Cool down

It was nice cool evening so Moxie and I filled up the poor bedraggled wading pool.
Dog + Pool + Nice summer evening = Magnet for every neighborhood kid in a three mile raidus. I spent a full hour supervising four boys, three of whom I'd never met until today, playing ball with Moxie. They had a blast. Moxie thoroughly enjoyed herself. The kids had an absolutely wonderful time playing with her. I was on pins and needles the whole time.

I was so worried that moxie was going to get over excited and go for the ball and accidentally catch a finger and then I'd have a lawsuit on my hand, or worse, irate parents calling for my "vicious" dog to be put down. These are sad times that we live in. If I wanted to be indignant about it, I would ask myself, where were these irate parents when their kids randomly invaded a strangers yard and started playing with her dog? Not one of them asked first. Its sad really, that instead of enjoying what really was a beautiful moment, where kids were being kids, and Moxie was being Moxie and all were having a great time, the video games forgotten, and a sense of community emerging, I was too worried about impending litigation.

No wonder I'm an old fuddy duddy. Just want to play in my own yard with my dog without having to worry about liability from every wayward child that wonders in. Its a constant worry, those neighbor kids. I drain Moxie's pool everytime we're done playing because I would hate for some neighbor kid to wander up to our property and drown in it. We'd be sued for sure. I can't store any of my agility equipment on the porch because some kid would try to play with it and break it. My mom has two wheelchair ramps, from the driveway to the porch and the porch into the house, and we have to block them with trashcans (read huge inconvenience for my mom) to keep the kids from riding up and down the ramps on their bikes and skateboards. I have two pets burried in the front garden, both of their graves have been desecrated by roaming hoodlums. Is nothing sacred anymore? Where are these kids parents and why don't they teach them manners!

Really wish I had a fence. :(