Neighborhood Potluck.......

Tonight was the annual potluck dinner for the neighbors in the hills here. We saw the nearby neighbors that we see all the time, and also the farther-away-in-the-hills neighbors that we haven't seen since last year's potluck dinner. There were paper name-tags at the door...... I didn't take one.... those paper things just bother me. I did introduce myself to everyone that I could, except the local police and firemen. Those two groups stuck to themselves, all at the largest table, and when their meal was done, they were gone. They are invited as a courtesy, by any community participating in this annual Night Out event.

A couple of the neighbors asked us if we were planning to host next year's Night Out Potluck..... my response was that I'd rather host a Halloween party. I said it with a smile on my face, but the translation could have been Over my dead body. Pardon my sarcasm, but this type of party, given for people who don't see each other all year long, just isn't my cup of tea.

On the way back down the road from J & J's home, what did we see in the road by our barn? Two small dogs. Bigger than puppies, but certainly not a year old yet. We stopped the car..... I gave my husband what was left of the cornbread that I had brought to the party. The dogs ate that up in two bites, then (of course) followed our car down the road and into our driveway. I was holding what was left of the pasta in cream sauce that I had brought to the party--- I gave that to the dogs, along with a bowl of water. They were still hungry after that..... I went in the house and brought out some dry cat food and gave them a little bit of Meow Mix. (My cats don't eat that, but I keep it just for the stray cats that we always seem to find.)

By that time, my husband was sitting in the driveway, and the dogs were just all over him, licking his face and wagging their tails, and just happy to be there. We guessed that they're about six to eight months old, some kind of Black Lab mix. The smaller of the two was just making eyes at my husband, the way Gracie always did. She was the sweetest of the pair, but they were both pretty tame and sweet, but she will be the smaller of the two because her paws are smaller. They look like they came from the same litter.

However...... we do not (DO NOT) want another dog. (Translation: DO NOT WANT.) We don't want to be tied down that way for another 14 years, like we were with Gracie. We loved Gracie, and we still miss her, but we just don't want another dog. In the morning, either my husband will bring these two dogs to the shelter, or he'll ask W the handyman to do it for us. I know the dogs will still be here in the morning, because right now, both of them are curled up on our porch, sound asleep.

I will have to keep the cats in the house tomorrow morning, and I won't be able to let the chickens out of the coop till those dogs are gone. They're very tame and sweet with us, but heaven only knows what would happen with the cats and the hens...... and I certainly don't want to find out.

Why is it that WE are the ones always finding the stray cats and dogs?????? And WHY can't people bring their unwanted pets to the shelter????? Or better yet, WHY can't they just have their pets spayed or neutered if they don't want kittens and puppies?????