Neighbor Speculates: barking dogs drove man to kill

While tragedies like the ones in the article below are never amusing or interesting, there was a comment made by some neighbors near one of the crimes that is relevant to our barking dog problems:

"In Phoenix on Saturday, a pharmacist described as paranoid, angry and depressed methodically shotgunned his next-door neighbors — a grandfather, his daughter, his son-in-law and his grandson — and then killed himself. The family's two dogs also were killed, and neighbors speculated that their incessant barking caused the disturbed man to kill."

The entire article itself is not about barking dogs. In fact, it's very sad and is more about the serious dysfunction of our society in general. But, if you wish to read it, here is a link to the entire article on MSN News:

http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/making-sense-of-four-families-slain-in-four-days

Another Barking Dog Web Site

I haven't posted for quite awhile because of other problems I've had over the last year or so. My barking dog problem improved greatly after the 2nd citation/court hearing, and during the following 6 months I was eventually able to begin sleeping more hours at a time without waking up in a panic every hour or so, but it took several months to get to that stage. Then, unfortunately, the barking resumed again (I'll talk about that later) although not as bad as the first few years. However, it's still annoying, and the entire experience has left me very unhappy and hating my home. I no longer have any interest in my yard, which I'd worked diligently over the years to turn into something I could enjoy with many flowering plants, shrubs, trees...all being taken over by weeds now. And then, to top it off, like things couldn't get any worse, I had spray foam insulation installed in the house in the hopes of making it easier to cool the house during the summer and reduce our exorbitant utilities bills...and I was also hoping it would cut down on the noise that entered the house, but the spray foam made me very sick and so I had to move to an apartment until the problem with my house was resolved. So now my bills are even higher... Initially, living at the apartment was great, much quieter, no barking dogs....in my immediate vicinity, that is...until one of my quiet neighbors moved and was replaced by, yep, some folks with a little dog with a piercing voice that shrieked continually every time they left. The problem was resolved rather quickly as there were other neighbors who complained also, particularly the people who live downstairs under the dog, but it's amazing how the barking of a dog will so quickly send me into a panic now, and a sort of a regression back into the state of depression that was so deep during the years I had to listen to the horrific day and night barking at my house. Sigh. Actually, my nerves are totally shot from those years of terrible barking and no sleep, and my body does not handle even normal stress like it should, like it used to.

But anyway, here is another barking dog web site for you to check it out, if you haven't already seen it  http://www.anilak.com/barking-dogs/

The Barking Continues...sounds like a dog kennel out there...oh, and a booming car at 7 a.m.!

Well, knowing my neighbors as well as I do, I should have expected it but I was so relishing the peace and quiet after 3+ years of horrendous barking day & night. Then...

Less than 1 week after my neighbors were fined in court ($100 + court costs = over $200) for violating the animal noise ordinance (Title IX: General Regulations, Chapter 92: Noise Control, § 92.07), one of their dogs woke me up at 2:14 a.m. It wasn't the original shrill yapper, it was one of their other dogs who used to be a quiet dog but had begun barking a lot during the last few months of 2010. I could hear her barking as I was gradually awakened, which I don't think took very long because she was very near their fence, which is about 50 feet from my bedroom...and she is loud. So after 10 minutes I called the police, via the non-emergency 911 number.

The dog continued barking and after a few minutes I looked out of the window and saw a police car slowly cruising by the front of their house, then pulled into the driveway. The officer got out and the dog was barking the whole time. Later the responding officer called me, as I had requested, and he reported that he informed my neighbors that if they didn't stop the barking he'd have to issue a citation. The officer did not know they'd just been in court for the same violation until I informed him of this, and so he left a memo for the Animal Control officers to follow up the next day. AC came out the next day and was ready to issue another citation on the spot, but ...stupid me...what was I thinking...I said I thought a verbal warning would suffice. I think the AC officer thought I was out of my mind, knowing how long I'd been tolerating the awful noise, but he went over and had another talk with my neighbors about their barking dogs.

As soon as the AC left I kicked myself in the ass. Why was I giving them another chance after all the years of torment, the sleepless nights leading to severe sleep deprivation, being unable to even step into my yard  or drive into my driveway without being barked at, and being unable to do anything in my yard becaue the barking was so horrendously loud...all met with "that's too bad, you're just gonna have to get used to it" and threats to trap my cat who was usually inside...when I told my neighbor that her dog was keeping me up and I could not sleep? Well, being a peace loving, law abiding citizen who also doesn't understand the concept of continuing to violate laws when there is money at stake, I tend to forget that my neighbors have a few screws loose. So finally after 5-6 weeks of more sleep interruptions I called AC and asked him to come out again...and my neighbors were issued another citation. And since my neighbors still don't understand "I just want to be able to SLEEP because I haven't had a decent night of sleep in almost 3 years because of your barking dogs" I'm still being awakened ever couple of nights, sometimes twice in one night. Granted, the overall barking has decreased considerably...and you can't believe our sense of relief...but I REALLY need to be able to go to bed without feeling anxious about when...not if, but when...I'm going to be shocked awake in the middle of the night by their loud dogs.

To make matters worse, the folks behind me, who have even less of a clue about being responsible dog owners (another story), have a chained dog that has been barking for several hours the last few nights between midnight and 3:00 a.m. They have also recently acquired another dog, a cute puppy, that they also have chained out there...sheesh, what is wrong with people?...and it has been barking as well. Great! A barking puppy!


At this time the puppy is not very loud...but it is only a few months old... That makes 5 dogs in the last 15 months for them, but they only now have the one adult and the new puppy left...

Did I say I've called the police on them for neglecting their dogs, including not feeding/watering them regularly and not providing shelter for them, and that in Dec. 2009 I actually had to acquire dog houses because the sight and knowledge of those dogs being exposed to the snow and freezing rain drove me insane??? I'm not even a "dog person" but, come on folks, that's mean. These dogs are chained out approximately 275 feet from my house, but the adult dog is LOUD and I can hear her inside my bedroom with all the windows closed. I mean LOUD. However, in contrast to my other neighbors's dogs, at least when I call to her and she recognizes my voice she stops barking. My long time barking neighbors right next door can't recognize an intruder from a neighbor from a rabbit from a leaf dropping...

So 2 nights ago, the "formerly Quiet One "next door was barking, the chained dog and puppy behind me were barking...and when I opened my window to record some evidence of this racket this is what I heard..

...an entire bark fest!...must have been about a 1/2 dozen barking dogs, in addition to the "formerly Quiet One" next door and the poor chained dog behind me. COME ON, FOLKS. This is rediculous and surely I can't be the only person losing sleep over this horrendous racket. Why does it seem like I'm the only one calling the cops??? Wake up people. This is noise pollution...a health hazard...AND dog neglect...

Yeah, yeah...I know...dogs bark...the favorite patronizing line of dog lovers and irresponsible dog owners...so is that supposed to make me feel better about being robbed of my sleep and about knowing that most of those barking dogs are neglected in one way or another? Well, I hope you can sleep better at night knowing that "dogs bark" but it doesn't make me feel better about any of it, and what is worse is that the law actually allow people, irresponsible dog owners, to get away with both neglecting their dogs and trespassing into people's homes with this dangerous weapon...noise.

