I have to start by saying I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this. It's still fresh, so I'm still pissed off, but I can also see the other side of things. Someone complained to El Paso Animal Services on me about how I care for my dog, Lucy. Apparently someone was walking their dog in front of my house as my wife was leaving for work, saw Lucy in her kennel and felt so strongly that the kennel was too small for Lucy that she called Animal Services. Here's a rundown of the story:

  • Lucy has a kennel in our garage that is the proper size for her. Not too big (dogs want a den of security) but not too small (she can stand up in it with extra head room and turn around without being crammed).
  • Lucy only goes in this kennel for a short amount of time when it is necessary. These times include, but are not limited to, when the weather outside is either too cold or too hot, a storm is incoming, or she makes her way to the kennel on her own. She actually goes and sits down in there when I'm working out in the garage.
  • Animal services stopped by in the morning and left a note that someone had complained that we had a medium dog being kept in a small kennel. Well, she is a medium dog, but it's not a small kennel.
  • Fast forward to the evening, around 7pm, and Animal Services shows up at the house.
  • I go talk to the Animal Services guy and he clues me into why he's there. He asks for Lucy's paperwork and my ID. At this point, he's filled in on the whole situation. But he's still being a bit of a dick to me. When I hand him the paperwork, he says "You need to make sure you get your other dogs in for shots as well." My actual response was "They go in at the same time as Lucy. They're all up on their shots, I can go get their paperwork if you want." But what I wanted to say is "Why the f*** would I take care of one dog but ignore the others? They are all taken care of, have a happy home, are well fed, and honestly, pun completely intended, if you're looking for someone who mistreats their dogs, you're barking up the wrong tree."

I guess the reason I'm pissed about the whole situation is I take great pride in making sure my dogs have a happy home. But some snoopy ass neighbor decided that the kennel wasn't large enough for our dog. Am I boiling with rage over this? No. Here's why. There are a lot of really bad dog owners out there. We hear horror stories of dogs being mistreated in El Paso and I think it's best to err on the side of caution.

HOWEVER, this goes out to anyone out there who feels they need to take it upon themselves to call the authorities in a situation like this. Well, more or less to the lady that called. You got a brief glimpse at my dog in her kennel. Here's what you DIDN'T see:

  • The kennel is the appropriate size for my dog.
  • My dog is only in that kennel for a short amount of time when the weather outside is too harsh for her.
  • We take great pride in making sure we aren't just providing a shelter for our dogs. We are providing them a loving home and they are a part of our family.

Now, in case you want to see our awesome dogs, here are some photos.

Brandon's Dogs

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