Who Let the Dogs Out?

FreeImages.com/Dora Pete

I was never a fan of the throwback, party anthem “Who Let The Dogs Out?”, but these days I find myself asking that very same question. My neighborhood is filled with loose dogs. Some are strays, but most are just doggies running around freely because their owners just don’t give a f***.

I moved in with my cousin early last year to save money while in school. It’s not the most desirable area of town, but since his particular neighborhood is fairly safe, I decided to suck it up and move on in. Little did I know I was moving into a wildlife preserve for canines.

For the 1st couple of months, the dog situation was fine. My next door neighbor’s dog would occasionally break loose from the tree he’s tethered to, but the dog was harmless. He’s a solid black dog with the body of a German Shephard, but he’d surprisingly run away if you got too close to him. I soon realized, though, that the neighbor across the street was actually letting her brown and gray Shih Tzu run loose.

Like many dog owners, I’m the kinda guy who will put his dog on a leash and take the dog for a walk. Our yard isn’t fenced in, so I don’t want to let my furbaby just run around outside. I love my dog and dogs in general, but I believe in keeping your dog under your control. If my dog was running loose and got struck by a car, I’d be devastated, but apparently, none of my neighbors share my same thoughts.

The Shih Tzu lady NEVER walks her dog. She opens her front door, lets the dog run outside, and the yappy little pooch happily runs around pooping and peeing in whomever’s yard it pleases.

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t always feel like walking my dog, and I certainly don’t enjoy picking up poop. Still, responsibility comes first. I think it’s completely rude to let your dog crap in someone else’s yard, and you don’t bother to pick it up. I can assure you that your neighbor doesn’t want to step in an unexpected dog turd on his or her way to the car. #NotCool

Up the street, the doggie chaos continues. This family has a “Beware of dog” sign on their house, which tells me there is a dangerous dog either inside or pent-up somewhere. But that, of course, would be too much like right. There’s actually two dogs there: some knee-high, odd-looking black dog, and a white chihuahua that looks entirely too big to be a chihuahua. They run freely in the front yard, and if you walk past the house, THEY WILL charge at you.

FreeImages.com/Rene Jorgensen

At first, I thought they were just after my dog when we’d be on our walks, but one day I walked past the house alone to go meet a friend, and they still came charging at me!!! And let me tell you, that chihuahua looking dog is one feisty bitch! I always yell at her to get back when she gets too close, and she actually listens, but not without giving me a nasty growl first.

Oh lawd, and then there are the pitbull-mixed puppies from the same neighbor who’s big black dog occasionally gets loose. Cute puppies, BUT they run around and do whatever they want, whenever they want. You’ll hear them screaming and howling up and down the block at any given moment of the day. They even had a nightly ritual of barking loudly right outside my bedroom window around 11 pm, but thankfully they’ve gotten bored with that.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think they were me and my cousin’s puppies as much as they hang out around our house. I swear I want to call animal control on my neighbors, but I also feel bad for the dogs. It’s not their fault they have crappy owners. If this was the country, where the next house was a mile down the road, I wouldn’t care about your dog running freely. But this is Atlanta! We live in the city, and there’s no countryside over here.

I could talk to my neighbors, but I’m pretty sure it would do no good. So, I just bite the bullet and deal with it because once I finish school and go back to working full-time, I’m quickly saying toodle loo to this neighborhood. But by golly, if it isn’t annoying, and at times scary, living in this doggie jungle.

What would you do in my situation? How do you feel about dogs running freely in someone’s yard or around your neighborhood? Toddley wants to know.