Only a person who has no clue who I am — well, millions, really — wouldn’t know that I’m a dog lover — and animal lover, really. (I like the ducks. There’s just too many.)

In another lifetime, I would be a veterinarian or a zookeeper or something to do with the care of animals. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.
I thoroughly enjoy the companionship I share with my dog and the pleasure my husband I get from being dog owners.

I also want everyone else to enjoy my dog, too. I don’t want him to jump on people (Jack Russell, hello) or make a nuisance of himself.
We don’t feed him “people food” so he doesn’t bother people when it’s time to eat. Of course his sister got people food and we learned from our mistake.

We took Ringo to classes and still work with him on his commands. Some days he works us.

I won’t fib and say he hasn’t misbehaved or jumped on someone or made a pest of himself. He has. He’s a puppy.
He’s also ornery as all get out. Sometimes it just oozes out of him. He gets this little gleam in his eye and cocks his head ever so slightly as he pins you down with his blue-black eyes. This is all the warning you get that something’s going to happen.

On two occasions now, one of us and our little guy have been confronted by someone else’s dog in our own yard while Ringo’s on a leash.
A dog is a really big responsibility — time, money and effort.

They are dogs and we are the masters. That means it’s up to us to teach the dog manners and a cute trick or two along the way and ensure their safety, health and well-being.

That also means they stay on their own property.

We have had a dog for almost 14 years and have never just opened the door the let one of them out, unleashing them on people who perhaps don’t like dogs or just don’t like someone else’s dog in their yard or bothering their children or animals.

It’s a good neighbor, courteous thing.

It’s also safer for the dog. That way there’s no chance of it getting hit by a car or injured in some other way.
I know it’s hard to believe that everyone else doesn’t love your dog as much as you do. I am surprised by this on occasion myself.
For whatever reason - because it’s the right thing to do, because you love your dog, because you like me — whatever; please fellow dog owners, keep ‘em on a leash.

I’m sure you all read the council story in Wednesday’s paper and perhaps the duck issue caught your attention.
I have lived on the east side of the Miami-Erie Canal for nearly my entire life. We didn’t have ducks when I was younger. Muskrats – not ducks.
I’ve heard the whispers on how they came to be here. You know it only takes two. They’re kind of like rabbits or gerbils. The numbers can add up quickly.
Over the years, they’ve moved from one end of the canal to the other and everywhere in between. It doesn’t take much for them to settle in.
I’ve fed the ducks and given stuff to others to feed them.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed having the ducks in my backyard — on the canal — in Delphos.
I’ve had them nest in my yard, make themselves comfortable in my flower beds, cover my yard with feathers and chase each other around in the spring when they’re feeling frisky.
I’ve waited patiently for them to cross the road. If it was a mama with babies, I sighed and said, “Aaww.”
Then those babies grew up and so did every other mama duck’s babies and pretty soon, here we are with a whole lotta ducks.
Now they just kind of take over. They go where they want, do what they want and leave a mess behind.
A few summers ago, we couldn’t even use our backyard because of the feathers and duck doo-doo.
They trampled everything in their path to our bird feeder and ate our tomatoes.
No matter how much you like them, there are just too many.
I don’t like the options I heard and I hope a few more will be explored.
I had someone stop me while I was walking Ringo Friday and tell me they would hate to see the ducks go to a soup kitchen or the likes or be dispatched, the term that was used. I gotta tell you, it kind of freaks me out more. There are at least 140 of them.
Left unchecked, there will soon be 200 and I’m not going to insult your intelligence by not realizing you know where this is going.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want 140 of anything in my backyard and that’s just this year.

Dear Editor,

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. A gold Ribbon in September stands for kids with cancer. An opportunity is available to you to raise awareness and support these special kids.
On September 18, an event called CureSearch Walk is being held in Columbus to raise funds for an organization called CureSearch. This is a nonprofit organization that funds life saving research through the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). There are more than 200 children’s cancer centers across the U.S. Some of these centers include Nationwide Children’s in Columbus, Toledo Children’s Hospital and St. Jude’s Hospital. CureSearch is a research organization that is strictly dedicated to research of children’s cancers. Ninety-six percent of all money raised goes directly to research. Several individuals who partner with CureSearch are the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation and major league baseball player Craig Breslow’s Strike 3 Foundation. The CureSearch spring 2011 newsletter contained the following information: “We just learned, however, that this year’s federal budget cuts to the COG will total nearly 10%. We must recognize that the resources needed to advance children’s cancer research will come largely from private fund raising.”
I will be attending the CureSearch Walk in Columbus on 9/18 in memory of my granddaughter, Alivia. She passed this year in May at the age of 3 from cancer. I have formed a team called Beanie’s Bunch. Please visit www.curesearch.org to register to walk or to donate. All walkers aged 16 and up sign up with a $10 registration fee. You can walk in person or be a “Virtual Walker.” I invite you to join my team or you can form your own.
The walk is at Franklin Park, 1755 E. Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43203. Registration is from 10-11 a.m. with the opening ceremony and walk to follow from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
One of Alivia’s frequent statements to me was “I will help you.” In her memory, “I will help you” by raising money and by raising awareness for the need to find cures for children’s cancers.
Sincerely, Betty Shobe

Don’t sweat the small stuff; it’s all small stuff.
We’ve all heard it before.
Life is stressful. There is so much more going on now.
I have found the secret to keeping my sanity. If I truly cannot change the outcome of something, I don’t invest in it.

There was a time when I knew everyone in my neighborhood for at least a two-block radius. I knew the parents, the kids and even the family pets.