Ok I need to vent big time.  Twice in three days two more dogs are wondering the neighborhood.  One is about 20-25 pound heinz 57 and the other is maybe 40 pounds of what should be a black lab mix.  The lab mix apparently has been on her own for quite some time as you can see her ribs as well as her spine.  No collar...but extremely friendly..loves to be petted.  The little one is wearing a rabies tag from the snip clinic in Catawba County.   They of course cannot tell me who purchased the tag.

There is a big difference between NC and OH on how dogs are taken care of.

Caldwell County Dog Pound is a KILL shelter...three days then gased.  OF course, this is the county I am in.  Now Catawba, the next county over has a Humane Society which is a no-kill shelter. 

Thanksgiving day out wondering around was a St. Bernard mix of which he was not friendly at all!! And his side kick whose tag read Jax (but no phone number) was at 15 pounds of energy.  I am thinking they are visiting as they have not been seen since yesterday.

Then of course there is Max the chocolate lab who gets loose..wonders around then goes back to wherever he comes from. 

Now I have two dogs - Roscoe - Great Dane/Pointer - selective as to who he lets near him and Maggie - Boxer/Beagle - sociable to be whatever. To the right - is Scruffy - basically 15-20 pounds of hair and energy..to the right of him is Thor - anti-social German Shepherd who is slowly going blind and Nahla- a black lab mix and the unknown...he was supposed to be a tea cup chiwawa but has huge ears, stubby legs and weights about 4-5 pounds and meaner than shit. Then to the right of those is a basset hound puppy mill.   Across the street is a boston terrier pup and across from them is another mutt.  Now to the left - we have three labs - black, yellow and chocolate and as we go down the street toward Grace Chapel - every house on the left side has at least one dog with three houses having two each. 

Needless to say we are in a dog neighborhood with more dogs than children.  The street behind me has at least two each and the next on the other side of the woods, everyone has at least one dog.

Apparenty us northerners take care of our dogs, meaning yearly shots, collars with names and phone numbers.  My Rosoe has a microchip in him.  The beagle puppy mill smells disgusting but no rules or regs seeing we fall under county jurisdiction. These dogs sell for $500-$600 each, claim they are purebred, no mention of inbreeding.  The only good that has come out of it is that in the past year they have adding more housing and fencing.  But the smell is still there.  I live 3 doors down and can smell, can't imagine what the neighbors on either side smell.  Sheriff says, if it is a problem, hire an attorney...

Then as you drive down Grace Chapel I keep seeing the poor rottweiler on a three foot chain - the yard is clutter with JUNK, and I do mean junk...apparently this lets the local know the dog is a guard dog.

There are constantly signs up - dogs for sale or free dogs to a good home.

Last year there was a huge raid nearby for dog fighting. 80+pit bulls were found, but when the sheriff's department came back with a search warrant, have the dogs disappeared.  Besides dog fighting, drugs were dealt and made.

So when people ask how I like Granite Falls, NC I usually reply it's cheaper to live here than Ohio but -

1.  anything that flies bites.

2.  you treat your animals like cows.

3.  you have more pediphils (we have one on our street)

4.  more crime in the daytime

5. stop lights, traffic lights and speed limit signs are optional

6.  more traffic accidents when the sun shines

7.  and lastly, your school bus drivers can't drive for a hill of beans!!