This is NOT our dog. This is a loose, male, aggressive husky that has been in our yard the last few nights. We saw tracks in the snow and saw/smelled the territorial pee all over the yard. Our dogs went nuts smelling everywhere.
The tracks showed that the dog walked up the snow banks and down over our fences to access the yard.
Finally the other day I saw movement through the window and caught this intruder on camera. I opened the door and walked out onto the porch and tried to get its attention. It immediately tried to stare me down, raised its heckles and growled. Back inside I went!! We called the lazy dog-catcher on Sunday and she showed up today. I think the only reason she actually acted this time around was because I cc'd the Mayor of the village on the email. The last few years all we got were arguments from her, sheesh...it was a cold greeting when she arrived.
The trap is set in the driveway. With hanging hot dogs to boot. I HATE the idea of trapping a dog...I really do. But my own critters come first. With two unfixed females in the house it could get dangerous. And the errant husky showed aggression to me, I don't want to think of my poor little Jack in a fight with this mammoth dog. Since we have a feral cat problem in the village, I worry about the cats too...or skunks, or rabbits or squirrels...but this trap is set up so that only a heavy animal can trigger the trap door. I can't help myself, I'm looking outside every few minutes to see if the dog came back or not. I wouldn't want it to be trapped for very long in such cold weather!
I DESPISE IRRESPONSIBLE PET OWNERS. We've seen this dog before last winter and the winter before but it never entered the yard. Ugh.
These lovely creatures are my heart and my priority though. MUST keep them safe and sound. The trap could result in nothing. Alex and I really think that it's an irresponsible weekender who leaves their dog loose when they come up north since it's usually the same time every year we see this dog out alone. We'll keep the trap for two weeks and see what happens.
It's sunny here but really cold. I LOVE seeing the green in my windows this time of year!!! :) Happy first day of Spring my friends!!! Seize the day!!! :) I hope we seize the husky! :)
Advice needed: We have a cottage with wood siding. We are currently being driven mad by a nuthatch trying desperately to make a hole for a nest on the side of the house...does anyone have advice? I read that fake owls might scare them away...didn't work for my pigeon problem in Montreal though! I also read that wind chimes and shiny objects like aluminum pie plates could work because they scare them away. Since it's still winter, I can't really spray them with a hose if I hear them drilling...it really is driving us crazy.
Wise decision. You and your loved ones come first. I thought it was neat how she hung hot dogs to entice the aggressive husky. LOVE your plants. Can you help me set up some here?
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for your recent visit. When I first learned how to knit my rectangle grew and had holes in places, LOL. My fabric for this cardigan is growing while I knit. It's a winner I think!
ReplyDeleteHope they catch that dog soon, scary.
ReplyDeleteOh my, Rain. I hope he gets lured into the cage and is brought to a shelter. Maybe, if the owners have to pay a fine to get him back, they will keep him on their property and not let him roam.
ReplyDeleteyour pack looks so cute! i feel bad for that dog. i too hate irresponsible dog owners. your plants look so cheerful. we are getting heavy snow right now and i am loving it. this might be our last one until next fall.
ReplyDeleteIf you put a candy bar in your trap you may catch the dog catcher.
ReplyDeletethats a sad situation with the Husky,, stupid people,, any fool can have a dog and thats the sad part, the fools ruin the lives of so many beautiful animals.
ReplyDeleteYour plants are doing great!! I can't think of a way to stop the Nuthatch,, that bird is on a mission!!
Your window pots are so cheerful!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you call a dogcatcher that doesn't catch any? Ours. Ha.
I feel so sorry for that animal. Poor thing. Behind every lost/abandoned/misplaced/neglected animal is an asshat owner. Makes me blood boil. You absolutely have to keep you and your animals safe.
ReplyDeleteHappy spring! Your window with the plants is gorgeous. Before you know it, we'll be outdoors playing in the dirt! LOL
He will be fine in the trap. From his photo he looks in good flesh and breeds of his sort have duel coats , as my Pyrenees do, resulting in instant insulation and warmth. Pity his owners don't value him more than letting him walk about. Having worked in a large shelter and for rescue I am sorry to say folks of that nature are hard pressed to do the right thing. It is difficult to correct behavior one doesn't see as wrong. He is a beautiful boy too. Good luck and you might toss a tarp around the far end of the trap to give him a bit of protection from any wind and you peace of mind.
ReplyDeleteI hope the dog gets caught before any harm is done, I wouldnt be happy with it prowling around, stay safe.
ReplyDeletestory of husky animal sounds sad and rising aggression in my head for irresponsible owners dear Rain!
