Epidemic Level of Barking Dogs

This post goes out to my college student neighbors with the LOUD dog. I do hope that you undertake the challenging task of opening the door and letting your dog back into the house. If your parents can afford to pay out-of-state tuition, I think they can also finance some etiquette training. Because subjecting the neighbors to nonstop barking is very rude.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, here's an excellent letter to the editor. Quoting from the letter:

"Sometimes the dogs are out barking at 6:30 a.m. and seem to not be under the discipline of any responsible adults. This can go on all day. I suspect the owners put out the dogs then go to work. I believe this to be our right to be protected from this gross audio pollution and neighbors who are inconsiderate. Going for a walk in this part of town is impossible with out groups of fenced dogs snarling and barking through fences wanting to kill you. It is so disturbing; the quiet, the peace and calm of this residential area."

Then came this comment:

"Why not approach your neighbors in a calm, adult, and civilized way and work together to find a solution?"

Which was followed by another commenter's perspective:

"All too often -- maybe alarmingly often -- the person on the other side of that door (the dog-owning neighbor) isn't a calm, civilized adult who's interested in working together to find a solution.

"All too often, the person raising the issue is painted as the bad guy, and then targeted, for simply raising a valid complaint in a "calm, adult, and civilized way."

"What then?"

Exactly. This is why I no longer talk to my neighbors about their barking dogs. 

I've found that talking to neighbors is about as useful as talking to a brick wall. And I've been there and done that on the painted-as-the-bad-guy thing.

What do I do instead? I report owners of barking dogs to animal control, which sends a Sternly Worded Letter. Personally, I think that the initial contact should have more oomph, but my last two reports have resulted in the departure of the dogs -- and their owners. Perhaps that forthcoming animal control letter will have the same effect on those overprivileged college kiddies.

One can only hope. And blog.