Dear Editor,
We have all heard the phrase “A dog is man’s best friend.” While living in the county and not having a "leash law" and with so many of them running loose, it makes a person wonder if man is really caring for his “best friend” as he should.
The majority of pet owners treat their pets as members of the family and spend thousands of dollars providing the best of care. But on the other hand there are those who will bring a dog or cat home only to leave it to take care of itself, including finding whatever it can to eat and drink, providing no veterinary care and allowing them to reproduce more of the same.
We do not own a pet at present, but you would not know it by taking a walk across our lawn. Our neighbor's dogs (six or seven of them) use our grass for their morning potty area and also come under our carport to mark our car tires, leaving a puddle. Just this week our patio rug was shredded, and our ground cover was trampled to the ground.
This is not the first incident of destruction at our home that was caused by an unsupervised dog. They have chased our vehicles as we pulled in under our carport and stood outside barking so that we were afraid to get out for fear of being bitten. We have been threatened at our mailbox by them growling and barking.
While we pay for the damage done to our property, the owners of the dogs don't seem to care. We have talked to the sheriff's department and the county supervisor several times, but nothing has been done to help alleviate the problem.
Why doesn't the county have some kind of law that would help not only people like us but also the starving and neglected animals?
Benny and Sandra Long
Foxworth
