On our way out to Two Peaks to look at a house for sale, we were blessed to see a herd of big horn sheep grazing near the Taos Gorge bridge. We've seen them before, but never so many. It was amazing.
The house in Two peaks is a no go. The roads still make me angry and the running dogs are intolerable. One actually jumped on our moving car, leaving some nice scratches. I'm not sure why people think their dogs have rights over people. I hate NM for that. I long to take a walk without being accosted by dogs. Even here, just across the border in Colorado, our neighbors let their dogs run. The dogs across the street have taken to jumping our fence to fight with my dogs, which are, thankfully, behind another 6ft high fence. Somehow this has made having a relationship with our neighbors very tense, and they often say they'd come by, except for the dog issue. Here's the issue folks...contain your F'n dogs on your property. Is that too hard???? I know both Costilla county (where we live) and Taos county have dog leash laws, which mean that dogs are to be leashed when not fenced on an owner's property. Is that too difficult to understand?
Now, I can't take my kids or my dogs for walks without the fear of encountering other dogs. Tell me, what do I do with fighting dogs and two developmentally challenged kids? Not worth the risk. Too bad. I love to go for walks. So do the dogs and kids. For some reason people seem to believe other people have no rights to enjoy community spaces or even their own property, in our case. Not everyone likes dogs folks. And even if we like dogs, we don't like other dogs in our space or threatening us on walks. And, I've heard it over and over...."My dog is so sweet, he would never hurt anyone." But what if he does? The dogs that jump the fence and fight with my dogs...I don't find them sweet by any means. I find them a nuisance. Maybe I should get a gun, except I don't believe in guns, and really, it's the owners who need a good spanking, isn't it?
When I tell owners we visit, who let their dogs run, that my autistic daughter has some issues with animals, that she tends to annoy them and they don't seem to like her, you know what these people with sweet dogs say? Well, "Watch her around my dog, because he/she hasn't really been around kids and I'm not sure what he/she will do." Hmmmm....seems like the dogs might indeed pose a threat to people, doesn't it? I can watch my kids. I can even keep them from going to "dog" houses if need be, but do I have to keep my kids locked in the house because other people don't want to fence or leash their dogs? Is it fair to us to not be able to go for walks, or even enjoy our own yard without the fear of dogs threatening my kids and my dogs? My dogs are always leashed and fenced. I have the decency to do that for the sake of others enjoying simple human rights. I notice most of my neighbors go for walks...with their running dogs.
Okay, rant over.
Today is the 6th day of my water fast. I feel pretty good, although I have not had any epiphanies. It's difficult trying to abstain from food while feeding a family. I don't recommend it. If you want to fast, you should go away and spend some quality time alone where there will be no temptations. But, that said, I continue on for as long as I can. I'm fairly confident I will make it to day seven.
No farm news. The same old, same old. It's cold. The animals are all surviving. The chickens, bless them, are laying many eggs a day. We even had one day where all ten laid, and then they laid six more the next day. Pretty amazing. I love the Buffs.
Can you call the animal control authorities and ask them to do a drive by in the area? Call them anonomously and say that you've seen dogs running wild on the roads. That is actually a danger to the dogs as well as to your family and animals.
ReplyDeleteI have thought about that, Danielle, however, as my community is so small, and everyone has been here for years, I think it would just make matters worse for us as renters.There is hardly any traffic here, on our road, and unfortunately running dogs in northern NM and southern CO are the norm, not the exception. I'm not sure animal control would or could help as there are many running dogs in the county seat, where animal control is located. We are just trying to bide our time until we can find a farm of our own, hopefully within the next few months. If we stay here, we may have to get around to putting up electric perimeter fencing to keep the dogs out of our farm. The roads, well...no more walks.
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