Tickle · the · Pear

Cats generally wait in front of doors and have ways of notifying the humans inside that they want in -- they scratch or meow or throw themselves against the door repeatedly. I suspect if it were below zero out here, though, I'd disapprove of people letting their cats. OTOH, our cats are amazing escape artists and go out in all sorts of weather only to discover 15 seconds later that they really didn't want to be out there. I don't know of a way to adequately determine if someone else's cat is content and waiting to be let in after a brief sojourn outside or is being neglected, nor do I know of a good way to bring authorities in.

Dogs shouldn't be left outside late at night in below zero conditions. That's pretty much neglect, although people can and do make nice warm doghouses and so forth. If the dog is howling longer than a half-hour, you can call in a noise complaint to the police; the cops will go out and check on the dog (and reprimand the owners for letting it get to a state where it howls). Of course, you then risk sentencing the dog to abandonment somewhere depending on what kind of people the owners are.

I recommend not living in a snowy climate, so that you don't have to make these decisions any more. Alternately, perhaps your local SPCA has some advice.

Thanks for all the good advice - I will definitely follow up. It's hard to figure out which house the dog belongs to. The dog is also vocal (but not bothersome) during the summer but obviously that's a different story.

I never read the Mr. Frog and Toad books either, but that's my favorite ride at Disneyland.

I think you're referring to Mr. Toad from Wind in the Willows, but it's the same spirit!

That makes me sad about the animals. You could confront your neighbors about it, but some people don't like that (like with children, people don't like being told how to treat their pets). If it's a continuous problem, you may want to notify the police or talk to a local animal shelter to see what your options are.

I've never read the Frog and Toad books. Then again, I never read a lot of the books that were popular growing up. :(

Thanks for the advice!

I was on a children's lit kick for awhile, revisiting old favorites and reading some of the "classics." Frog and Toad was the most memorable.