People and animals...

I was brought up in an animal loving house. I understand that some people just don't like animals. I get it. Solution to that problem? Don't own animals. There's a family in our neighborhood who have animals. They have a cat that I see when it escapes their house, and they have 2 dogs. We'll call the boy dog, Danny, and the girl dog, Maude.

Over the summer, my neighbors and I made several trips to their owners house for various reasons. Danny got out of their fence which had holes in it. Maude dug under the fence and is now in a different yard. My personal favorites were when it was in the upper 90's and both dogs were in the back yard without shade or water. These were the times when our neighbors and I would bring water to the fence and then go and let their owners know that 3 hours outside in the heat without shade is not being a good owner (I did it a little gentler than our neighbor who threatened to call the cops).

Yesterday it was like 10 degrees out. When we let Finchy and Chili out on cold days like this, we hang out by the patio door so we can let them in as soon as they come to the door. Especially Finchy who has short hair (like Danny and Maude). Chili will lounge out in the snow and I will eventually force him to come in, because I don't want him to get frostbite or chapped paws.

Last night, we were playing "play play" at the kitchen table. I heard Danny's shrill bark, and looked outside. He was scratching at the patio door wanting to be let in to his house. Maude was also on the patio. Then Danny went to the bay window and began to scratch at it. Then, he and Maude took off running to get warm. I felt bad for these 2 dogs. Danny kept returning to the door to bark and scratch at it. Ryan went outside to start the grill (yes, we grill all year round), and they both ran over to him. Maude tried to dig under the fence to wiggle through, but the ground was frozen. We watched them outside. They were out there for almost a half hour before they were let in. Both dogs were on 3 legs by this time.

And yes, I was getting my coat on to go over and have a talk with them, when Ryan let me know that both dogs were inside.

So, here's my question. Why have an animal(s) if you're not going to take care of them?