ReplyDeletethinking of lady who sounds weird in her y response and colbehavir must be some problems dealing may be .
this trap is cary though but you need it to keep yourself and your family SAFE!
thank you for these beautiful photos my friend ,Finally ice has started melting and sun is smiling over you :) HAPPY SPRING MY FRIEND!!!
your hardwork is resulting amazingly ,your plants are doing great i think!
Hi Rain, great post telling you how you should always keep your animals safe when you get a neighbour who should have more consideration for other people 😡 He put you in a risky situation which you handled well.
ReplyDeleteYou are brave going outside. I sure hope it's caught and the owners held responsible. That sunshine looks so warm and inviting. We are dark, dreary, cold and extremely windy here.
ReplyDeleteThe dog is beautiful, and it's so sad that someone around there isn't taking care of him. Still, with an aggressive nature, I hate the thought of him hurting other animals or people. Hopefully, he'll be caught peacefully, and the owner will realize they need to pay more attention. All that green is inspirational, and it's alway great to see the rest of the family. That actually looks like a perfect Christmas card. Hugs...RO
ReplyDeleteScary! Hope you catch him safely. Maryland is getting a 2 day sleet/snow storm yesterday and today for first day of spring :( Seeing your greenery sitting in the window sun makes me feel cozy :) Lisa
ReplyDeleteI hooe u will catch that poor pooch soon. If he has a owner ... I really don't know if he should go back to him :( but then what is the alternative with an aggressive dog. Poor boy.
ReplyDeleteU are right keeping your own pack safe ... it can become very dangerous with an intackt agressive male...and he is big. We often get the stink eyefor tying our dogs up when they are in the yard. We have many neighbours who just let their dogs go lose and they roam the neighbourhood. Well thats fine with me but I don't want mine to gang up on one of their dogs or end up out on the highway or killing deer. They run they play they are being loved and sometimes they are tied up in the yard ... even on a cold day ... they are huskies, they dont like the inside. I hope we will be able to build a big run for them this spring the same we had at the old place ... we need them in the yard tk keep the bears wolves and coyotes away.
Your window looks lovely 💜
Maybe try hanging up some old cds. They reflect the sun and move in the wind ... lots of people use them in the garden.
With that much snow, it's not a surprise that he is up and over that fence. Sounds like you are doing everything right - we are lucky in that our dog warden is a very responsive and responsible person - plus, he's my neighbor! Hope the husky is caught soon, so that you and your adorable pack can take a deep breath. I love your sunny window full of plants - it gives me hope that spring will come this year!
ReplyDeleteIrresponsible dog owners! Ugh!!!
ReplyDeleteOur city has a Leash Law, has had it for years and years, and it is obeyed. And guess who was responsible for this? Me! Little, young, quiet, home-body me!
Both myself and our little daughter were menaced by dogs. I went door-to-door, with a petition. We took it to City Hall. My husband spoke for me, since I wasn't "up" to that. But it passed. And the reason it happened, was me! One of my few accomplishments. At a very young age, even.
Soooo, we never see a dog alone! One good aspect of living in a city, small though it may be. There are designated areas where one can take their dog to run of course.
Catch-that-rotten-dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You and yours, come first! I know that!!!!!!
Hugs!!!!!
We are lucky here to have good animal control but we do have a couple male visitors each Spring but they are friendly and my girls are fixed so they play and have a good time and then off he goes!
ReplyDeleteThe nut thatch sounds like a real pest. I have a woodpecker that comes by but he never stays for long.
Your plants are going gangbusters! You succeed at everything you do....me not so much! LOL! But I keep forging ahead! Have a great week!
Thanks Stefanie :) I'm sure the dog is good with his owners, and he was likely scared of me, but I can't take a chance. I'm so glad you found a winner pattern for your cardigan but also the yarn and your skills! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Christine :) Nothing in the trap this morning so far!
ReplyDeleteThanks Starting Over :) Our dog catcher is terribly lazy and doesn't enforce rules. I asked her if she will fine the owners if the dog is caught and the owners are found, she said "maybe, depends on who it is." What the heck does that even mean???
ReplyDeleteThanks Joyce :) I feel bad for the dog too. My heart breaks when I see dogs and cats roaming alone...Hope you enjoy your snow, I'm not enjoying mine lol! ;)
ReplyDeleteLol Gill, you know the story of the dog catcher now, that chocolate bar would most certainly work. In fact, I think she took a few hot dogs with her as a snack for the drive home. :-s
ReplyDeleteI agree Laurie :) it's not the dog's fault, it's the idiot humans. You're right about that nuthatch...unbelievable...I think I scared it off for now by tossing snowballs up as far as I could...we have a tall cottage and he's drilling near the top of the wall. Every time I hear that rapping, I run outside and toss more snowballs up. I wish there was an easier way!
