I live in a pretty rural area, but then there's an explosion of new homes a distance further, so my "neighbors" include a lot of people.
-Closest, our landlady and someone I've known since I was a toddler. She has a lab/GSD mix and a Rottie. Both dogs are lovely, but she has zero control of them. They're constantly trying to escape. When I go over there, she has to strain to hold on to their collars to prevent them from darting out the door, then throws herself to the door to bolt it shut. She leaves them for days at a time, and when they escape from the yard, I'm the one left trying to wrangle them back home. They don't listen to a word anyone says and they're very, very strong. I'm always really scared Fable's going to meet up with the Rottie bitch and get injured.
-Two mystery mutts. They live outside and never go for walks. The people that own them used to have two redbone coonhounds they kept locked up in a 5 x 6 area with no gate. They were never let out, their bucket of water was often just mold, they both had tumors, they had no shelter in 110 degree temps, etc. I had to call AC about 20 times to get somebody out here to help those dogs. I'm really worried their new dogs will be neglected too, but their youngest son at least has an interest in them, and their yard is attached to the house. With a gate.
-Another house has a boxer, an ACD, a dane mix, and a chihuahua. The dogs are nice, but the owner doesn't supervise them when they're loose. I worry about the little one a lot. IDIOTS I LOST MY DOG TO A COYOTE AND SHE WAS IN HER OWN YARD. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING LETTING YOUR 3 POUND DOG WANDER AROUND AN AREA LIKE THIS WHERE YOU CAN'T GO A DAY WITHOUT SEEING 5 PREDATORS THAT COULD HAVE YOUR DOG FOR LUNCH?!?!? [/vent]
-I don't know who owns them, but I see a Boston terrier and another fluffy terrier mix roaming sometimes. I had to kick the Boston once for going after my dog.
-Friend's grandmother has a dachshund and a rat terrier mix. I am the official caretaker for when their owner is gone. They're both extremely sweet, but very noisy. Owner overfeeds them and they get burger at every meal, on top of triple servings of canned and dry dog food. Both dogs are obese.
-A Great Pyrenees. Owned by a very nice man, absolutely stunning, well-raised dog.
-Josie! A BC/ACD/catahoula mix. She's a wonderful girl, and the sibling to the dog my friend had. She's let loose, but never strays from the property line. She and Millie aren't too fond of each other, unfortunately.
-Little dog I've only seen streaking through the desert a couple of times.
-Some lady walks a very cute ACD mix.
-Several other houses have more ACDs. They're very popular here. A friend and neighbor bred them before she moved to Alaska.
-There's also a nice man who has two very large mutts. They're both adorable and very unusual looking. He used to have two Rotties years ago.
Our two Rotties broke into his yard when I was little. He was so nice about it, and joked about having 2 Rottweilers, turning around, and then having 4, lol.
I also meet other countless dogs when I walk through neighborhoods in places nearby, but they're fence-barkers I walk quickly away from and I don't know anything about them.
Overall, people in this area think "Woohoo, I'm in the country, let's set the dogs loose!" My dogs almost never wear leashes on our walks (except when Millie is working), but I would never, ever just let them roam unsupervised. It's far too dangerous. Another neighbor had a dog named Lady (I posted pics of her here before), and I always wanted to slap some sense into that guy. Lady got gored by a javelina, and they still let her loose. She got shot, and they still let her loose. She got attacked by another dog, and they still let her loose. They watched her play with coyotes and decide the coyotes didn't mean any harm. She got hit by a car, and finally they got the hint. I made a thread about the asshole trying to blame Lady getting hit by a car on ME, because she was following my friend, me, and our dogs.
Most of my dog-owning neighbors suck.
You're welcome for the upbeat, joyful post.