Anyway, to continue on, last night I finally got to sleep around 2:30 a.m. and was sleeping really well this morning...I mean I have a big sleep debt to make up...when I was awakened by the deep vibrating noise of a booming car...it was about 7:00 a.m. when I finally looked at the clock...

Thanks City of Monroe!

A 2nd Citation is Issued to My Barking Dog Neighbors on Feb. 23, 2011

A quick update: since court on Jan. 13, when my neighbors pled guilty and were fined for the citation they got on Dec. 20, 2010 for their violation of the animal noise ordinance, my neighbor's dogs have awakened me 19 times. Thus fed up with having my sleep interrupted I told the police and animal control that I wasn't going to tolerate it, and on Feb. 23, they were issued their 2nd citation because they can't keep their dogs quiet...even at night...and they don't respect other people's right to peace.

Six days after the first hearing on Jan. 13 I called the police when the barking woke me at 2:14 a.m. The responding officer heard the barking from down the block, and the dog barked the whole time he was here. He wouldn't have been here so long but he couldn't get my neighbors to the door. Apparently they didn't even hear the barking, but of course it was on this side of their house near my bedroom window, not on the other side of their house where their bedroom window is. The officer warned them that he'd issue a citation if they didn't stop the barking. At that point he didn't know that my neighbors had just been to court 6 days ago for this same noise. The Animal Control officer came out the following morning, and he has since been out on 2 other occasions when I called and complained about still being awakened at all hours by the barking.
The AC has basically just had more useless "talks" with my neighbors, until finally on Feb. 22 I called and told him that enough was enough, and I was not going to tolerate being awakened, regardless of how much the barking has decreased overall. I had been awakened 3 times in 3 days, including twice within 1/2 hour that very morning before 6:30 a.m. and I was in a foul mood, especially after having given my neighbors several more chances...which some folks I've talked to think they didn't deserve
.
So the following day he came out and gave them another citation. Court will be on April 7, so stay tuned...
This is all such a pain in the patootie, but the good news is...I've only heard 2 barks since the 2nd citation was issued, and NONE at night. Of course, after having been awakened so much during the last few years, I have great difficulty sleeping all night and continue to awaken in an anxious state, even when there is no barking...

It's a darn shame that I even have to go through all this when, with just a little responsible dog handling on my neighbors' part we could still be friendly neighbors. I really resent them for not only practically killing me with the barking noise, but for also making my life uncomfortable with their mean, hostile, and juvenile...remember they are a couple in their late 60s and early 70s...presence right next door to my home. I mean, sometimes I can't even avoid seeing their "if looks could kill" faces, and I'm always anxious because who knows what they will do next to teach me a lesson..."we'll show her..."

Merry Barking Christmas...

This was Christmas Day, less than 5 full days after my neighbors received a citation (FINALLY) for allowing their dog to be a barking nuisance. It began around 4 a.m...

But that wasn't the end of it...

The barking continued on throughout the day, until late afternoon when it became very cold and started snowing...thank god for lousy weather...

This is the 3rd year that I haven't been able to enjoy what used to be the quietest day of the year, because on Christmas Day there is very little traffic on our usually well traveled road. It is also the 3rd year that I haven't put up a tree or any decorations.

And they accused me of being a bad neighbor because I called the police.

Spread the Peace

December 23, 2010

Less than 1 week after my neighbors received a citation for allowing their dog to be a barking nuisance, they are letting their dog be a barking nuisance again. Oh, sure, not to the degree it was before...not yet. I've been through this before - the police or animal control comes out, there are a few days of relative and much needed peace, then the barking is slowly allowed to escalate back to the usual intolerable, interminable, incessant frequency and shrillness.

It's depressing how this barking can consume one's life. I mean, I've spent hours writing about the damn dog on this blog, reading and writing posts on the barking dog yahoo group, making videos with sound of him, putting them on YouTube, thinking about how to get the money to move, thinking about what I can do if I leave the house just to get away from the noise, dreading that he'll stop barking before the cops show up if I call the cops...when the barking invades every corner of your home, day & night, prevents you from going to sleep at a reasonable hour, wakes you up like an alarm right outside of your bedroom window, gives you indigestion, is so loud outside that you can't enjoy or work in your yard...day after day, year after year...how can you think about anything else?

I used to enjoy a lot of things, but now I enjoy very little.

I used to look forward to taking a road trip or just visiting a state park for the day, but now I'm not motivated to leave because I'll just have to come home to more barking. Doesn't make sense, I know, but it's true.

I used to read a lot and look forward to a good book, but now I can't concentrate on the read with the barking in the background, so I quit reading;

I used to look forward to listening to Echoes on Sunday nights but I'd have to turn the volumn up to an intolerable level to block out the barking.

I used to cook a lot and prepare great meals, but the barking sounds like it's right outside of the kitchen window and I often have indigestion now from being tense and not eating properly.

Spring was always an exciting time in my yard because the bulbs & shrubs would come alive with colorful, fragrant blooms, and every year I'd plant a few more interesting shrubs or trees but being in the yard now...forget it.

This is the 3rd year in a row that I haven't put up Christmas decorations or a tree, thanks to my neighbors. I used to always get a live Christmas tree and plant it in my yard later. I have lights to hang around the house, boxes full of decorations, CDs with my fav Christmas tunes...but who can enjoy any of this with the sound of shrill barking in the background?

I have a friend who has a really nice, beautiful, quiet home on 25 acres in the woods with creeks. She retired before she was 50 and has the financial means to do much more than most people, and yet she is often complaining about her life. She choses to get involved in things that are stressful & which consume all her time...and then complains about how she has no time and how stressful her involvement is in the project. I have no sympathy. I should invite her to stay at my place for a week...

Have a Happy & Peaceful Christmas

&

I hope we all have a prosperous New Year so we can move the hell away from these barking freekin' dogs.

Correspondence with the Mayor & City Council

Two days ago, on Tuesday, December 12, after having been awakened before 6 a.m. by Harley's barking again I decided to compose an email about my neighbors and this awful noise nuisance and send it to Mayor Kilgore, all of the City Council members, and the Chief of Police. I sent the email at 11:05 a.m. according to the email saved in my "sent" file. You can read the email here: Email to the Mayor

I really didn't expect much, but at this point I have to do something to make myself feel better rather than just sit around going mad and allowing my neighbors to cause my slow and agonizing death with their loud, shrill barking dog and irresponsibility, negligence and rudness. I've already had the Police and Animal Control out here on numerous occassions but it ultimately has not solved the problem.

At 11:41 a.m. (according to the call history on my phone) I got a call from the Mayor. He was very sympathetic and said he had lived with barking dogs and it's the worst thing you can have. He promised to help me get the problem resolved, and said he was going to send my email to the animal control and the police and follow it up with a phone call.

I've never talked to Mayor Kilgore before, never met him, and really don't know much about him, and needless to say I was pleasantly surprised by this very quick and positive response: I wasn't ignored, wasn't treated like some crackpot cranky or vindictive neighbor, my complaint was acknowledge and the severity of the issue was taken seriously...