ReplyDeleteHi TPals :) So the lazy dog-catcher-itis is catchy huh? Lol!
ReplyDeleteHi Martha :) I know, I feel so bad for him too, I'm sure he's just scared. But if he's not fixed, I don't want to be around him especially with Charlie...she's a fighter and that would be a bad scene. I cannot wait to play in the dirt again!!! And you can this year too now that the house is done, hurray! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Goatldi :) So, yeah, no dog this morning, but you're right, he's a thick coated husky, so if he stays in that trap a few hours, he'll be annoyed but okay I think. It's a strange mentality that I've come across often. People think that all dogs get along, that because they are "in the country" that it's okay to let the dogs loose, and that I should be okay if someone's loose dog uses my yard as his personal WC! You're right though, people don't change their attitudes. I used to say if these were kids and my kid ran over, jumped on you and tried to hump you, how would you feel? That usually just makes them think I'm nuts... :)
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way Dawn. Alex takes the dogs all out before he goes to bed after midnight, if that husky was there, I would be really worried about that. But so far, he hasn't been back. That's good...well, until next March...seems to be a yearly thing! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Baili :) You and me both with the anger towards these pet owners. You would be surprised how many people do this...I don't know what is with the attitudes of the pet owners in this particular town, I've never seen so much irresponsibility, but that comes with an irresponsible dog catcher who doesn't enforce the rules...and a village town hall who hires the dog catcher because she's so cheap. Frustrating! I know, spring is coming!!! I'm very happy about that!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Terry :) I'm usually not afraid of any dog, but this one made my insides shake up a little. I just hope the husky is back home safe where he should be and we don't have to trap him!
ReplyDeleteHi Kristina :) Brave...or stupid? Fine line lol...I hope you get some sunshine and warmer weather soon!
ReplyDeleteHi RO :) Yes...if the dog were just a "scare-dee cat" type of dog, I could try to approach him, but the heckles and the growling made me scared. Oh what a nice idea for a Christmas card! Now we just have to find a way to photoshop ourselves and the cats in lol! ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa :) I'm glad my window garden gave you the cozies!! :) Sleet and snow is NOT welcome here that's for sure!!
ReplyDeleteHey Sis :) I just hope that the husky doesn't hurt anyone or any animal because it would be such a shame...you know what happens...and all due to irresponsible owners who I just want to slap around. Ugh. You know what? The hell with the stink eye! You're keeping your pack safe and those ignorant people's pets safe too. I hate people. LOL...ha ha...okay, not all people! ;) We always keep our dogs tied in the yard. We have one of those things you dig into the ground and they are all on pretty long ropes so they can roam around. I think about a gazillion times a day I have to unravel them from each other, but they pretty much are in the yard from April through to November. This winter, because of the 5 dogs, and because the snow was so high, we felt safer letting them run a little in the yard untied. It made it easier to take them in and out, but now, I don't even feel safe in my own FENCED-IN yard. I think we may have to shovel all the snow out around the fences to keep any other dogs coming in from now on! I hope you get that run built, I think when we buy, that will be one of the first things we do.
ReplyDeleteWe hung a pie plate up on the gutter and hung pieces of foil, the nuthatch was right back this morning. I scared it away by throwing snowballs up at the side of the house, but I have to go out every few hours because he keeps coming back! Stubborn! :)
Hi Susan :) Yes! Hang in, spring won't be long now! :) I was mentioning to Nik above that I think we'll be shoveling around the bottom of the fences so this doesn't happen again, what a pain in the butt though. Yes, you are lucky to have a good dog warden!
ReplyDeleteHi Wisps of Words :) Congratulations on your accomplishment!!! That's wonderful. And the fact that people actually pay attention to leash laws is great! We DO have a leash law here but nobody enforces it. Actually last summer, Alex and I were very firm about making lots of complaints about people with loose dogs. We took a day last summer to just walk around the village, camera in hand and we caught three of the town people with their dogs loose in the main park, one was a pitbull too. We sent photos and made complaints for months. No response from the mayor and only arguments from this pathetic dog-catcher. But...we did notice last fall that the village put up signs in all the parks to keep dogs on a leash, at least that's something even though nobody abides by it. That's why I feel uncomfortable walking the dogs here. It gets too dangerous.
