Sorry, AAM, I saw that article, just about beat my keyboard down through the top of my desk and wasn't really paying much attention to where my post got sent.
I'm in central Montana, and folks around here have got pretty much the same attitude about that stuff as your neighbors. Which, BTW, is around half the reason we moved here. (The rest is because of the grandkids living a half mile down the road.)
Good smile on your Choc', she looks like a real prize. (BIG thumbs up.)
This makes me mad too -- anybody tries to take my dog is going to wish they'd never tried . . .