Stranger takes our dog home with them, then calls Animal Control to report a "lost dog"
Only in my life!!
Kade is 10 years old and a Border Collie; and what I mean by that statement is that he's a mature, intelligent, and trustworthy dog. It's hard to imagine what this means in a dog until you've met a 10-year old Border Collie (or Kade-- you're all welcome to come meet him), but he's the type of dog that likes to be outdoors on our new 1.3 acre property, where he'll sit on our front porch and watch the birds in the trees, or he'll lay in the backyard and watch deer go by at sunset. In Scotland and Ireland where the breed originates from, farmers entrust their Border Collies to take their livestock out to pasture, graze all day, and return the herd/flock back at dusk, all without human supervision. He loves the outdoors but he never goes far. In fact, he never leaves our property-- without a leash, without an Invisible Fence, without human supervision.
Of course this must be pretty startling to some people. Especially those that fancy themselves a hero. Rescuing a lost dog must release some good endorphins that don't require the hazards of saving someone from a burning building.
We also tend to lean towards a "free range" than "helicopter" parenting mentality (both our dog and our children). We give both Kade and Erika a lot of freedoms (under supervision the first few times, and then with increasing independence) to grow into their beings. We believe that fostering self-reliance in a secure and managed way, with the support of parents, raises an intelligent, confident, well-adjusted.. dog and child.
So Kade was minding his own business, laying down on our property, when a passerby spied him, stopped, and beckoned him. Kade, being friendly, went to the stranger, wagging his tail, welcoming him to our home (and who doesn't love a nice visitor?) The stranger, unbeknownst to us watching TV inside, grabbed Kade and forcibly removed him from our property. Strangers takes Kade home (a neighbor who lives a few blocks over), calls Animal Control (Kade wears his licence on his collar), so Animal Control was able to track down our phone number and give us a call. Brian drove over to graciously retrieve Kade and managed not to throw a snarky "next time, please leave our dog on our property" comment in there.
Kade is 10 years old and a Border Collie; and what I mean by that statement is that he's a mature, intelligent, and trustworthy dog. It's hard to imagine what this means in a dog until you've met a 10-year old Border Collie (or Kade-- you're all welcome to come meet him), but he's the type of dog that likes to be outdoors on our new 1.3 acre property, where he'll sit on our front porch and watch the birds in the trees, or he'll lay in the backyard and watch deer go by at sunset. In Scotland and Ireland where the breed originates from, farmers entrust their Border Collies to take their livestock out to pasture, graze all day, and return the herd/flock back at dusk, all without human supervision. He loves the outdoors but he never goes far. In fact, he never leaves our property-- without a leash, without an Invisible Fence, without human supervision.
Of course this must be pretty startling to some people. Especially those that fancy themselves a hero. Rescuing a lost dog must release some good endorphins that don't require the hazards of saving someone from a burning building.
We also tend to lean towards a "free range" than "helicopter" parenting mentality (both our dog and our children). We give both Kade and Erika a lot of freedoms (under supervision the first few times, and then with increasing independence) to grow into their beings. We believe that fostering self-reliance in a secure and managed way, with the support of parents, raises an intelligent, confident, well-adjusted.. dog and child.
So Kade was minding his own business, laying down on our property, when a passerby spied him, stopped, and beckoned him. Kade, being friendly, went to the stranger, wagging his tail, welcoming him to our home (and who doesn't love a nice visitor?) The stranger, unbeknownst to us watching TV inside, grabbed Kade and forcibly removed him from our property. Strangers takes Kade home (a neighbor who lives a few blocks over), calls Animal Control (Kade wears his licence on his collar), so Animal Control was able to track down our phone number and give us a call. Brian drove over to graciously retrieve Kade and managed not to throw a snarky "next time, please leave our dog on our property" comment in there.