Our Lost Dog and our Manipulative, Extortionist, Dognapper Neighbor

Our Wacky when he was a bit younger. Ain't he adorable? <3

 

So today, our dog, Wacky, the friendliest of our dogs (only barks/yelps happily when he sees us, doesn't even bite strangers), somehow got out of our gate without us noticing. 

I only noticed that he was gone when I was on my way out of the house in the afternoon to go to my job interview. Somehow no white dog came up at me and tried to lick my pants.

Since I didn't want to risk being late for my interview, I left without looking for him, knowing that he would return when he gets hungry and just wait outside the gate until one of us comes back.

To my dismay, when I got back home, he wasn't there. I thought it was a lost cause since this wasn't the first time he got lost (a person from the street next to us kept him in their backyard, lied about seeing Wacky when my brother asked if he's seen the dog. My brother didn't believe his lie since a security guard saw that Wacky was taken by the same person, so he called out, "Wacky!" That's when our dog came out of the house/gate of the person who took him.)

It so happens that my sister went home earlier than I did and she immediately went searching for Wacky. When she passed by this house near the baranggay hall, she heard a familiar yelp, and sure enough, there was Wacky.

Wacky was chained and the person who caught him even put a padlock on the chain. Imagine the weight the dog had to carry for the whole day. When my sister asked her to release the dog, she didn't want to give Wacky back. Their reason was "baka mangagat" (he might bite) and "bawal ang nakakalat na aso sa daan" (dogs aren't allowed to stray).

One, they wouldn't have been able to put him on a leash if Wacky bites. He is a big dog and you can't just chain him if he bite. Two, I often see the same dogs astray in our street. Why didn't they catch those dogs?

Maybe she wasn't sure that my sister was one of the dog's owners. She even called a "baranggay tanod" to have the "problem" settled. This "tanod" then proceeded to side with the neighbor, that my sister should "tubos" (give ransom) so that they would release Wacky. They freakin' wanted to EXTORT money from my sister to give us back OUR freakin' dog.

As far as I know, nobody but the dog pound has the right to catch and confine stray dogs until the owner comes and takes the dog. They don't even ask for a fine for the first 24 hours the dog stays with them. So why was this neighbor and "baranggay official" asking for money from my sister?

I don't understand how these people can be so cruel. I would understand if they weren't our neighbors because then they would have no idea who the owners of the dog were. But our gate being a screen gate, one could see our dogs whenever one passes by our house, even from afar. It's impossible that this neighbor doesn't pass by our house when she goes to the grocery.

It was also obvious that the dog knew his owner, since he was looking at her the whole time she was there, seemingly asking her to take away the chain that was holding him back.

Anyway, when they realized that my sister wasn't leaving them without having the dog with her, they finally let Wacky go. My mom was very angry and she was actually planning to call the police if the neighbor didn't let up.

When Wacky came home, I sensed his relief to see his owners. My mom then bathed him to somehow calm him down since what happened was very stressful to a dog.