Our nearest neighbor has several dogs and they love to come visit each day. Probably because I have a bag near the door that is full of tasty freeze-dried lamb lung bits.
It might also be because we don’t call the sheriff or animal control if they visit, which according to our neighbor the previous owners were prone to do. (There is a rumor that they also shot at trespassing animals.)
When we first moved in it was just Happy, Spartacus and Rusty. Since then Katie and Abby joined the pack, but sadly early last year Rusty passed away from kidney failure.
All the dogs are super friendly, although Spartacus rarely visits due to some aging joints. They love to hang out at the end of our driveway and visit with the neighbors who bought the parcel just below it.
We have to be careful though, as our county animal control can be a bit overzealous. One time they came up here to deal with an issue and because the dogs were excited to see them and our nearest neighbor was at work, AC didn’t seem to realize that our driveway is private property and the dogs are totally ok hanging there. Instead of just dealing with the rogue livestock they “collected” the Katie and Happy. When I found out I immediately called our nearest neighbor, gave him the AC officer’s cell and he resolved the issue. A few minutes later Katie and Happy were delivered back to me and I took them into our kitchen for a bit to satisfy AC, and then after treats and scratches I sent them home.
They didn’t really seem to mind the brief truck ride….I’m sure they would have minded being stuck at the shelter for a day though.