Just after dinnertime, I was taking laundry off the line (and being thankful that it hadn't been rained on). We have a path behind our house, and people often walk animals and children there. Because our property doesn't have a fence around it, we have occasionally found "presents" in our back yard, which I am presuming were left by said animals, or perhaps neighbours' pets. I love our next door neighbours on either side, so even if their pets were the culprits, I wouldn't be put out. I assume that most pet owners (I hesitate to use the popular "pet parents" as I espouse the antiquated notion that parents generally have offspring of the same species, whether biologically or adoptively) are responsible people who pick up after their animals, because in my experience, most of them do. Likewise, I assume that, when walking their dogs, they keep them on a leash.
However. (You knew that was coming.) That was not the case this fine spring evening. A woman was walking her schnauzer when the little beast ran away from her, tore across our lawn and up the side of our house. She tittered and casually remarked to me how he must have gotten away from her. I stared at her, not trusting myself to speak, lest I make any snide comments like "did he? Are you sure?" She called him in a half-hearted, unenthused voice, and he did not return. Then she called him again, mentioning that she was leaving, and Spike (for this is apparently its name) came rushing back.
Owner lady did not, as most might think to do, reattach his leash. Spike then realized that he hadn't torn up the other side of the house, so he proceeded to do that. I didn't find his behaviour as innocuous and perhaps endearing as she did, but rather than yell and carry on, I finished taking the laundry off the line and went inside. (An aside: it's a blasted good thing baby D wasn't outside with me, as she sometimes is when I'm hanging up or taking down laundry.) Next home reno project: a fence around the yard.
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