Apparently someone called animal control on me. I came home Wednesday to find a message from Loudon County Animal Control advising that someone had reported that I wasn't providing shelter for my dog. See Picture Above. I have a beautiful Alaskan Husky named Spook who absolutely refuses to go in his dog house unless he gets hot. He will lay out in the open no matter how hard it rains or how cold it gets. I suppose it's just the nature of the breed. He likes the cold weather.

Anyway I assured the animal control officer that the dog has plenty of shelter he just doesn't use it very much. The fact of the matter is that he has a fine house, a covered patio, his own wading pool and at least three meals a day. He's on a hundred foot run that gives him access to all his amenities. So for whoever was concerned about Spook, put your mind at ease. He's got a pretty good thing going.

And while we're on the topic of my animals, my goats at the farm on Lake View Road do have a shed to get in when it's cold or raining. Not long ago I was contacted by a county official who informed me that "people" had called him worried about the goats because it was really cold and they didn't have shelter.

You can build a goat a barn but you can't make him go in it. You can give a dog a house but you can't make him go in it. If the dog wants to lay in the rain or the goats wont go to the barn when it's cold, I can't help it. I suspect they know what they're doing.