Awe.

I'm glad your dogs are home safely, T. I would be so worried were my animals to be picked up without warning. However, I do have to say that I do think that if the gate is open, or the fence broken, or whatever, the dogs are fair game to be picked up as 'wandering', even if they are in the backyard. This is mostly because about 6 years ago, a pack of dogs ran through our neighborhood one night, going through my yard, and across my front porch. They made such a racket that it woke everyone in the house up, and we looked out the windows and saw them. The next morning my two indoor/outdoor cats (who had chosen to spend the night sleeping on the porch) were nowhere to be found. These were homebody cats that didn't ever leave the yard, 8 years old and 10 years old. Later in the morning we found both of them mauled. Not a pretty sight and something I never want to have to clean up ever again. Three of the 5 dogs we saw that night were neighborhood pets that were not properly secured, and I guess when they met up with other dogs, that 'pack' mentality came out and they became vicious. Though we could tell Animal Control which dogs did it (and showed them the bodies/pieces to prove our point), they could only pick up the two that were in an unsecured (broken fence) backyard. And it took nothing for the owner to get them freed. He didn't even apologize.

Thanks, Erin, it's definitely been a lesson learned.

Just awful. My thoughts are with you, Tania.