SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla.--I just got my first case marked "Dangerous" today. There were warning notes about confederate flags and "Forget the dog, Beware of owner" signs but the actual concern was a very large dog semi-loose on the property.
I go to the door but nobody responds to my knock. The dog looks scarier than normal because it's standing on shelves so it can look out from the patio. Left a Notice of Visit and was walking away but the dude who lives there stopped me to tell me that he wasn't going to answer any of the questions so I didn't need to leave a paper.
I'm not exactly sure how my "don't have to give any PII / anything you are willing to answer would help me out" spiel went, but I do remember spotting a feeder/squirrels and saying something about their toenails being WAY sharper than you expected. The conversation went on from there.
He tells me his wife died last year, and I spent almost 15 minutes talking to this man about how, since she died, he's started taking care of squirrels. He puts out a corn cob for one of them because the squirrel is old and doesn't do so well with peanuts. He had also built the shelves on the patio to make it easier for his dog to see out.
Even though I was all too aware I'd already spent way too much time on one case, I sat in my car and cried for a solid five minutes and tried to get it together before going to the neighbor for a proxy.
I took this job because I desperately needed income after COVID. Did not expect to have an existential crisis about the nature of humanity.
--KW