The Saga Continues

Just watched one of the neighbor's five dogs GIVE BIRTH TO PUPPES. I wish I was making this up.

Video's #18 and #19

Both taken between 11:00am and 11:30am today, from inside my bedroom. So much for a relaxing "haven."

Videos #16 and #17

Every time I think the barking has gotten better, it just gets worse again. These two videos were taken from inside my bedroom (windows closed) last night. One was just before midnight, and the other at about 12:30am. They barked ALL night and have barked all morning (and right now, as I type this!). Even the Ambien can't work miracles...today I am very ticked off and very tired.

11:45pm:




12:30am:

update

There are now six dogs.
SIX DOGS!!

Not Sure What To Think

The dogs next door are being refreshingly quiet this morning, though it is a bit unnerving. I hope they are ok in the heat today.

Videos 10-15 11:30AM

Do these sound like happy, healthy dogs to you? Because these videos show how lonely and desperate the dogs next door are.


THIS is what it sounds like from the INSIDE of my bedroom with the windows CLOSED:











THIS is what they sound like from my screened-in porch:




And HERE are the 5 (very dirty) dogs barking and growling at me. This happens every time I go outside in my own yard (so much for enjoying the patio and outdoor fireplace!):





I took this one to TRY and show the conditions of the backyard. I had to get a stool to try to see over the fence, and it still didn't turn out well. BUT if you look carefully on the right you will see the one and only doghouse that they seem to have (igloo-style). Unless they count the old picnic table as shelter? I wonder if they would enjoy living outside 24/7 and sharing 3-4 square feet of a house with 4 other dogs?

Video #9 11:51PM

video #8 10:04AM

video #7 11:56pm

Video #6 sometime around 9AM

I have a good reason for not posting much this week, I promise. All of my financial information was phished online, so I should be given a badge, a helmet, and a hose based on the amount of fires I've been putting out all week.

Video #5 11:15PM

So yesterday i was attacking the dandelions again and the dogs were barking continuously, as usual. It's so exhausting to just have that constant noise drilling into your brain 24/7...you can just never relax. (I tried to get video while I was weed-killing, but alas my battery was dead.) So I went over the my fence to get a better look at these canines, and was shocked to see that there are not three dogs as I previously thought, but FIVE DOGS. Four adult dogs and one puppy. And from what I could see of their yard, there is only ONE average sized house for shelter. One doghouse for five dogs. I'm pretty sure that's not up to Dallas Animal Services code. You know, unless they qualify the old swingset and picnic table as "shelter."

I also spoke to another neighbor, and she said that the barking bothers them too, and that she thinks it's the worst between 5am and 8 am because 5am is when he wakes up and 8am is when he leaves, and the dogs know he's up and they want attention. Poor dogs! They never get any walks or attention or exercise. Like I said before, I blame the barking on the owner and not the dogs.

finally a night of sleep

earplugs + white noise machine + Ambien = 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep!!

For the first time in almost a month I finally slept 9 hours without being woken up by the obnoxious dogs next door. Of course, they barked all night as usual. But the Ambien really did the trick. It still really pisses me off that I have to go to such lengths to get sleep in my OWN house. I shouldn't have to be medicated to sleep in MY quiet house because the neighbor's dogs are so so loud. And of course Ambien has it's own side effects and issues to worry about. It worries me as well that someone might try to break in and I won't hear anything until the alarm goes off.

But for now, it is what it is, and I am just happy to not be so sleepy and grouchy all the time!

Video #4 12:15AM

Just to prove that it really is happening all day and all night, this video was just shot from inside my bedroom with the windows shut, just after midnight. I am awake because this is my "relaxing" time after work (haha - just try to relax with those dogs next door). Nothing too exciting to look at, since you know, it's midnight, and dark, and people are trying to RELAX.

Video #3 6:34 AM

This is what my mornings are like. These dogs are my alarm clock, and they determine the time I wake up. They start trying to wake me around 5AM, and continue trying, well, all day. And they always win, but the time I choose to wake up (a.k.a GIVE UP ON THE LOVELINESS THAT IS SLEEP) depends on my level of exhausted-ness, or the exact placement of my earplugs, or the amount of rage inside of me that day for them.

This morning it was 6:34am. Now please keep in mind that I work a night shift, and don't get to bed until 1:00am or 2:00am, depending on the night. So 6:34am is only 4 or 5 hours into my 8 hours of sleep.

I wish I had time to take a video EVERY TIME they barked, but if I aimed for that goal I would never have time to get ready, I wouldn't make it to work, I would run out of money, my house would be foreclosed on, and I would be forced to move somewhere quieter...wait a minute.... This video is actually a good example of how every time I think they have finally shut up they start right back up again.

So basically, my rule is when the barking has gotten to the point when I think "THAT'S IT - WHERE IS THE BENADRYL SO I CAN WRAP IT IN BACON AND HURL IT OVER THAT FENCE," that is when I grab the camera. Because I don't have bacon...because I love animals...most animals. And also because it's truly not the dogs' fault, it's the owner's fault. Not once have I seen these dogs walked, or hear anyone give them any sort of attention or exercise. They're barking because they're bored and lonely and isolated.

Video #2 - The Dog That Dares Me To Enjoy My Porch

I have this great screened-in porch and outdoor fireplace that I cannot take advantage of because of the aforementioned dogs next door. Today I even went to the doctor to specifically get some sleeping meds to help me get more than 4 hours sleep. I should send the neighbors the bill.

Here is the first example of the volume of the barking from the screened-in porch. Bonus points to those of you who can spy the ant crawling up the window screen.

Video #1

This is the first video proof of not only the ridiculous amount of barking emitting from the jowls of the next-door neighbors' 3 dogs (one yappy dog in particular), but the sheer volume of it all. This comes not from a fancy video recorder, but just my Canon Elf Powershot camera. I rested it on my windowsill with the window CLOSED. The volume reaches higher and more offensive heights if you are outside or if you dare to open the windows. Keep in mind that this was taken from inside my bedroom, and the fence line for the neighbors' yard is about 7 feet from where I lay my head at night.