twitched his little nose and then it happened!
The attack came from the shelter of a row of corn along the perimeter and came right through the tomatoes. Two stalks of corn and a tomato plant were knocked sprawling by the vicious attack but the victim managed to narrowly escape by going under a fence, his little cottontail tucked between his legs.
It was over almost as soon as it happened. The two attackers sniffed around for awhile and headed back home.
My first inkling that something was amiss was when the police cruiser slowed down out front and then pulled into my driveway. I met him outside our garage and hoped there hadn't been an accident, etc.
His first question was "Do you have a black lab?" I quickly tried to think of a way to say no but, since there was a black lab sniffing the officer's shoes, I figured my best answer was "Yes, sir".
"Do you know anyone who has a Warfield Red beagle?" Rat fink. That is what my neighbor will call me if I fess up. But, then, what do I care? "Yeh, it belongs to my neighbor."
"I have a complaint here from a gentleman who says that your dog and the beagle tore his garden completely apart this morning, totally ruining it." He went on to explain that I would need to appear in court, along with my neighbor, for violation of the leash law and destruction of property (something like that) and gave me the summons with the date and time for the appearance. He then headed over to the neighbor's.
I drove over to the scene of the crime in a subdivision (about a mile and a half drive but only 1/2 mile away as the crow flies), walked up to the garden, and saw nothing out of place. As I was standing there a man came out, all distressed, and told me about the aforementioned 2 stalks of corn and the tomato plant which he had since straightened back up. I never said a word, just got back in my car, and sat there staring at him for a few moments before pulling away.
A few weeks later we went to court, listened to several cases as we awaited our turn, and then stood up to accept our fate. It seems that garden guy had called the day before, spoken to the judge, and decided not to show. I drove toward home and then decided to revisit the scene. The garden looked really good except for the heads of lettuce that something had gnawed on during the night. The garden guy came outside with his dog which, of course, was not on a leash. Once again I just slowly drove away.
Now, due to the judge's request that I observe the city's leash law in the future, I have to keep my lab on my property. I do so, along with my other two dogs (I had four at the time but one has since died), by using a wireless fence. Now, my lab can't roam the 75 acres around us because he might hear kids playing and go join in or, heaven forbid, chase a rabbit into that subdivision. She used to be able to swim in any one of three different ponds which kept her cool and the fleas in check. Now, despite our best efforts, the fleas make her miserable.
When the dogs I have now are gone then I will have no more. I have never liked keeping dogs on a leash or inside a fence. That is one reason I bought five acres 20 years ago on a one-lane, dead end road with no traffic so that my children and animals would be free to safely roam around. They should be able to do that unless their temperament is one that would be a danger to others. (The dogs' temperament, not the kids.)
Weekly I see animal shelters on the news appealing to folks to save animals from being euthanized. My daughter, Katie, always says "Look, Dad, they are so cute" as I shake my head no. I wonder how many people have been discouraged from doing so by events such as the one I described. I also wonder if it is better to be euthanized today or run over by a car ten years from now?