ReplyDeleteHi Sam :) Oh yes, you are lucky that you have good animal control! This is the only town left in the area where that woman acts as dog-catcher...and guess what? She lives over an hour's drive away, not even in the village. Every other town around us has the SPCA as the animal control and we were pushing for the village to get rid of lazy-pants and hire the SPCA...we were told it's "not in the budget". Of course this woman is cheap (in all ways lol)...anyway, hopefully we'll be out of here next year and they can all break the laws as they wish! Oh thank you! I'm so happy with the plants, they are bringing me so much joy! :)
ReplyDeleteI don’t think you need to feel bad about trapping him. It’s best for everyone, pets, people and critters.
ReplyDeleteWe have woodpeckers that tap on the metal eaves troughs of our house. It’s super loud! Liken to a jackhammer and I’m not exaggerating!
Thanks Birdie... :) I have such empathy for all animals, I know it's for the best! :) Yes...jackhammer is right. I've had woodpeckers in other places I've lived and I remember that sound! The nuthatch's sound is just a little more like an annoying Morse code signal that never ends lol!
ReplyDeleteI hope that husky has been caught! Not cool irresponsible dog owner, not cool! I hope they heard that. What idiots. Its a humane trap so it won't hurt him. I think he will be okay for a bit in the cold - he's got alot of fur on him!
ReplyDeleteI love your little growing garden!! Doesn't it brighten the spirit?
It bothers me to no end how irresponsible pet owners can be. I hope you catch the dog and you and your dogs can be back to normal!
ReplyDeleteDianna, people like that will never "hear" common sense! :) Yes, the window garden truly does brighten my spirit...and I'm going to plant some more herbs today too! I have the seeds and the soil, so why not? I need more fresh stuff! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenn :) I can't express how much it bothers me too. So far we haven't seen any evidence that the husky has been back, so I hope it stays that way!
ReplyDeleteStay away from the growling dog... :( That doesn't sound like someone's loose pet to me. Hope the trap works!
ReplyDelete"Advice needed: We have a cottage with wood siding. We are currently being driven mad by a nuthatch trying desperately to make a hole for a nest on the side of the house..."
Well...you won't like my advice. We had a problem with woodpeckers on our siding. Actually, the problem was the siding was on its last leg and the woodpeckers liked it. When we replaced the siding, no more woodpeckers.
But...I bet there is something you could spray or do. A natural repellant? Uh...get your dog visitor to aim high? ;-D
LOL Sandi, we should always "aim high" ha ha ha...that made me laugh. We are renting right now with a very "could care less" type of landlord so we are kind of on our own for things like this. My snowball technique is working today though, I had to go out a few times and toss snowball up as high as I could and he/she flew away. I'm going to do some research on natural repellents...we just don't want to spend too much!
ReplyDeleteI love how all your doggie babes lay together! ADORABLE! I don't blame you for wanting to trap that dog and get him out of there. Like you, I think of my fur babes first.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pam :) I've heard too many stories that end very badly when there is a loose aggressive dog around...don't even want to think about it. Day 3 and no husky yet...I really think it was weekenders, so maybe this weekend we'll trap him.
ReplyDeleteI hope you catch the dog! I really hate bad owners of animals. We have problems with cats in our area and it's so sad! Good luck with the nuthatch. We had a problem with the little birds going into the cement inbetween the bricks! It was crazy! And, you know what was doing it? We had an ant problem and they could hear them, so they tapped into the cement and made holes, to get them out. Smart birds! Lots of holes though! LOL! We got the ant problem fixed and filled the holes. I hope you can come to a solution? Don't know what to tell you Rain, sorry! Big Hugs!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh Magic Love Crow, that's crazy about the ants lol...birds are really persistent to the point of being pests sometimes, though I love to watch them in the feeder! I just keep chasing the nuthatch away with my broom, it's quite the funny scene lol...maybe one day he'll get tired of being chased off lol!
ReplyDeleteBlue jays! And squirrels! Cool! Oh and cats. I love cats most of all.
ReplyDeleteA stray dog is a danger to humans and pets. If it is cold and hungry it will become brave and come ever closer to the house. How awful of those poeple to let it run loose. completely irresponsible. What if it hurt someone, a child even. inexcuseable. Sorry you have to deal with that, have pots by the back door and bang them like made to get it to go away.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sol, it's very true that stray dogs are dangerous. The "dog catcher" put out a trap but the dog never came back. We really think it's some kind of weekender who just leaves his/her dog loose in a yard when they go snowmobiling. We think it's the same dog we've seen previous winters too. It got bit by a dog when I was a kid, and it scared me terribly. I'm pretty good with dogs, we do have five at the moment, but strays who lift their heckles make me very nervous, not just for us, but for our pets too.
ReplyDelete