So it’s 4:15 on Sunday morning. I’ve been awake for several hours already. I wish that I could say that it was for spiritual reasons. Like maybe I was burdened in prayer for something and the Lord wouldn’t let me sleep until I prayed. Or as I anticipated Sunday morning worship I was so excited that I had to get up and spend time in the Word preparing my soul for what God was going to say to me. But it is for none of those reasons. Truth be told there is a dog in a pen right behind our house that has been barking for several hours.
I am typically a great sleeper but there are 2 things that I absolutely cannot sleep through. One is snoring and the other is a barking dog. I think it is the regularity of the noise that bothers me. Just knowing that every 20 seconds there is going to be a fresh blast of acoustical commotion keeps me wide eyed and alert. There is also the ridiculous hope that I somehow maintain that the last eruption will indeed be the LAST eruption – so I eagerly wait hoping not to hear anything until I of course hear the same thing that I have been listening too for hours.
Those many people who have been with me on mission trips in previous years can attest to the lengths I will go to avoid snorage. I have been known to create “snoring rooms” and to banish all those afflicted with this nasal anomaly to the uttermost parts of the property. But what do I do about a dog in the middle of the night. I am not a gun owner so that is out of the equation. If I was I would be more tempted to use it on the owner than on the dog. To me it is the epitome of rudeness and un-neighborliness to allow your canine companion to bark all night is an outside kennel. It’s not like they are 4 acres away on very private property – it is literally 75 feet from my back window. Probably closer to my house than to his. I am also not a cop caller in the middle of the night. I don’t even know if that is something they would respond to anyway. Nor am I the angry neighbor that throws bricks through windows to get somebody’s attention. So I will suffer through a night without sleep and then probably forget about it tomorrow – only to be reminded about it tomorrow night. Hopefully not.
But if you happen to read this and you happen to see me at church in the morning and you happen to notice me walking around in a zombie like state – then please pray for the state of my soul as I deal with my anger issues – and perhaps offer to get me a cup of coffee: 3 splenda, 2 creams. And a pastry would be nice too.
I have actually found that it has worked (occasionally) to simply visit the neighbor (in the daytime) and explain the situation. Ask politely if there is anything that they can do to alleviate the situation. Stop short of offering suggestions (could they stay in the garage?) because most pet owners will know how to contain their pets in ways that fit their lifestyles better than you, and will typically resent the implication that you know how to control their animal better than they do. Most dog owners are aware that their animal barks, but just don’t care enough to make the changes necessary to stop it. There are a rare few that just don’t care, but hopefully your neighbor isn’t one of these.
If you do decide to call the police, Durham has installed a “nuisance” line to handle things like barking dogs. The number is 919-560-4600
Shey,
I am a gun owner !!! Let me know……….lol .