# Have you ever seen a "Town Dog"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 11, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696 "2016-09-11T19:48:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/1 "2016-09-11T19:48:28Z")
This is a very cute story of[Bruno, a town dog in Longville Minnesota](http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/dog-takes-4-mile-walk-town-every-day-just-visit-neighbors). Bruno walks 4 miles into town everyday to be around people and they all kind of adopted him. Back on my old FIL’s farm there was a neighbors dog who would sometimes come over to say hello to people and I’ve also seen some neighborhood cats that make friends with strangers. Their is even one company that had a deer on the fenced in property. And then there was a story once about a particular dolphin that would come around a seaside town and was well known. So anyone else seen a “town dog” (or other critters)? ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/2 "2016-09-11T21:13:33Z")
I work at a little hometown diner, and we have a dog. He’s been around for at least ten or eleven years. We feed him and he makes his doggy rounds. He even has a [special dispensation](https://www.facebook.com/MapleStreetDiner/photos/a.592602137418979.1073741826.576087945737065/592614807417712/?type=3&theater) from the mayor so he’s allowed to run around free. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/3 "2016-09-11T21:26:23Z")
The next town over from mine has a BBQ place that’s only open from Wednesday through sometime during the weekend. They have an old yellow (fat) lab that waits in line at the drive-thru window for scraps. They’ve even immortalized hir on their webpage. Soooo cute. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/4 "2016-09-11T21:53:18Z")
[Blender](https://www.amazon.com/Blender-Colorado-River-Edward-Martley/dp/0967016703) was a dog that would catch rides on rafts, eat lunch and then go lay in the road so a car would stop and drive him back home. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/5 "2016-09-11T23:31:21Z")
I lived on St. Thomas, USVI for about five months, in the largest town of Charlotte Amalie. There was a basset hound that everybody knew, who would visit restaurants for snacks and drop by bars for water and pets. He was pretty hefty and unable to climb stairs because he dragged bottom, so he would wait at the bottom of a long flight of steps for someone to carry him up to his usual residence. He would also disappear for days or even weeks at a time. I was told that he would, on occasion, waddle down to where the Antilles Airboat planes would park and wait for one of the pilots to put him on board a Grumman headed for one of the other islands, then offload him there. He’d hang out until he wanted to go home, and another pilot (or a pleasure boat) would bring him back to St. Thomas. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/6 "2016-09-11T23:50:44Z")
Neighborhood dogs were pretty common as late as the 1950’s. Leash laws were mostly non existent and if a dog didn’t bite he was pretty much ignored. My mom had chickens and one of the neighborhood dogs made it his job to herd the chickens and keep them in the yard. As far as I know he only ranged over a few blocks. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/7 "2016-09-12T00:00:53Z")
Yes ! When my sister was living in Boston there was a ‘city’ dog and people would feed him and bring him inside . My sister brought Sam home once and told our dad it was ‘her’ dog. While we were eating supper dad told us " Not to feed the dog while eating dinner." Dad was feeding Sam food from under the table! LOL ! He was a great dog and my sister brought him a few times , he was a real well behave dog so he had to been someone pet before he became the neighborhood dog. Damn I have forgotten all about Sam until I saw your thread . Thank you for bringing back good memories . 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/8 "2016-09-12T00:26:28Z")
One and one nearly. Surprisingly enough for the times most of us kept our dogs leashed religiously. The nearly was Old George who had an owner of record but basically roamed town and was cared for by anyone and everyone. One who was more a clear case was Frosty who was a white shepherd who got dumped as a puppy and just grew up community property. Frosty was also known as Whitey and Snowflake in different circles and survived to around age 14 or so. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/9 "2016-09-12T12:16:14Z")
I don’t find this a cute story. > [@](#): > > The LaVallees say they tried early on to keep him confined, but Bruno always found a way to roam. In other words, they’re too lazy and/or careless to keep their dog from wandering away. > [@](#): > > People in town know to watch out for him on busy Highway 84. “He’s got to have a guardian angel,” Moran says. Until someone on a cellphone fails to see him, or maliciously runs him over and he becomes street pizza. People who let their pets roam are exposing them to serious hazards. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/10 "2016-09-12T12:23:38Z")