Within a very short time after the Mayor called, AC Officer Tim was at my door, quickly followed by Police Captain Greene. They came in and we discussed the situation and she (Captain Greene) asked questions about my neighbors, the dog, some things I'd written in the email. Captain Greene told me that they'd talk to the neighbors, discuss how they could greatly reduce the barking, and give them one last verbal warning. She said she would tell the neighbors that if anyone at all ever called to complain about this barking again they would begin issuing citations. She also said she would put out a notice to the police force that if they answered a call from anyone about my neighbors' barking dogs the responding officer was to issue a citation.

I gotta tell you, I'm not really good at this sort of thing, standing up for myself and my rights, complaining to the authorities about the things people do that are way out of line, even if what they are doing is morally and/or legally wrong and causing me so much grief. Confrontations are very stressful for me and make me extremely upset; I try to carry myself through life without bothering people, I'm very aware of how my actions affect people, positive & negative, and I expect the same consideration...and I think this is what makes it so hard to complain about other people's offensive behaviors...I know I will be bothering them and then I'll face the consequenses of their wrath. And this is exactly what has happened with my neighbors and their barking dog, and I know this is why it took me so long to demand my right to a peaceful existence in my own home and on our property.

According the the ordinances, if there is non-compliance the dog could ultimately be taken away. I'd hate to see this happen since it could so easily all be resolved if my neighbors weren't so selfish and stubborn, but at this point I'm beyond caring about them and their dogs. I'm just trying to survive here.

So anyway, after the Captain and AC Officer left...the dog continued to bark throughout the day. Apparently they had talked to the husband and my guess is he probably had to wait for his wife to wake up (she works 3rd shift and came home at 6:20 a.m. that morning) before he did anything because in the past, when I've asked him about certain things that he could have given me an answer to, he said he'd have to check with his wife. I know them well...she's the boss of the family (and I won't go into details...).

Much to my surprise, about dusk there was no more barking, no barking through the night and no barking in the morning. I heard some muffled barking coming from their house when I took the trash out (when the lid of my trash can closed), but after that no barking. No barking when I went out to my car to leave to go to the chiropractor...and I had a really good adjustment, something that is often difficult because I'm always so tense from the barking and fear more barking as soon as I get home...but no barking when I came home...

The bad part is, when there is no barking I'm alway on edge because I know the next bark is not far off...this is what has happened to me after these years of being so distressed by this barking.

Later in the afternoon, around 2:30 p.m., the barking began while I was sitting in our office at the computer. I looked out of the window and Harley and Cherokee were standing at their gate which is a direct shot at out office/library windows, barking at the rooster that was in my front yard. I thought about going out to chase the rooster away, but NO, I'm not making any further moves to shut those dogs up other than calling the police. I'm finished with being nice over this whole thing. Finally around 4:30 p.m. I realized the barking had stopped. It was pretty much continual barking fits with short breaks in between for about 2 hours. Harley was doing most of the barking, but Cherokee was getting her say in there as well.

I gave Captain Greene a call and asked exactly how much barking they expected me to put up with before I should call to complain again. I explained to her that I didn't want to be unreasonable, but enough was enough and I'd been very patient for a long time already. I told her about the barking all afternoon after she left the other day, also about how I hadn't heard it all night and until that afternoon and I also told her I'd seen the rooster out there. I made it clear that I've already been very patient and reasonable and that I shouldn't be expected to compromise further, but she suggested having the AC officer come out to try to get the rooster to see if that would help and, although I do feel that my neighbors should just be made to remedy the barking and not be allowed to get away with ignoring it and blaming it on everything else, I agreed so Officers Tim & Ted came out and prepared a tranquilizer gun but they couldn't find the rooster. I'd already had them out here running around trying to catch the rooster one day, but that rooster is fast and wiley.

But it is a shame that my neighbors are allowed to continue to be irresponsible and blame the barking on everything and everyone other than themselves. The rooster has only been hanging around for about a month. The dog has been barking for years. It'll be something else after that rooster is gone.

The only funny thing about this is I've often heard that rooster on the other side of my neighbors' house, crowing early in the morning...right next to their bedroom window...

Barking Dog and What Next?

Today was a total waste of time and space; probably shouldn't have even been on the calendar.

Normally, I get a lot done on Sunday, after sleeping in for a little while because it's the quietest morning of the week, but not today and you want to know why? I'll tell you why. A damn stray rooster that's why. In addition, that is, to my neighbor's barking dog.

I know there are some folks around here who keep chickens...I almost ran over a chicken crossing the road right down the street one day...I kid you not...and I'm assuming it came from one of those places but no one can tell me where these chicken people live and no one has come around looking for a lost rooster. This rooster has been hanging around for about a week now and I've been trying to get someone out here to collect it - a rescue group, a chicken person...I even put a posting on Craigslist - but with no success.

Initially, this rooster wasn't bothering me and I was more afraid he'd get run over in the street or my barking dog neighbor would shoot him (he shoots at stray cats and probably other small mammels as well). It never even occurred to me that the thing would begin disturbing the peace. But in the last couple of days Harley has been barking more than usual (if you can believe that) and I realized he, and Cherokee, the normally quiet one, have been barking at this rooster. Great. So now the dog who barks at falling leaves has yet another reason to be barking...

Then this morning, at some ungodly hour before sunrise, I woke up and heard a rooster crowing. I'm not sure if this crowing is exactly what woke me up, because since being awakened several times a night throughout 2009 and early 2010 by Harley's big mouth I have not been able to sleep all night without waking up at least once, or if it was just coincidence. I think I went back to sleep...I'm almost certain I did because next I knew it was a couple hours later (but it didn't feel like it) and Harley & Cherokee were raising hell. Sigh.

So I finally got up, went downstairs, and noticed the rooster right outside of the dining room window, which by the way is under my bedroom, pecking around under the bird feeder...so I ran outside in my pajamas and robe, looked around and didn't see anything to be barking at on Harley's side of my yard and so in a voice I'm sure they heard for a few blocks around I told the dogs to SHUT UP...and I'm pleased to report that they did. Then I went around to the other side and chased the rooster off making sure he made his exit toward the back and not around toward the front where he inevitably would have instigated more barking.

A little while later Harley was barking again but as I got ready to go out to shut him up again he suddenly stopped barking and I noticed both dogs running to their back door, so apparently one of their rude, irresponsible owners heard me the first time (it's about time) and decided to get off their lazy ass and do the right thing for once. Don't get me wrong, I know the rude people didn't let the dogs go inside; I know they just gave them a treat or breakfast in an attempt to distract them from whatever was motivating them to bark but of course we all know they were just enforcing the barking behavior by doing so. No wonder the rude people's human children have so many emotional and behavioral problems.

So that was the beginning of my lovely Sunday, the day that is usually the quietest day of the week since there is little traffic in the morning, and now I'm in a foul mood over fowls and foul dog barking...and rude neighbors who can't or won't control their dogs or chickens.
If one keeps chickens for the sake of having ones own organic, humane eggs, does one need to have a rooster about as well? So much for that future idea.

I recently told my husband that at this point in time I'd gladly live in a single wide trailer - although it would be quite the culture shock after living in a 3600 sq. ft. house - if it was parked in the middle of a large acreage with no neighbors, no roads, and no dogs within sight or hearing distance.

