RV Camping battles the cold, and man's best friend?

As we are still being held hostage by Brian's dental work, our minds wander often to the desert Southwest and warmer temperatures. Colorado is NOT our choice for the winter months, and our propane costs have escalated as the temperatures drop.

We have made a purchase that seems to be a life saver, an electric blanket with dual controls! We turn it on a few minutes before climbing into bed, and it really does the job! We are sleeping comfortably warm, and our dog Casey loves it too! No more mounds of blankets, only to still slide into the freezing cold sheets! It's wonderful!

We are still "camping" in the midst of town, and getting good walks in for us and our dog is really a chore. We are in a lovely neighborhood and there are no sidewalks (which is part of the beauty of the area) but then you have to dodge the traffic to get some exercise. I have a usual route that I travel each morning with Casey, and it even has a trash can to deposit our "goods". Lots of barking dogs, but they are all fenced or in their homes. For some reason I figured an extra walk would be good, and set out about 4pm. We were having a nice, sunny day (prior to the current cold front) and we were almost home with just one more block in front of us, when a black dog came running towards us! It had a collar but no human attached to it. It attacked Casey, rolling him on his back and biting on his neck! It was growling and snarling, Casey was wimpering, and I was screaming! I tried kicking the other dog, but it snapped at my leg and kept biting and chewing on Casey. A good Samaritan, Randy-in a burgundy Toyota pickup-stopped to help and managed to get the dogs separated and kept the other dog from Casey. It kept circling us, and wanting to attack Casey again. Another neighbor came out and said the local dog catcher had been trying to catch the loose dog for over an hour. I said "well, I have the bait here now (Casey) why don't you call the dog catcher again?" Cell phones were created for just such times, and two dog catcher's showed up within about 5 minutes. This whole time the agressive Akita kept trying to get to Casey, and we 3 spent our time chatting and trying to keep Casey from acquiring any more dog "jewelery". Apparently the dog lives right where he was attacking us, but his owner is an elderly lady and the dog gets away from her often. The dog catcher's even knew where the dog belonged!

This made me crave the solitude of our lives alone in the desert even more, and wondering how soon we'll be away from the sprawl, noise, and irresponsible pet owners? If a dog is too much for someone to handle, perhaps they need to make a decision regarding the safety issues for themselves and others? When you live in a community you need to be aware that your actions, or lack of them, affect your neighbors-no matter who they may be. It's the same way when we're dispersed camping out by ourselves, we have a responsibility to leave our campsite better than we found it so the folks that come after us can enjoy it as well.

Remember that every action has a reaction, and we CAN chose to make it a positive one!