Not exactly, but… In Bozeman, MT, there was a two-block park in the midst of the city that, while not officially recognized as a dog park, everyone knew that there were always dogs playing there. Some of the folks neighboring the park would even let their dogs play there unsupervised. Amazingly, the dogs were all well-behaved enough that this worked out fine. I literally once saw a dog get let out the front door, look both ways before crossing the street, and then going to run and play. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/11 "2016-09-12T13:43:53Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > People who let their pets roam are exposing them to serious hazards. We have coyotes here. This is a major urban area, but nonetheless, the place is lousy with coyotes. They’re big, hungry, and getting increasingly daring. A dog allowed to roam will be eaten by the coyotes. The days of cats being allowed to roam free are coming to an end, too. Letting your pet run wild around here and you’re dooming it and feeding the damn coyotes. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/12 "2016-09-12T13:58:14Z")
Along the Appalachian trail there are dogs that have homes close by and spend the day traveling to the trail and begging/traveling with hikers during the day, returning at night back home. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/13 "2016-09-12T14:18:49Z")
When I was a kid in the 70s in a suburb of Erie, PA, there was a dog that would wander our neighborhood. We all knew its name (which escapes me right now), and we all loved it. It was a giant black dog, couldn’t tell you the breed (maybe a lab), and very sweet natured. I never met the actual owners. Of course it probably wasn’t all that big, I was just small. UPDATE: I think it was named Rufus. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/14 "2016-09-12T15:54:55Z")
We had a neighborhood cat a while back. Shadow would lay out at the top of the driveway and invite belly rubs from people walking by. She’d wander far and wide. If there was a heavy rain she might get stuck across the creek from us for a day or so. But no problem, she had friends over there. Twice we met new neighbors and once they found out would say ~ “Oh, you’re Shadow’s family!” She’d introduce herself before we would. The lady next door sees to our cats when we’re gone. Once Shadow realized who was providing the food, she’d hang out at their house. The guy wasn’t a cat person at first, but Shadow convinced him that cats are interesting animals. (We always thought that Shadow believed she was a dog. E.g., she’d follow the kids thru the woods just like a dog.) But she got old, the coyotes moved in. No more outside cats. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/15 "2016-09-12T16:50:25Z")
I used to live in a neighborhood with a town rooster. His name was Roscoe. This was not at all a rural setting. One day Roscoe was run over and killed. Now there is a statue of Roscoe. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/16 "2016-09-12T17:02:24Z")
[Brownie, the town dog of Daytona Beach.](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/13406) ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/17 "2016-09-12T18:41:54Z")
About 15 years ago I visited our (chemical) plant in Mississippi, and discovered that they had a plant dog. Sensibly named, “Plant Dog”. Plant Dog found me while I was out walking lines in the tank farm, spent an hour following me around, then came back to the lab with me where I someone hesitantly asked “Um, is someone missing a dog?” Plant Dog apparently just wandered around within the plant fences (lots of open fields at that plant), and wandered by to be fed and petted. When the plant was closed, one of the guards took Plant Dog home. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > … And then there was a story once about a particular dolphin that would come around a seaside town and was well known. Hermit dolphins aren’t too uncommon. Years back, during what my friends called the “Oh, no! Flipper!” incident, we paid to go swimming with a hermit dolphin, with a marine biology grad student as guide. Among his patter of factoids he mentioned that most hermit dolphins are female. “Flipper” took a moment to demonstrate that he was NOT. Sending the family-with-kids also there fleeing, and shocking us as he swam by rolled on his side and waved at us. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/18 "2016-09-12T18:56:13Z")
Oh, town cats are so common as to not even be worth mentioning. Several of them live primarily in Mom’s yard. One of them, despite being afraid of humans in her youth, has gotten to the point that petting her is not an option: She’ll demand it from everyone she meets, and prioritizes it even above food. Now, what’s more remarkable, is Mom used to know a devout Catholic cat. Every morning at daily mass, the cat would wander in, stick around until the service was over, and then wander back out. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/19 "2016-09-12T20:14:11Z")
Our neighbor had a horse barn and because of that, over time several cats would show up. Her father was a vet and about once a year we would round them up and he would check them out and give them shots or whatever was needed. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696/20 "2016-09-12T20:26:11Z")
My mom lives in the mountains of North Carolina near Asheville and there was a neighbor’s dog who would stroll down the road and hang out with her in the yard until she said “Hello Black Dog” and then he would move on to the next location. When I was stationed in Turkey, we had dogs who were mascots at our detachments. Nobody outright owned them but the soldiers onsite took care of them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-town-dog/765696.md?page=2)