And I mean it. Can we just make it an Air Stream, please???

What's Wrong With People?

It's been a long time since I've written here but I've been really busy catching up on all the things I couldn't do when Harley was barking night & day, like getting sleep & doing yard work. So why today am I taking time out to write? Because on this particularly lovely day my yard is enveloped in a dog crap miasma and it was just not appealing to me so I came inside early.

To digress for a moment and quickly summarize the situation, I live in Monroe, NC next door to a barking dog named Harley. Harley's barking is shrill, abrupt and echoes, made my years ring and conversation outside of my house was impossible without raising your voice when he's having a psycho barking fit, which used to often last for several hours. Harley was barking from the first day they brought him home as a puppy in the summer of 2007 and if he was outside he was barking. Period. Then in the Spring of 2009 he became a full time yard dog because my neighbors were too stupid to house train him. I'd say he barked a good 16 hours out of 24, more depending on how often I attempted to go outside, and I'm not even sure if he really slept or just rested up and caught his breath for the next 3-5 hour round of barking.

Jump ahead to early 2010: after calling the cops & animal control a number of times earlier this year because Harley's barking was ruining my life, my neighbors, or actually their son who had to move back home due to his own misfortune, finally put some effort into making Harley stop barking so much. That's not to say that Harley was always quiet, but he was quiet enough for me to finally be able to relax in my house, get some decent sleep, eat without having an upset stomach, and catch up on my yard work (that's right, I couldn't go into my yard without being barked at the whole time). They even cleaned up the dog crap so I could spend time in my yard without holding my breath, and I could open my windows on a nice day without my whole house eventually smelling like dog shit.

However, as the year has progressed to the present, my neighbors, and Harley, have begun to slack off. Harley is being allowed to bark more and more and, well, like I said, the dog crap is piling up again.

Oh, of course, I can't blame them. After all, I'm the one who embarrassed them because the police and animal control showed up at their house so many times and because of this I really deserve to be awakened at 6:15 a.m. This is when my neighbor goes out and makes all 3 of her dogs bark just long enough to wake me up, and yes, I caught her doing it one morning when I was awakened into a foul mood and ran out to see what the hell the dogs were barking at, and I believe she (the passive aggressive sociopath) does this regularly both in the morning and in the evening...just to remind me of what a bad neighbor I am. Forget Sundays...which used to be the quietest day of the week around here, and on which day I knew I could look forward to sleeping in without traffic noise. Forget it now.

And I'm the despicable ass who put up the cat fence around my yard (after they blamed my cat for all the barking, even when he was in the house, and threatened to trap him and send him to the shelter) and so now they can't pull their Coachman RV around my driveway which enabled them to then easily back it into their parking area.

My fault!!! Why should they keep their dogs quiet now and why should they continue to clean up the dog crap after I've been such a bad neighbor for not wanting to hear their dog bark 24/7 and for wanting to keep my cat safe on my own property?

Yes, once again Harley has begun to bark at this & that and at me as soon as he hears me in the yard and they just let him go on and on. It's not nearly as bad as it was last year, but still very loud and it's extremely annoying and stressful when he is carrying on. To top it off, the folks behind me, who had 3 dogs, then only 1 dog, but now have 2 dogs, all chained up and ignored (one dog is chained & penned...), are allowing their dogs to bark for hours, day & night, and if they aren't already barking they begin barking when they hear or see me in my yard (and both dogs are practically swimming in their own feces). And, since I'm such a crappy fucking neighbor, the folks on the other side of me now have a dog which doesn't bark, thankfully, but which they allow to crap all over their yard, front & back, and there the crap sits to fester on a nice warm day. I even stepped in a pile of it in their front yard the other day when I walked over to talk to my neighbor, who was sitting on the picnic bench in her front yard. The pile was right next to the picnic bench.

My fault!!! Silly me; why would I dare think there would NOT be any dog shit next to the picnic bench where my neighbors and their friends are always hanging out?

You know, I'd gladly buy dog poop bags for my all my neighbors if they would just use them. Unfortunately, I don't think those bags would get used for poop. Not dog poop anyway.

Don't they realize that even Barbie picks up her dog's poop?







So add the 1 dog's crap to the left of me + the 2 dogs' crap behind me + the 3 dogs' crap on the right of me and what do you get?

And add the 3 dogs barking on the right + the 2 dogs barking behind + maybe 5 other dogs barking in a 2 block radius of my place and what do you get?

What you get is a pretty shitty piece of property that nobody is going to want to buy so I can't even move. But why should my neighbors care? It's not my dogs who are barking and stinking them out of house and home. Hell, I don't even have a dog.

Why should any of these charming folks clean up their dogs' poop, or teach their dogs to be good? Well, I don't know. Maybe out of respect for yourselves & your dogs, if not for your neighbors? When I had dogs I did it because I didn't want disgusting stinky dog crap all over my yard, because it's disgusting to go to the park and have to watch out for dog turds in the grass while you are walking around (or wonder if you are laying on a piece of decomposed dog shit in the grass), because I didn't want unruly dogs who didn't know how to behave, and because I like to be a good neighbor (even if I don't like my neighbors).

And another reason I didn't leave dog shit laying around and let my dogs run around barking like a pack of wild animals (which, by the way, is an incorrect cliche because wild dogs don't run around barking like that) is because I'm respectful and I feel bound to the integrity of my ethics and morality to not only NOT add to the pollution of the earth but to also be the type of neighbor that I would like to live next to. And even if my neighbors have much lower standards I refuse to let them dictate who I am or to allow them to drive me to compromising my integrity. But being kind and considerate is becoming more and more difficult living among all these passive aggressive, unhygienic, rude, irresponsible...uh...people.

So I want to know, what is wrong with people? Why don't people respect at least themselves, if no one else, enough to clean up the dog crap in their yards, and why don't they care enough about their own dogs to teach them to be good, quiet neighbors?

I realize there are a lot of conscientious and responsible dog owners, and I know some of them, but the irresponsible dog owners give you all a bad name. I know there's a lot of good dogs out there, but these days when I first meet a dog I'm suspicious of it's barking habits until I get to know the dog, and when someone says they have a dog I view them with suspicion even though they might be the best dog owner on the planet. You can all thank my lovely neighbors for that.

Oh, and another thing. I want to know why the law enforcement does not enforce the codes? It plainly states that seriously annoying barking is a violation, as is allowing any type of smelly waste to accumulate on your property.

So much for a quiet & relaxed Sunday morning...

Sunday mornings are usually the most enjoyable time of the week because there is little traffic. During the week there is a lot of morning traffic on our street, and it often wakes me (if the dog barking has not already awakened me).

This morning I was enjoying a twilight sleep I think they call it, you know, that time when you are somewhat conscious and you could either wake up gradually or you might even fall back into a deep relaxing sleep. Then Harley began barking. When I finally found my glasses and the clock it was 7:20 a.m. He continued barking off and on until a little after 10:00 a.m.

