Steve,  Do you have relatives in Guilford, VT?  Ruth




At 8:17 AM -0400 7/18/03, [log in to unmask] wrote:
In a message dated 7/17/03 11:22:25 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

PS--How about the rights of free-range dogs?



They have some rights, but maybe not the expected ones.  I have a good
friend whose family lived through a transition from a farming community to
a suburban community in the 1960's.  This was at the Rouse development of
Columbia, Maryland.  Many of the new suburbanites seemed to believe that
their dogs should enjoy the freedom of the countryside.  So, they roamed
free during the day.  And packed up and killed livestock on my friend's
farm.  Cattle, sheep. There was no compensation, only denial from those
living the suburban fantasy.  "Heh, heh, heh, couldn't be Spot.  Just look
at him, and he is so good with children.  Besides, dogs will be dogs.  Just
look at him, all bloody from getting in that old barbed wire around here.
Say, could my kids come by some weekend and pet your animals, heh, heh?
Never been to a real farm before, kinda why we moved way out here."  There
was a solution, however.  My friends uncle thought it up.  Some varmint
destruction from afar with a 223 Remington every few weeks, followed by
backhoe work.  Could usually get 4-7 before the packs of 25-30 bolted.  The
murderers Spot and Jake and Jim-boy and Bopsie didn't understand where the
bees came from.  It took several years for empirical suburban cultural
change.  "Must be a dog-napping ring around here!  They must be taking our
dogs for medical experiments!  Better keep your dog chained up and in your
yard!"

Steve Stokowski

--
Ruth Barton
[log in to unmask]
Dummerston, VT

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