Neighbors Complain about Older Woman with 38 Dogs at Home, Next Day Mayor Goes to Her in Person – Story of the Day

A lonely middle-aged woman takes care of 38 dogs at home, only to get on the bad side of her neighbors because of it. After so many complaints filed against her, the mayor of the city decides to pay her a visit.

Rebecca Jones is a well-known personality in her neighborhood, having lived there longer than anybody else. She lived in an old, ancestral home, which was built decades before all the other developments around.

Although Rebecca’s late husband Peter was a wealthy man, they chose not to move to a more luxurious place due to the ancestral home’s sentimental value. Instead, they lived simply and enjoyed traveling the world together.

Rebecca was a housewife for the longest time and had not worked in a decade. She lived on her pension and the money she inherited from her husband.

Rebecca was a lonely woman after she lost her husband. | Source: Pexels

She was a lonely woman, as her children never visited her and rarely communicated with her. They all lived in different states, and it upset Rebecca.

Following her husband’s death, Rebecca only had one companion: her Labrador retriever, which her husband gave her for their anniversary on the same year he passed. She was very fond of her dog she named Buddy and treated him like her child.

Rebecca and Buddy would always walk outside and play on their front lawn. He was a friendly pooch loved by neighbors, and kids often played with him and brought him treats.

Rebecca had a Labrador retriever named Buddy. | Source: Pexels

Rebecca loved having her neighbors’ kids around, as she felt they kept her young. However, after a while, they slowly stopped coming, and it was all because of an incident that kept recurring.

One day, a stray dog appeared on Rebecca’s front lawn. It drank from Buddy’s water bowl and ate his food, too. Rebecca felt bad for the stray and decided to adopt it. She named the dog “Lucky.”

She brought out Buddy’s extra water and food bowl and put it outside for Lucky. She was happy to take care of two dogs, but she didn’t expect what would happen next.

Another dog showed up in Rebecca's lawn one day. | Source: Pexels

The following day, a pregnant dog appeared on her doorstep. Rebecca took the dog in and cared for it until it gave birth to a litter of eight puppies.

“Oh dear,” Rebecca gushed as she saw the pups. “You are too adorable! I need to keep all of you!”

At that moment, Rebecca knew she wouldn’t be able to give away the puppies. She embraced being a “dog mom” and excitedly purchased more food and pet supplies for her growing bunch. She already had eleven dogs to care for.

The children in the neighborhood slowly started to become overwhelmed with the number of dogs Rebecca had. Their visits lessened, as the younger dogs were too playful, sometimes too rough.

Rebecca started to take care of more dogs. | Source: Pexels

“They’re so loud!” one boy complained to Rebecca one afternoon while the dogs were running around in her front yard. Soon enough, it wasn’t just the children complaining.

Months passed, and Rebecca’s neighbors kept quiet about the dogs. However, once the litter she helped started to mate with Buddy and Lucky, it became a problem.

More and more dogs were living in Rebecca’s house, and neighbors could only guess how many were inside. The stench of the dogs would reach neighboring houses, and the noise of their barking became unbearable.

At one point, one of Rebecca’s neighbors, Michael, got tired of this. “I have to be honest with you, Rebecca. Your dogs are causing trouble in our neighborhood, and I know I’m not the only one who thinks this way,” he told her.

An angry neighbor confronted Rebecca one day. | Source: Pexels

“Your dogs reek, and the smell reaches our homes! They are way too loud that even at night, we have to deal with their noise when we’re sleeping. If you don’t do something about this, I’m afraid there will be consequences,” Michael said.

Rebecca was helpless, as she did not want to let go of her dogs. She loved them dearly like her own children, and she’d already invested so much that it made it hard for her to let go.

Unfortunately, after a week passed without Rebecca doing anything, Michael decided to call the police. A report was filed about the constant noise coming from her dogs and she was given three days to take them out of her house or the dog pound would be called.

To make matters worse, Michael marched up to Rebecca’s front door while the police were there and showed her a piece of paper signed by all neighbors. “We are sending this to the mayor’s office today. It's a petition in favor of kicking your dogs out of the house,” he said.

Policemen went to Rebecca's house to issue her a fine. | Source: Pexels

Rebecca was in tears. She had been issued a fine of $200, but that was the least of her problems. She had to look for a place to put all of her dogs, or she could be arrested.

After three days passed, the mayor’s car drove up to Rebecca’s house. She feared the worst, thinking the mayor came to personally reprimand her. She slowly opened her door, fearful that she was about to be evicted from the area. However, the mayor had other plans.

“You are a kind and selfless woman to be taking care of all these dogs, ma’am,” he told her. “I am an animal advocate myself, and I would hate for all of these dogs to go to a dog pound where they’d be put down if no one adopts them.”

The mayor paid Rebecca a visit one day. | Source: Pexels

Rebecca nodded her head. “I love these dogs like my own children, sir. I just can’t bear to let them go,” she cried.

The mayor nodded and understood where Rebecca was coming from. “You know, one of my plans as mayor was to build a safe haven for animals. It’s located a few blocks from here and is due to open in two weeks. We can transfer them there today where they can live happily and freely,” he suggested.

Rebecca was surprised that such a place existed. She never knew about it, and no one had been talking about it, too.

The mayor asked Rebecca to head a shelter for dogs. | Source: Pexels

Rebecca was delighted, realizing she didn’t have to risk giving her dogs to a dog pound. She gladly accepted the mayor’s invitation, and they gradually transitioned moving her dogs into the haven.

In the end, Buddy remained with Rebecca as her companion, and they would head to the animal haven daily to care for the other dogs. The mayor was delighted to have found such a dedicated person to properly manage the new place, where more and more animals started living.

What can we learn from this story?

• Just because people are judging you does not mean you’re doing something wrong. Rebecca had pure intentions in taking care of her dogs, but people judged her for being a “crazy dog lady.” In the end, her genuine kindness was rewarded with a new opportunity from the mayor of their city.
• Keep doing good things even though no one supports you at first. Although Rebecca’s neighbors hated her dogs, she kept taking care of them because she loved them and knew that they’d end up being maltreated should they be left on the streets. Even though no one supported her, she went on taking care of the dogs and was ultimately rewarded by the mayor.

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If you liked this story, you might like this one about a little boy who visits a homeless beggar with a dog every day, only to see the dog sad and alone one day.

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