I got up and made some coffee and fed the cats. My one cat was meowing to go out, but since the dog was already barking I told him he had to wait. The cat continued to meow and I figured he had to go to the bathroom so I began to get dressed to take him out anyway. I gathered my coffee and cell phone and began to head downstairs but didn't get very far. When I set my foot on the top step I heard a squish. The cat had already peed right at the top of the top of the stairs. So I spent the next hour soaking up as much pee as possible with paper towels, cleaning the area with cold water and soaking and respraying the area with an enzyme cleaner...and cleaning my left Birkenstock.

In defence of my cat, he usually doesn't have such problems because he's used to being allowed to go outside. He doesn't like to use the litter boxes, but in the past he's always been able to go out first thing in the morning to take care of business, then comes back in to have his breakfast. He's never out after dark, but I used to let him out peridically during the day and after dinner. When he's out I check on him often and he is usually under a shrub sleeping or watching the yard. Occasionally he wanders into a neighbors yard to check out the shurbs and rodents but if I don't see him when I look outside I go out immediately to find him and he always comes to me when I call him. I've talked to all of my neighbors on our block about my cat, they have my phone number and I've told them to let me know immediately if the cat is causing a problem and I'll collect him and repair any damages or clean up any messes. In the 8 years I've had the cat (not including the year I forced him to be an indoor only cat) none of the neighbors have called to complain about him, nor said anything about him being a problem when I've periodically asked them face to face.

However, since I've complained about their dog barking, out of revenge and hatefulness Mrs. Sociopath Barking Dog Neighbor threatened to trap my cat and send him to the shelter so I haven't been letting him out on this own, and he's only been able to go out when I take him for supervised walks in the yard. These walks, while he seems to enjoy them, are never long enough for him and he often doesn't take care of business before I'm ready to come back inside even though I try to hold out until he does. A big problem  right now is the heavy pollen in the air which bothers my eyes and sinuses, which I'm sure some of you can relate to. That is, of coure, beside the problem of having to sneak around so Harley doesn't hear or see me and start barking at me like I'm an intruder, and recently the other 2 dogs have started in on treating me like an intruder, although they don't carry on nearly as much as Harley does.

So on top of the 2+ years we've been forced to listen to Harley barking through out the whole house, day & night, and being ferociously barked at like intruders in our own yard, I have the added stress of a stressed out cat and cat pee in the house and the worry about him being harmed if he gets frisky and runs into the neighbor's yard when I take him outside. The other day he peed in the kitchen by the trash can; yesterday I found cat pee in my laundry basket and today at the top of the stairs. The cat doesn't know why he's being forced to stay inside. All he knows is that he usually gets to go outside where he does his business, in his own yard...and doesn't make any noise.

So now I'm looking into putting up a cat proof enclosure around a small area off the back of the house, because I can't afford to fence in the whole yard. This cat proof fencing, called Purr...fect Fence ( http://www.purrfectfence.com/ ) is still costly for me, at almost $900 for 1 kit which covers 100 feet, and with the increased summer utilitiy bills and all the money I've spent so far on trying to relieve the neck pain caused by the tension caused by the barking, not to mention other barking related expenses I've incurred because my neighbors won't train or supervise their barking dog, I'm tapped out and so I will have to use my credit card to pay for the fence. But, according to the installation instructions I should be able to put the thing up by myself so at least I won't have to pay anyone to help me put it up.

Of course, the installation of this cat enclosure will cause more problems with my bully barking dog neighbors. Our driveway is U-shaped and travels up from the street on both sides of our property around the back of our house, and our neighbors on both sides use part of our driveways to pull into their own parking areas rather than use their own driveways. Both neighbors have a lot more traffic going in and out than we do (we just have one car and few visitors) but we we've maintained the whole driveway ourselves, all the way around. To keep the peace we've never complained about this. Prior to all this mind shattering dog barking, we tolerated a lot to keep the peace around here but that barking became intolerable.

But anyway, the best way for me to set up the Purr...fect Fence is to run it (on the side of the house opposite the barking dog) from the back end of the front porch which wraps around the sides of the house to the corner of the house on the other side of the back door as this will give my cat some shady garden area to hang out in at the side of the house where he can't bee seen by the dog, and some sunny areas at the back of the house, and I can let him right out of the back door (or maybe even install a cat door for him in the window at the side of the house). This will not block the front portion of the drives so the neighbors (including the barking sociopaths) can continue to use them, but fencing will have to come out in back toward the edge of the driveway and will sufficiently block enough of the space between the house and another building on our property to make it impossible for the Sociopath Family to pull their camper/RV around our drive so they can back it into their parking space, which they've been doing for years because they can't seem to get it in any other way. I didn't really like them doing this as it would tear up a tree and vines on one side of the curve, but to keep the peace I just let it go. There is no other way to attach this fencing to the back of our house without cutting off the space they require to get their RV around, but at this point in time we don't feel compelled to accommodate their needs any longer, as they thoughtlessly forced us to listen to their shrill barking dog day and night for over 2 years, they continue to awaken me very early in the morning by allowing their dog to bark between 6-6:30 a.m., they've already ruined our neighborly relationship, and they have made us absolutely miserable in our own home with absolutely zero regard for our well-being or comfort. In the past, to be neighborly we've tolerated a lot of crap and did a lot of favors for them, but we owe them nothing so if they are inconvenienced, boo-fucking-hoo.

FYI - I'm not doing this in retaliation because they've ruined my life with their barking dog or for threatening my cat; I really can't afford this cat enclosure and I don't want to be terrorized by these people any more than I already have been because it's too stressful and it's killing me. I can't make that dog stop barking and I can't change his ignorant owners, but I can give my cat a safe enclosure so he can go outside. I just need to be able to let my cat run out of the door and know that my cat is safe while he is outside on his own, like he needs to be. That will be a big weight off my shoulders and reducing my stress is at the top of my list.

P.S. The barking dog owning neighbors should be glad that I can't afford to put up a wooden privacy fence because if I could afford to do it, that fencing would go from either side of the front porch, over to the property line on both sides, which would totally cut off their side of our driveway, and all the way around the whole back yard. That way I could work in the gardens at the side of the house and in the back yard without being barked at, and the cat would have the whole back yard as his safe territory. However, the estimate for the wooden fencing alone is just under $9500 (large yard) and the Purr...fect Fence cat proofing attachment for an existing fence would run about $2360. If I put up the wooden privacy fence with cat proofing around only half the yard it would still run a good $5930 and I can't put that much on my credit card.


So much for a peaceful Sunday.

Shock & Horror

I just have to say, that I have never lived in a place like this before. I've never lived next to such horrible neighbors, and I swear I never knew that people let their dogs bark for hours and hours, at all hours, or that they so inhumanely tied their dogs up in their yards and ignored them...until I moved here to Monroe, NC. I've known some wackos, but I swear I've never personally known so many mean and hateful people at one time as I have here, ever, and I never knew the law would allow such things.

But I don't know what the hell I was thinking because I know our own political leaders indulge in things like torture, lies, and murder, and such... so why should my neighbors be humane...

That's all I really have to say today because I feel very ill right now from all this venom, ignorance, inhumanity and barking that I'm surrounded by. I know, you are as shocked by my speechlessness, as I am shocked by what people are allowed to do to their dogs and to their neighbors.

Sometimes I wish I took drugs or drank, because I'd be blasted or passed out right now.

