By Leroy

My neighbor Paco’s people leave their gate open when they leave for work in the morning. Paco is a Chihuahua who’s no bigger than my head.

Paco’s people say that since he knows his way around the neighborhood, what’s the problem?

The problem is that cars might not know their way around teeny Paco. Not to mention that Paco spends most of the day yapping the same thing over and over and over at me through my front window. I don’t understand Spanish like my pal Irie, but I don’t think “cabeza gorda” is a compliment.

And then there’s Belle, the brainiac Border Collie across the street, whose pet parents let her out the front door late at night to do her business. They got a fancy new lawn in their backyard and want to keep it nice and green.

After Belle does her business…on my nice and green front lawn…she starts barking for me and my dogmate Sophie to come outside so she can nip at our feet and herd us into a little circle.

“Take a chill pill, Belle,” I bark back. “My people may not be as smart as you, but they know enough not to let us run wild on the street. Besides, it’s 11 p.m. and I’m tired from trying to nap all day.”

People, I know your hearts are probably in the right place, but there are these pawsome places called “dog parks” where us pooches can safely run free. My local dog park even has a separate play area for the little guys so we normal-size guys (yeah, that’s right, Paco) don’t accidentally hurt them (or have to hear the annoying, non-stop yapping).

There are also these contraptions called “leashes.” Although we dogs kind of hate them, they’ve probably saved a lot of our lives.

Last but certainly not least, your town probably has leash laws, and it would be a howling shame if you had to spend money on a fine instead of tasty treats for your dog.

As much as Paco and Belle annoy me, I would hate for anything bad to happen to them … or to any dog whose people think it’s okay for them to roam the streets without any supervision.

Leroy is a 4-year-old “Terribull” adopted from a Carson, Calif., shelter by i Love Dogs writer Laura Goldman. When he’s happy (which is almost all the time), Leroy snorts just like a pig. He loves his cool stash of chew toys (a little too much). He still misses his sweet gal Sophie, but he’s head-over-paws in puppy love with his new gal pawl, Ella.