This upset me greatly, so when I got home I called my neighbor on the phone.  I told him that I noticed that his dog’s face and chest were full of porcupine quills and suggested that he take the dog to the vet to have them removed.  The neighbor told me that he already knew that the dog was full of quills, but that he was not going to take the dog to the vet.  He said that the dog has been repeatedly been going after porcupines, he had taken the dog to the vet several times already to have quills removed, and that he had decided that the only way the dog was going to learn to leave porcupines alone was to let him suffer the consequences!  I offered to take the dog to the vet for him, and he said no, and told me to mind my own business!

I was so upset with that response!  I know that leaving the dog full of quills is not going to teach him to stop chasing porcupines!  If my neighbor stopped letting the dog run free around the neighborhood all day and all night and either put up a nice big kennel run or tied him or brought him into the house and only walked him on a leash (like I do) then the dog would not get into trouble!

My “other half” thinks I should call the local chapter of the ASPCA and report my neighbor for abuse/neglect.  I’m afraid that if I do, my neighbor will KNOW that it was me, and may try to do something hurtful to me (or my family) out of revenge.  So, I’m torn up about what to do.