Will I ever have any peace again before I die?

The $$$$ Go Marching By...

This is just a short entry (thank god, you are saying) to vent about how much money my barking dog owning neighbor has cost us...and will cost us.

Keep in mind that we offered to pay for dog training so the dog could be house trained, spend time inside with his family and learn to not bark at everything that moves or doesn't move, but the stupid (and now vindictive) owners, my lovely neighbors, are too lazy, mean and uncaring to spend that much time on the dog even if someone else is willing to pay for it. This would have been the cheap way out for us.

I just got a fence estimate: just under $10,000. This is not including the fees for the attorney who is investigating a discrepancy with the property lines, the surveyor who will eventually mark those lines, and the guys I'll have to hire to clear out some shrubs and trees which are on the property lines. This also does not include the cost of "cat proofing" the fence so my cat can't get out of his yard. I have no idea how much that will cost, but I'm estimating a total of approximately $15,000 for the fence. If it's less, yea.

This fence has become a necessity because my neighbor has now threatened to harm my cat, who has been blamed for the majority of the barking, who is usually in the house when the dog is barking, who usually stays in his own yard when he's outside, and who no one complained about (even though I'd ask if he was bothering any of my neighbors) until I complained about the barking and called the cops. On occasion the cat gets frisky and goes into their driveway to roll in the dirt or hunt for rodents in the shrubs that line the drive, but very rarely. The cat is never out at night and never out when I'm not home, and when he's out I check on him often. And when he's out, the dog is rarely barking at the cat and I know this because I immediately investigate the barking when the cat is outside. On the rare occasions when the dog is actually barking because he sees the cat, I immediately bring the cat inside.

In fact, the cat has provided 2 important services for us and both of our neighbors (and he does so very quietly) - he catches rodents, and keeps stray cats away, of which there are many in our neighborhood. One time I tried to make the cat a full time indoor cat for year. During that year we had numerous stray cats showing up, crapping, spraying, and fighting & howling over mates. My cat hated being indoors all the time, and he developed reoccurring urinary tract infections. Once I began letting him go out again, his urinary tract infections disappeared and so did all the stray cats. My cat is very territorial and doesn't tolerate feline intruders.

Anyway, some time during the middle of summer (2009) my neck and upper back began to hurt so badly from the tension, I had huge knotted up muscles in my neck, headaches had increased in frequency, jaw pain, tinnitis, and the muscles were so tense at the side of my neck that they felt like they were pulling away from my bones, and so I began to think I had a tumor or some other serious disease, and so in October (2009) I began paying for health insurance. I got the lowest monthly payments which meant the highest deductible so I still have to pay for everything until my deductible was met, but at least if I had a serious illness everything would be covered after the deductible. The monthly cost of the health insurance is $228 so that is $1596, to date, which I wasn't spending before.

In November of last year (2009) I began seeing my chiropractor every week due to the severe neck pain I was having which I'd finally realized was due to the tension from listening to the dog bark his shrill piercing bark for hours, day and night, which seriously aggravated an existing problem. I realized every time the dog was barking I was tensing up so much that my shoulders were practically up to my ears. So from November to now, I've spent $40 a week to see the chiropractor. Prior to that I saw the chiropractor once a month for an existing problem. So that is $120 more per month than I would have spent otherwise. So far that's about $720 more, to date, thanks to barking.

Since I was so tense all the time, the chiropratic adjustments were often difficult to achieve and the benefits never last long (especially because the dog would be barking at me as soon as I got home), and so in December I began having a 1 hour massage prior to the chiropratic adjustment. This allowed my muscles to relax so that the chiropractor could actually make the necessary adjustments to my spine. The massage is $60 - $75 dollars each, depending on which massage therapist I go to. This is $60 to $75 more per week than I was spending before. At $60 a week brings it to $1200 for the massage fees, to date, probably more. My neck, by the way, is still killing me.

I've also gone to my physician twice specifically for barking related problems which totaled almost $200. I've been referred to an orthopedic specialist which was $412 for the first new patient visit, and I'm now having physical therapy which I've only had twice so far and only paid $25 per visit, but it will probably end up costing about $300 per week if my health insurance won't cover it. Prescriptions so far have been about $75 (Xanax for my head, Flexeril and an anti inflammatory for my muscles). Thankfully, I haven't started drinking or smoking pot...because then my drug cost would be astronomical.

Keep in mind that my health insurance deductible must be met before my health insurance pays for anything other than yearly basic physicals, and so I've paid for all this out of pocket, and so now I'm up to $4253 that I've spent on medical/health alone in the last 7 months thanks to my neighbors letting their dog bark like a psycho nuisance day & night.

I have 6 more physical therapy appointments and another visit to the ortho doc scheduled. If I'm lucky, my health insurance will cover at least part of the cost of the ortho and physical thereapy. I really haven't made any effort to find out yet, because I'm not up for any more bad news at this point.

I have a physical scheduled, most of which will be covered by the health insurance, however, due to the severe tinnitis which developed sometime during the summer last year (I noticed it increased every time I was working in the yard and the dog was barking...I really couldn't stay out for more than 15 minutes when he was barking, it was so loud and shrill and continuous...I mean I don't know how my neighbors could stand listening to their own dog bark like that...) and a newly formed lump in my back I'll probably have an MRI which is not routine...

Well, I said it was going to be short so I'll keep my promise, but mainly because I'm now having an anxiety attack over all this money I'm spending and will end up spending (I mean I could have taken a European vacation for 6 months for that amount) thanks to my thoughtless neighbors and all the damage they've caused by allowing their dog to be a barking nuisance. Thankfully, the dog is not barking right now but I better get to bed in case he starts in early in the morning. Did I tell you that I caught my neighbor inciting her dog to bark very early the other morning by standing on her screened in porch making some sort of noise that was getting the dog worked up? And she accused my cat of inciting the riot, who was in the house sleeping, and accused me of being a bad neighbor for complaining about the barking...

Good night & I hope you have a peaceful one.

Another Day Ruined Before it Even Began...Good Grief...

Recently there have been some messages on the Barking Dog group about a CD which, when played, blasts the barking nuisance with ultrasonic sound waves in the attempt to get it to stop barking. However, some folks think it is the irresponsible owner who should be blasted out of orbit, not the dog who is just being a dog.

One person wrote:

"There is an over-riding moral issue here, namely that inflicting hurt upon a helpless creature is fundamentally wrong. It is not the dog's fault that it is barking so annoyingly. It is the owner's fault entirely, and it's him who should be blasted to Kingdom Come for his selfish, cruel idiocy."

Another response to this included:

"...however the other side of that coin is that dogs actually do harm humans and horrible things have resulted to humans because of a dog's noise/threats..."

Ironically, I was awakened this morning around 7:30ish (at least that's what time it was when I finally looked at the clock) from a very deep sleep by my neighboring shrill barker. Being in a particularly foul mood over it, I opened the window and yelled for the dog to be shut up which, of course, was a waste of breath and energy. I'm not really sure when the barking began, but I later found out that someone had heard the ruckus around 7 a.m., a half hour earlier than when I finally looked at the clock... man, I was in a really deep sleep and enjoying it because it's not something I've done much of in the last 2 years.

