I am so excited I can't stand it!! If you will remember, my block has been inundated with dogs over the last 4 or 5 months. Tons of dogs on the block, barking all the time. I have been 99% sure that these dogs were being used in dog fighting. I have been praying for a while that something would be done about these dogs, especially the ones that bite.
About 2 months ago the police showed up and were looking at a few of the dogs and didn't seem to mind them being around. They were even laughing and joking with the owners, which I took to mean that nothing would ever be done about the dogs. My dad told me that the officers were probably gathering information to use later, but I wasn't sure Philly police were that good. :)
Apparently, my dad was right! (Who would have thought that my dad, Chief of Police, would know something about how police officers work?!?). The police showed up yesterday and took away every single dog on the block!! Well, there is one left, because he was actually well fed and taken care of, but the rest were taken away. I had never seen all the dogs at once, and it was disturbing. Most of them looked horrible...angry and beaten up. It was so sad. The owners weren't arrested, but they were given lots of tickets and summons to appear in court. Apparently other neighbors have been calling the police complaining about the dogs. They had been getting out of their cages and running up and down an alley behind some houses and even attacking other dogs. Not to mention the barking day and night. We have all seen people urging their dogs to attack other dogs. Apparently they even found the house that was being used to actually fight the dogs. So disgusting.
I do feel kind of bad for one neighbor. He has a dog that is very well taken care of and doesn't fight. Their backyard is way too small to house the dog, so they keep him inside. However, they will let him in the backyard to go to the bathroom if they don't have time to walk him (they always clean up after the dog). Unfortunately, the police came just as the dog was going to the bathroom in the backyard, so he also got a ticket for unsanitary conditions for a dog. (His yard is in the same alley that the other dogs were terrorizing). He was pretty upset, and it is an unfortunate coincidence. But, I would rather have that than the dogs still be here.
My block has been SO much quieter!! No barking at all!! I had literally forgotten what it was like to go through an entire day without hearing dogs fighting and growling at one another. Or what it was like to walk down my block without looking around to see what fence or post I needed to avoid. Its SO nice!!! :)
Yesterday wasn't all great though. I got a phone call from a girl's mom asking me to talk to her because she has been getting in a lot of trouble at school. It broke my heart. I know this girl has been going through a lot over the last year, and I know exactly where her anger stems from. But, what do you do with that? How do you counsel a 12 year old girl through her anger while teaching her to be respectful and follow the rules at school? This little girl has the odds stacked against her to say the least...so how exactly can I help? What am I supposed to do?
I feel like that's the question I am constantly asking right now...Lord, what am I supposed to do? I'm not a mom, I don't have children. I have no idea how to handle these kids...yet I'm the one mom's are calling for help?? Lord, what exactly am I supposed to do? There are a million parenting books, but there aren't any "How to Parent Other People's Children" books. Lord, what in the world am I supposed to do?!?
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