i can only pray that this change is permanent.  of course, this whole move took its toll on me and required multiple calls to the sheriff’s department and to animal control.  and that will have to resume if doggy ever returns.

but for now, peace.  ahhh.

dog woke me up four times sunday night/monday morning.  i put a call into animal control again monday afternoon.  this would be the fourth call to them.  i reported the address and the problem again.  then later that afternoon i got a call back from them.  they wanted some more information about the dog and its barking behavior.  as it turns out, they came by on monday but didn’t see the dog.  since it was raining, abby usually stays indoors and rarely wanders out.  since she barks at night, it’s also possible she was napping for her big night life.  they recognized her to be a night time barker.

i asked them what was next.  they had left a note on the neighbor’s door requiring the owner to call them upon receiving it.  they would discuss the complaints with the the owner and suggest the use of a shock collar.  they would monitor that progress and go from there.  worst case scenario for owner is a citation, which looks like it might cost the neighbor over $100.00 for the noise problem.  that might get his attention to addressing this problem.  (shock collars cost from $25.00 up to $150.00 depending on model.)  they will have a nice surprise when they get back from their holiday vacation time.

i have some hope now that my neighbor will be motivated to action.  i thought getting the sheriff involved to begin with would be enough.  it amazes me that it would not make a difference.  i know if i had a neighbor complaining about a dog i owned, it would be enough to deal with it just from that encounter.  law officers would only scare me more.  doesn’t seem to have made a dent in my neighbor.  as my family has expressed, we just don’t get it.

i rolled it out in my office to get some relief from the noise, although there was no comfort in the location for the night.  it was not a good night’s sleep.  i am not sure when the patrol car went by since i needed to get some sleep.  when i woke up this morning at 5:15a, the owners had returned.

i’ve called animal control again today to continue the process of having them deal with the dog.  i still subscribe to the reality that the only permanent resolution to this problem now is to have the dog removed from the owner.  their inconsistent addressing of this problem shows that is the only way.

i went back to bed.  i feel asleep again.  around 11:00p, barksalot woke me again.  this time i got up, checked for the neighbor to address her barking (prescribed by the ordinance) and found no activity.  it was my turn to be active.

i telephoned the sheriff’s non-emergency number and reported the “noise problem.”  he got address of neighbor and told me it would be passed on.  thirty minutes later, a cruiser swung by his house.  dog was put in a flash.  it took less than two minutes to put her up.

i went to bed at 11:30p and slept the rest of the night.

at this point, all i have to do keep reporting the dog to animal services, and they will continue to address the problem.  i am mostly convinced that the only way for me to find real relief is if the dog is removed from the owner, which is unfortunate.  but since this owner has a track record of not being home all night yet leaving the dog out, there is no guarantee this matter can be permanently fixed by the dog staying.  history has proven there will be change for a limited time and then a return back to annoyance.  i just don’t think he gets it.

so, my plan is go to bed and plan to sleep the night.  if the dog barks, i call sheriff’s department and/or report the matter to animal control the next day.  they will be able to solve this problem the right way.  i’m counting on it.