New Neighbor

I'm of two minds tonight..... Bob and I were sitting on the patio with all the doors and windows open. We have a new neighbor moving in next door. All of a sudden I see in our garage a huge black dog! It had come into our garage and up to the screen door to the patio. She looked at me like she wanted in!

Luckily Rox was not on the patio. I'm afraid she might have taken exception to a stranger in her garage....

I secured all the doors so Rox wouldn't see the dog, then went out into the garage to check on the dog. Turns out it's a "she" and her name is Pepper. The new neighbors had left a door open and Pepper was exploring her new neighborhood.

Pepper looks like a golden retriever except she's all black. She came up to me and wagged her tail, wanted to lick my hand, weaved around my legs like a cat. She seemed friendly.

So did the other dog until he bit me.

So Pepper goes out of the garage and ambles over to her new home. I called over the a young girl moving in "is this your dog?" and she said yes, called to Pepper and off she went trotting to her new house. The girl said Pepper is very friendly and is good with other dogs.

The question is, of course, is Roxie going to be good with her?!

The hesitation I'm feeling is this: we would never in a million years let our dogs wander, especially in a new home situation. After the previous dog bit me, I'm wary of free-roaming dogs. In our township, dogs must be on leash or in a fenced setting. The house next door is a rental with all yard sides fenced except for about 20 feet on one side, so the dogs can wander free.

How does one welcome a new neighbor and say at the same time, "oh, and by the way, please make sure your dog doesn't run loose"? And the other side is this, if Pepper is truly a very friendly loveable girl, I'd welcome her visits. But what about the other neighbors, what about other dogs running loose who aren't friendly....

It's a conundrum. And we still need to see how Rox welcomes this new dog....

Lordy, life is full of worries sometimes.

UPDATE: Roxie's new neighbor is Pepper, a big black long-haired dog. Pepper is very sweet and she and Rox sniff then ignore each other.... Pepper's mom immediately put up the final few feet of the fencing to complete her fenced in yard. Pepper can't run wild in the sub.... and ironically, she would be a great ambassador, as she is very gentle and sweet to everyone.

Pepper doesn't bark madly when she's out, and she isn't left out all day.... So it turns out the new neighbor is a responsible dog lover and owner. Who could ask for a better neighbor?!

Life is good sometimes....