loose dogs and cats

I'm a little, well, perturbed comes to mind as a good description.

Out at the barn I board Scarlet at the manager is a nice enough guy. He lives on the property with his wife and his youngest son. He holds a green card which means he's a legal immigrant and is working to stay here.

I like him and his wife, though there is sort of a language barrier. I say sort of, because my John Wayne Spanish and his Ricky Ricardo English gets us through most conversations. He takes good care of the horses, so we're all happy.

Well, except for one thing. He had an adorable little Chihuahua mix. She ran loose on the property and was killed by a car. They have another dog, a white poodle. She runs loose too. I know she will probably have the same fate as the other dog. This really upsets me. And I mean a lot.

I had almost stolen Camilla, the Chi, because she was all over the place and I knew she wouldn't last long. But, good people don't steal dogs from others. Now Blanca is in danger. Not only from cars, but coyotes, rattle snakes etc not to mention getting kicked by a horse.

Technically, she hasn't left the property, so they're not breaking the law. But I also don't see tags on her collar for rabies and city license. She's fed, and she does get attention from everyone, but I'm still very concerned for her well being. After all, we ride past Camilla's grave several times a week.

It's a concern, but I have no answers. I don't know what to do.

We do also have a barn cat, but she belongs to the owner and is spayed, has her shots, etc. But again, cats don't seem to get hurt or killed as often as the dogs do out there. She's happy keeping the place clear of mice and snakes.

But Blanca, I'm afraid, will come to a bad end at a young age.

I don't understand why good people allow their pets to run into danger like this. Of course, lots of people do this. I don't want to get racial here, but a large number of Hispanics seem to do this around here. They don't seem to place any type of value on animal lives.

Like I said, I don't understand.