Later my neighbor accused me of hurting her dog by yelling at him ....can you imagine? This accusation after being assaulted by her excruciatingly shrill barker, every day and many nights, for almost 3 years now... Any loud statments I've made (which have been rare) lasted for about 5 seconds if that (and I set off my car alarm probably less than a half dozen times in a 2 week period early in January, and I tried the ultrasonic device about 4 times which had no effect on the dog but freaked out my cats). Not to mention I don't think I can even yell as loud as that dog barks. Certainly if I yelled as much as he barks I'd have dropped dead long ago... And I listened to that awful barking for over 2 years before we ever complained to them about it back in November last year (2009). Why am I even defending myself? Good grief.

Anyway, he continued to bark and so I finally went outside to make him be quiet myself, which I've had to do on many occasions if I wanted peace, although my efforts were not always successful. As soon as I got to the edge of my front porch, I heard my neighbor standing on her screened in porch shaking what sounded like a can of something, I guess to get the dogs attention...but it seemed to me it was making them bark more...hmmm...until they saw me. Then they came running over, wagging their tails! I called to whoever was on the porch (because I coudn't see them) and she answered. I was going to politely (even though I'd already yelled out of the window and wasn't feeling very polite) ask her please not to let the dogs bark like that so early in the morning and inform her that I'd been awakended...blah, blah, blah...like she didn't already know they were waking me up...but she rudely cut in and prodeeded to be belligerant and hostile. In fact, I don't think I was able to finish one sentence without being rudely interupted by her accusations and threats. Actually, the only thing that left her speechless was when I informed her that I had many hours of video/sound recordings of her dog barking, sometimes almost continually for 2-3 hours without anyone checking on him, day & night at all hours. Being so stunned by this revelation of barking evidence, the only thing she could say was another feeble accusation about how she never thought I would ever be such a bad neighbor. Sigh. Ditto.

By the way, all this time her 2 dogs were sitting by the fence quietly looking at me...and wagging their tails. They love me. Sheesh.

Now, I've suffered immeasurable mental and physical pain from being forced to listen to her dog barking, as I'm sure you all can relate to, and have, in the last 6 months, spent several thousand dollars (so far) seeking relief consulting with doctors, a chiropractor, 3 massage therapist, and most recently an orthopedic specialist for relief of my neck and jaw pain caused by tension caused by being forced to listen to the barking, day and night, inside my home and outside in the yard. Many times, in fact I'd say about 95% of the time, when I return home from a massage, chiro, or any other relaxing event, the dog is barking as soon as I pull up into the driveway even before I get out of my car. So much for that $75 massage.

Ultimately I know it will be a waste of money to see all these doctors and therapists if I have to continue to listen to the barking.

Incidentally, the barking is of such a loud & shrill nature that the neighbors on the other side of me can hear the barking in their home, albeit not very loudly (as they are farther away and they have more noise in their home...children and TVs, etc.), but that gives you a clue as to how loud it is in my (formerly) quiet home which, at the closest point, is less than 50 feet away from one of the dog's favorite barking spots.

Then she, my barking dog owner neighbor, said the dog is on his own property (I tried to mention that she was allowing the dog to tresspass on my property and into my home by projecting his voice into my private air space, but it was a one sided conversation and she probably wouldn't get it anyway...duh...) and accused me of being a bad neighbor because I've complained about the loud, shrill, piercing, almost continual traumatic barking that has caused me immeasurable physical & mental pain, not to mention is continuing to cost me a lot of money, and because I've called the police and animal control (who have not been any help...surprise, surprise), and then she accused my cat of instigating the barking, that the dog was probably barking because I let my cat out, and she threatened to trap him and send him to animal control. I was stunned at the sheer nastiness of this person, who I knew from the beginning was a bit...uh...odd, shall we say, but with whom I'd been on good terms for a number of years, but I managed to say, "I just woke up and my cat is still sleeping on my bed." The cat was in the house all night, as usual. If the dog only barked when my cat goes onto their property, I'd have no problem with the barking because it would be so rare. When the cat is outside he doesn't usually go onto their property because I keep an eagle eye on him when he's outside and he's usually following me around, lounging around under a shrub, or looking for rodents (on his own property). He's a fat, middle aged cat, you see. On the rare occasion, usually when I'm trying to get him in the house and he gets fiesty because he doesn't want to go in, he'll run over there and hide under one of their (many) cars so I follow him until I can snatch him up, and if he's ever out of my sight at any other time for one second I hunt him down and bring him in. My other cat rarely wanders from under her favorite bush or the porch at the other side of our yard, and stays within about a 25 foot radius of both when she's outside. On a rare occasion she'll come out and follow me around a bit, but never in front of or at the sides of the house, and never way out behind the garage.

Why am I defending my cats? for crying out loud. My cats have done nothing wrong...and they are quiet. In fact, they are the ones being harrassed by the dog who rushes to the fence and starts barking like a psycho when he sees them in their own yard. Actually, he usually only sees them if he sees or hears me first, then rushes to the fence to bark at me and then spies the cat following me around and starts in with the "cat bark." If that dog ever got out of his yard I know he'll run straight to my yard and try to attack my cats, and then, of course, my cat will smack him a good one and my stupid neighbor will start crying about how my cat hurt her dog.

When I first started letting my big tuxedo cat go outside (I tried to force him to stay indoors for a year when he was 3-4 but he was miserable and developed reoccuring urinary tract infections, which stopped when I started letting him out again), I went to both neighbors and asked them if he was bothering them. No one said he was, and so I told them if he was to let me know right away and I'd collect him and put him in. Over the years, I've inquired about this again occasionally, but no one ever said he was bothering them.

However, maybe she did tell me the cat was bothering them. One time, long before I expressed my irritation with the barker, I was asking my barking dog neighbor if the cat was bothering them and she said her husband hates cats and would just as soon shoot them. I asked her if he was going to shoot my cat, and she never did answer. In retrospect, wonder if that was a threat? Her way of telling me the cat was a nuisance? She'd rather pick up a gun than pick up the phone? Scary people. Really, she didn't have to say that. I really didn't think her husband would shoot my cat but if the cat was bothering them all she had to do was say so. I get so tired of people not being straight forward and honest, and having to play guessing games and ending up looking like an idiot beause I can't figure out what the hell they're talking about. Oh, yeah, the dog was barking during this (very brief) conversation and she didn't make any attempt to stop it. And the cat was not there.

Back to today...my other neighbors, the good ones to the right of our house if you are facing it, were having a yard sale so on my way back inside I went over there and asked if they'd heard the barking. Two of them had; my neighbor's husband had actually heard the dog barking at about 7:00 a.m., even earlier than when I'd been awakened, when he was taking things out to the yard for the sale. The other person who heard the barking, a friend of my neighbors' who was over to participate in the yard sale, said she heard the barking and then saw me go out of the front door. She said the barking was so loud it was annoying to her way over there and that there is no way she could tolerate living next to that noise. She is willing to make a statement, if necessary, to support any complaints or court cases, and I already have 3 signed statements about the barking from these "good" neighbors (the 3 adults in the house).

