Barking Mad in NC

Letter to My Barking Dog Neighbors...

2011-11-13T11:59:00.006-05:00

Rather than go through the nightmare of having to listen further to that damn shrill fellow and taking the chance that it will again escalate into a traumatic affair, and of having to keep calling the police and animal control again, I've decided to send the following letter, or similar, to my neighbors: Dear Mr. & Mrs. Barking Dog Owner, (of course I'll use their real names in the letter...)

Here We Go Again...

2011-11-13T10:46:00.002-05:00

Well, knowing my neighbors as I do, I should have known it wouldn't last. I haven't written since my neighbors received their 2nd citation for violating the animal noise ordinance because since then there has been very little barking and I have been trying to recover and heal from the horrible noise trauma and sleep deprivation of the previous 2+ years of barking hell. To sum up the last

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

2011-03-18T09:10:00.010-04:00

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

The Misery of the Barking Dog...

2011-03-08T13:04:00.008-05:00

One thing I find extremely annoying, almost as annoying as a barking dog, is a dog owner who thinks everyone should like dogs just because they do. This is an absurd school of thought, and even "responsible" dog owners are guilty of this unfair assumption. I like cats but I know not everyone likes cats and, well, it is what it is. So what. Some people love sky diving but I'll be damned if I'm

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

2011-02-25T15:08:00.006-05:00

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

Barking Dog Court

2011-01-13T22:00:00.006-05:00

On January 13, 2011 my barking dog owner neighbors appeared in court for the citation they were finally issued on December 20, 2010, for violation of the City's noise ordinance as pertains to animals. Initially, they wished to plead "not guilty" and asked for a public defender to represent them. They were denied this request. Why? Because the public defender's office has more important things to

Sleep Deprivation Caused by Dog Barking

2011-01-08T11:17:00.030-05:00

"Sleep deprivation refers to a lack of sleep due to something externally impacting your opportunity to sleep."ShutEye.ComSince I am chronically sleep derpived thanks to my neighbor's barking dog, I've decided to do some research on just how much harm my neighbors are inflicting on me by allowing their dogs to keep me up at night and/or wake me up at all hours. I could tell you the harm I'm

Merry Barking Christmas...

2010-12-27T15:01:00.009-05:00

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

December 23, 2010

2010-12-23T22:21:00.002-05:00

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

Correspondence with the Mayor & City Council

2010-12-16T11:31:00.001-05:00

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

Barking Dog and What Next?

2010-11-21T13:10:00.005-05:00

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

What's Wrong With People?

2010-09-15T15:49:00.018-04:00

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

Barking Dog Advice from an Expert

2010-05-17T10:41:00.016-04:00

I was going through some of the Barking Dog Yahoo Group messages that I saved and came across the following, which makes excellent sense. The bottom line is, if you have recently begun to be tormented by your neighbor's barking dog, don't wait to do something about it - jump into action immediately. Dr. Craig Mixon, an expert on the subject of barking dogs and their owners, and founder of

The Good, the Bad, and the Absurd...

2010-05-10T23:39:00.019-04:00

First the good news: I've purchased 500 ft. of Purr...fect Fence so my cat will have a safe enclosure from which he can't escape and so he can hunt, pee, spray, lounge...whatever he wants... outside and I don't have to worry about Mrs. Barking Sociopath trapping him and sending him to the shelter; The bad news is: The 5 Purrfect Fence kits, plus 2 gates with 2 gate extensions so I can get the

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

2010-05-09T12:28:00.011-04:00

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

City of Monroe Code Enforcement

2010-05-08T07:43:00.003-04:00

You can allow your dog to bark day and night but if you let your grass get too high and you'll get a citation. Too bizarre. A couple of weeks ago my neighbor (the good neighbor, not the sociopathic barking dog owner) put some yard waste out to be picked up, but apparently she was supposed to bag it and a city official came out to her house to give her a warning. Apparently the rules have changed

Shock & Horror

2010-04-29T20:56:00.002-04:00

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

The $$$$ Go Marching By...

2010-04-28T01:47:00.006-04:00

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,

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

2010-04-24T16:17:00.010-04:00

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

Oh, Crap...Literally

2010-04-22T23:45:00.004-04:00

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

Too Good to Be True...

2010-04-20T18:35:00.002-04:00

Damn. I spoke too soon and I've jinxed myself. I shouldn't have gone around telling anyone that life was becoming almost bearable again because Harley's barking had been reduced considerable in the last few weeks. In the back of my brain I suspected it was too good to be true. I was awakened before 6:15 this morning...I took a Xanax before 8 and I've still been in a foul mood all day with a

Prozac Nation...Psychopharmacology vs. Shock Treatment

2010-04-18T13:15:00.016-04:00

I'm not exactly sure what is going on here, but my neighboring nuisance has become an almost tolerable neighbor. Of course he still barks at my cat, but as soon as I move the cat out of his view he stops barking, which is uncharacteristic as he used to bark long after the cat was out of sight, and I have spent many hours in my yard since the weather has warmed up and he has not barked at me nor

Miracle or Fluke?

2010-04-03T23:58:00.006-04:00

I'm not a religious person but a miracle might be taking place here. Oddly enough, Harley the dog has suddenly stopped barking like a psycho. Or rather, his people have suddenly begun making an effort to stop the barking pretty darn quickly after it starts. Something is happening and I'm not quite sure what but I do know that the very annoying, actually far beyond annoying, in fact so far beyond

Spring is in the Air

2010-03-31T23:15:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned in one of my much earlier entries, spring is usually a time when I spend, like many people, a lot of time in my yard. Unfortunately, this year there are a myriad of things keeping me from doing so. Along with the barking, of course, the warming of the weather seems to be cooking up a dog shit stew and the aroma of this stew is now filling the air. This completely negates the

Legal Action...non sequitur

2010-03-24T16:44:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I've made any entries here but, trust me, Harley the dog has not been as remiss with his barking as I have been with my writing. However, it's time I quite whining about the yapper and share my experiences and advice in dealing with a barking nuisance and shitty, rude neighbors. Unfortunately, and this is very depressing, according to what I've read about other people's