Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Curse of the Recurring Canine

I live in a duplex, and over the past few years I have had three sets of neighbours: the girls who exercised, the family of wrestlers, and the smooth-playing horn-man.

These neighbours have NOTHING in common except for one bizarre trait: they all decide to adopt dogs halfway through their tenancy.

Why? I don't know. If I were to use my neighbours as a representative sample I'd have to assume that everybody in the world owns a dog.

4 comments:

Lois said...

Hey Muffy!
Probably the reason they get dogs is because they are jealous of ZsaZsa being such a good mouser. They want to keep up with the Muffies, but think they are doing it better because what they get is bigger.
Jeeze....I can't stand showoffs!
Giggle...Giggle....
Anyway we own our house. The house beside us has always been rented over the past 21 years that we have been here. I can honestly say that up to this point we have never had bad people renting it and we have seen at least 10 different sets of people come and go.
One of the renters was a First Nations native (is that the political correct way of describing her?) who used to hold drumming circles for a Native women’s group every week in her back yard. They had the drums, the native costumes, danced around the fire pit. It was GREAT! It didn't bother me in the least but I know some of the other neighbours were not too impressed.
However this last family that has moved in, while very nice people have very LOUD dogs that like to bark....A LOT! I wonder why they think that those 3 dogs should be allowed to make that racket at 6 AM or 12 PM or 1AM or any other time of day or night. They, the dogs, are driving me crazy. The people don't seem to get it that when I yell 'SHUT UP! over the fence that I don't mean the people, that I mean the dogs.
They have said to me that, quote. "I guess you can really hear the boys some days eh?" unquote.
I replied that, Yes, they do get really loud in the middle of the night and during the day too.
They said, "Well I guess we should keep an ear out for them when they get started, ha...ha...."
YA THINK!?!?!?
Maybe I should be a bad neighbour and call the cops to complain??? I hate to do that but I am starting to get desperate for some uninterrupted sleep.
I have 2 kitties and never have to worry about the noise unless I am late filling their food dish.
This is why I am a cat lady rather than a doggie girl.
Sorry I am sounding off to you and taking up your blog space but I am tired and grumpy and I hear the boys in the back yard again......
SIGH!

Adam Thornton said...

I feel your pain, Lois! The yappy wiener dog was a real terror next door...he didn't howl during the night at all, but during the day he could go on for hours at a time...and with our paper-thin walls it was like he was doing it right beside me.

To keep myself from waking up due to next-door noise -- and also Zsa Zsa's occasional snoring fits -- I use two methods...maybe they'll work for "the boys" (GRRR!)

1. A small electric fan that whirrs but doesn't rattle. It blocks out the high frequency sounds (chatter, cars, dogs, etc.)

2. If I need to deal with louder noises, I resort to foam earplugs. I highly recommend the Rexall brand with the highest noise-blocking rating. Once you learn how to put them in properly, they block the lower frequencies (thumps, bumps, most music). Combined with the fan you reduce most of the noise in the area.

3. If all of THAT doesn't work, try a big box fan...even on its lowest setting, a box fan eight feet away from your bed will block most noises (unless those noises actually VIBRATE your bed).

As for noise complaints against dogs, I've heard mixed things. I did call the Kitchener bylaw office once and was told that "dogs just bark," but she wasn't 100% sure that there was nothing I could do...I talked to a police officer later and she said you can definitely lodge a noise complaint.

The problem is, apparently this usually involves some sort of court case if the owner of "the boys" chooses not to comply. But don't quote me on that.

Kimber said...

Hey, don't knock it till you try it. Get a bull mastiff - they never bark!

Adam Thornton said...

Can they be litter-trained?

My pet requirements are:

* No walks.

* Scarce attention.

* Clean.

* Furry.

* Diurnal.

* Non-smelly.

* Teeth that don't continually grow throughout their lifetime.

* Quiet.

* Feline.