Fences

We finally met our nearest neighbors yesterday, but not in the circumstances we would have chosen.

We had been free-ranging our hens; they get a well-balanced diet, help keep the insect population in check, and get plenty of exercise. At night they are shut into their predator-safe coop.

Yesterday morning I heard a loud squawking and looked out the window to see one of the neighbor's dogs with the Rhode Island Red in her mouth. I grabbed a coat and ran out yelling but the dog took off through the weeds. Tom had by then joined me and we both hurried up to the corner house.

I had taken walks by the house and been greeted by their three barking dogs. Two of them stayed away, just warning me that I was a stranger. The third was a little, plump mutt that always came out to be petted. This was the one who had killed my chicken.

Mrs. Neighbor was home. She's elderly, walks with a walker. She apologized for the incident and wanted to make good but was firmly of the opinion that dogs should be allowed to roam free.

In the country, dogs trump chickens every time.

Mr. Neighbor stopped by that afternoon. He's a 78 year old preacher, long-time resident of these parts. He too wanted to pay for or replace the chicken. And even though he likes his dogs to run free, he would tie them if absolutely necessary.

There are so many factors in a situation like this.

We're the newcomers. We're from New York--and even though we always say UPSTATE New York, most Midwesterners think of us as city folk. We hope to be here awhile and don't want the locals thinking we're lording it over with our cosmopolitan ways, telling people who have been here for generations how we thinks things should be done.

These are our neighbors. These are the people we will see every day, part of our community, our local support system.

And although I'm not a dog person, I do understand that dog versus chicken is instinct.

We assured our neighbors that no recompense was necessary. That we would be installing more fencing. We also let it be known that we would be getting more animals in the future and the dogs weren't welcome.

It's real common around here for property owners to shoot trespassing dogs. I don't want to have to resort to that measure so will assume the expense of electronet and perimeter fence in the future. And we will call and talk to our neighbors if there is a problem.

Sometimes building walls can build relationships. As the poet said, fences make good neighbors.