Of course, I already know my barking dog owner neighbor fits right into the disturbed personality profile of the nuisance barking dog owner, but knowing this doesn't make it any less stressful or upsetting for me to be abused by both dog and human like this, and now have to worry about my cats being harmed by the ignorant barking dog owner.

The barking problem had decreased significantly in the last 6 weeks, and I had begun to relax and actually began to feel happy again and like I was healing from the abuse. Even my neck was feeling better, my digestive problems had deminished a good bit, and I was actually feeling back to my old affable self again. But I guess it was just a fluke because this last week the barking has begun to increase again, especially early morning, and now I feel like I'm hopelessly back to square one.

Just venting here, really. Thanks for listening.

Oh, Crap...Literally

I must be cursed. First it's the barker next door keeping me out of my own yard for 2 years, now it's the smell of dog feces coming from the property behind us where the 2 dogs are tied up.

Maybe it was that old gypsy lady in Spain, back in 2001, who grabbed my hand to read my fortune, then wanted money but I wouldn't give her any because I had no idea what she was saying. I didn't ask her to do it, she just walked up and started palm reading, or something. She got really pissed off...and I've had a lot of lousy things happen since then... Really, I'm not superstitious, but... I should have just given her the damn money... and you know as I was walking away I was thinking that she had just cursed me... Every time shit (no pun intended) happens I think about that.

I swear I can smell dog crap in my house. Today was not an extremely warm day, pleasant really...until I stepped outside. At first I couldn't smell it until I walked out behind the garage, which sort of comes out about half way across the yard, half way to the back of the property. It just kind of hit me in the face like I walked into a toxic miasma. I had to go inside pretty quickly because, and this might surprise some folks, I don't deal well with the overwhelming smell of dog shit. It kinda makes me want to puke.

Later on, I stepped out of my back door...but only because I absolutely had to go outside...and I could smell it immediately and it had even cooled off considerable. Now that's bad. I had the door open just briefly, but then I thought I could smell it in the house.

A few weeks ago I spent some time in Charleston, back when the temps were up. The day I came home was really warm. When I walked in the house I could swear I smelled shit so I went about cursing my cats looking for cat poop. My neighbor (the only good one) had taken care of my cats while I was gone and so their litter boxes were very clean (she's really good about tidying up after the cats). But I could swear there was poop in the house...but I couldn't find any so I just figured I was being paranoid. The next day I went outside, and I realized where the poop smell was coming from. Yep.

I've asked them twice now to clean up the poop and told them I can smell it all the way at my back door... which is a good distance from the property line...so that tells you how bad it is. And, yes, if I have my back door open or open the windows at the back of the house...which are usually the only ones I open due to the amount of traffic noise in front...the smell travels right on inside. Nice. I dread to think what it's going to be like as the summer progresses...hotter...more humidity...

It's no wonder some of my cats have become so neurotic in the last couple of years. They are surrounded by dogs barking and dog stink.

To top it off, if one can do that, those dogs that are tied up back there are surrounded by their own turd piles. I mean dozens of them. The dogs can barely move without stepping in shit...their own. When I went over there the other day to inform them of the foul odor drifting over from their property, I had to tip toe through dog crap. I cut through the cyprus trees at the property line and the easiest spot to get through is right by the dogs. There was so much crap around those dogs...that is really sad. Tied up and wallowing in your own shit. I really feel sorry for those dogs. They are always so happy to see me and I can hardly stand to look at them 'cause it's so sad (not to mention stinky).

I don't understand these folks at all. How could you live with the smell of dog poop fuming around your home, you pets wading in their own feces, and your dogs barking like psychotic lunatics?

Today I looked all through the City of Monroe Code of Ordinances and did not find one damn thing about cleaning up your dog's poop. Not one. Nor does it mention anything about providing proper shelter for your dogs, providing food & water...essentially nothing to protect the dog or the public from the dog's irresponsible owners.

I looked under Title IX: GENERAL REGULATIONS, Chapter 91: ANIMALS and did not find one thing about dog poop odor nuisances.

I looked under Title IX: GENERAL REGULATIONS, Chapter 93: PUBLIC HEALTH NUISANCE, and found this:

§ 93.03 DECLARATION OF A PUBLIC HEALTH NUISANCE.

The following conditions shall constitute a nuisance to public health or safety and shall be prohibited within the City's jurisdiction:

(A) Neglect of property. It shall be unlawful for any person to endanger the public health, safety, and welfare through the neglect of property by causing or allowing the accumulation of solid waste or unsightly litter, waste products causing the existence of foul odors, dead animals, unsecured appliances, building material, hazardous waste, or potentially dangerous devices to be discarded, abandoned, or remain on or emanate from any such property, or to cause or allow the accumulation of solid waste or unsightly litter, waste products causing the existence of foul odors, dead animals, unsecured appliances, building material, construction and demolition material, hazardous waste, or potentially dangerous devices to be discarded, abandoned, or remain on or emanate from public property or other private property, vacant lots, ponds, streams, or bodies of water or banks thereof.

Then I also looked under Title V: PUPLIC WORKS, Chapter 55: SOLID WASTE, and found this:

§ 55.02 GENERAL REGULATIONS.

(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to endanger the public health, safety and welfare through the neglect of property by causing or allowing unsightly garbage, weeds and grass, yard waste, foul odor, dead animals, junk, unsecured appliances or potentially dangerous devices to remain on or emanate from property, or to discard or abandon or cause such on public property, private property, vacant lots or any pond, stream or body of water or banks thereof within the city limits.

and this:

§ 55.10 REMOVAL OF DEAD ANIMALS, ASHES, CONTAGIOUS DISEASE MATERIAL, HYPODERMIC INSTRUMENTS AND HAZARDOUS WASTE.

(E) Hazardous Waste. It shall be unlawful to place hazardous waste in any container for disposal except as follows:

     (1) Paint cans shall have lids removed and contain no wet paint. Kitty litter or sand may be added to solidify material for collection.
     (2) Soiled kitty litter shall be enclosed in double plastic bags and securely tied prior to placing the bag in rollout cart at curbside for disposal.

and under the same Title V, § 55.01 DEFINITIONS.

HAZARDOUS WASTE. Potentially dangerous by-products which cannot be handled, treated, or disposed of without special precautions. Hazardous waste includes ignitable, corrosive, reactive, and toxic wastes such as acetone, gasoline, industrial metal, alkaline cleaners, acids, batteries, cyanide, chlorine, arsenic, pesticide wastes, paint, caustics, infected materials, offal, fecal matter (human and animal), and explosives.
 
Notice it says how to dispose of kitty litter, but not one word about how to dispose of dog crap, which would fall under a hazardous waste...
 

What's wrong with the City of Monroe???

bag o crap

Maybe I should just purchase an SCBA because I don't think the city is going to help out here. I called the Monroe Police Department a couple of days ago and asked to talk with someone in Code Enforcement. The lady was really nice...but...and this is really scary...she knew nothing about any dog or animal ordinances. She said, "All we usually deal with is tall grass and building codes."

What about the rest of the Monroe Code of Ordinances???

Gee. I wish my neighbors had tall grass. At least it's quiet, doesn't smell bad, and I kind of think tall grass looks cool when it's blowing in the wind. .