Herbie the beagle.

First of all, I like dogs. I do not, however, like the neighbors' dog in our yard. Namely, Herbie.

This dog belongs to neighbors further on up the hill who moved here just a couple of years ago and decided not to be very neighborly. They wave as they drive by, but they don't stop to say hello. They have been invited to neighborhood get-togethers but never chose to attend, and never even Rsvp'd to say they couldn't (or wouldn't) come. Fine. Some people are like that. We all stopped inviting them, and we just wave as they drive down the hill.

However, these un-friendly neighbors have a very friendly dog. A beagle named Herbie. Within months of moving to his new home, Herbie decided to go exploring.... and of course got lost. Neighbor J found Herbie and drove him around looking for his owners..... and thought he'd found the owners and left Herbie with 'his people.'

The next day, signs went up on our road...... "Lost Dog: Beagle named Herbie. Please call...."  And who did Herbie belong to?  The new and un-neighborly neighbors. Oh my. Neighbor J had left Herbie with the wrong people.

So J made signs for Herbie..... putting his own number on the sign and offering a reward.  J did indeed find Herbie... and paid the reward.... and delivered Herbie to his rightful owners--- the new and not-so-friendly neighbors.  Even after a reward was paid and their dog was returned, those neighbors still remained un-neighborly.

For the past year or so, Herbie has been managing to escape from his own yard while his people are in town or at work. Herbie goes exploring... down the hill to romp and play with the dogs of other neighbors. Herbie has been returned to his own property many times by many neighbors.

Today was my turn. I went outside to give the cats their lunch and there was Herbie, sitting in the courtyard with Gatsby on one side of him and Mickey on the other side. Each cat had their tails up and fluffed-out like Halloween cats, and Herbie was too scared to move. That dog sat there in the middle of the courtyard and looked at me, with an expression that said "Please save me."

I went right back into the house and got the leash that once belonged to our dog Gracie. I also got my cell phone from the house.... went outside and clipped that leash to Herbie's collar, and off we went towards Herbie's home. On the way up the hill, I called Herbie's people.... told them I had Herbie and I was headed their way.  The owner wasn't at home... asked me to leave Herbie in the yard.

I resisted the urge to tell that neighbor that my schedule today did not include walking his dog back to his house. I did, however, suggest to Herbie's owner that he might want to find a way to keep Herbie on his own property because he was going all over everyone else's property, in their gardens, on their porches, and, worst of all, Herbie was walking by himself all over the road at times and one of these days, he's going to end up underneath a car.

The worst insult today... seconds before I could get the leash on Herbie, he committed the ultimate act of disrespect. That dog peed on my "Bird Girl" statue.... my Savannah girl which is similar to the statue made famous by the book "In The Garden of Good and Evil."

Honestly.... Herbie's people need to teach that dog some manners.