Thursday, April 30, 2009

Won't you be my neighbor

I'm really glad I don't live next door to me.

little kid wanders onto the back porch naked at least three times a day. Luckily, we are surrounded by thick hedges, but there is one blank spot in the back hedge that creates a clear window between us and our neighbors behind us.

The homes on either side of us and behind us each have 1 dog. My dogs have declared war on all three dogs, particularly the fat cocker spaniel that lives right behind us. Barking ensues among all parties any time anyone lets their dogs into their yard. My dogs are winning because there are two of them.

Speaking of my dog pack, they don't understand public right of way situations. They think the street in front of our house, and even the front yard of the house across the street, belong to us. That means it is their duty to stand at the windows that flank our front door and Lily barks ferociously and Murphy howls like a Beagle if anyone dares to walk or drive by.

When the dogs go out, Murphy is on a chain in the back yard and Lily is trusted to just stay back there since she is old and well trained. Lily listens 99.5% of the time, but the other .5% she goes through the hedges to the neighbor's backyard.

I yell at, and for, the dogs often and Murphy pretty much only listens to a high pitched whistle I do and only after I've done it at least 3 times.

Big Kid and little kid are loud and spend a lot of time on the porch or back yard. If they want to play the harmonica, I make them do it out there.

Sooooooo, we love the neighborhood but I highly doubt they love us.

2 comments:

p jane said...

Aw, you'd be an awesome neighbour! I bet you wouldn't scream and try to swat my dog with a hymnal if he ran up to you on the street...or think twice when you heard me holler, "You don't have to LIKE it but you do have to DO it now Get. In. The. VAAAAN!" Big Kid and little kid could hang out in the yard w/my three boys playing harmonica, keyboard, slide whistle and Blue's-Clues-amplifying-microphone till they were exhausted.

FWIW, my dog is a 50lb 9mo golden retriever...all bouncy puppy. He bolted out the front door and saw a potential "new!friend!", but the woman freaked out and the more she screamed and swatted the more he bounced. I apologized but she insisted he should have been on a leash, even though he wasn't SUPPOSED to have been out at all. I'm still not sure what she was doing hanging out in the street holding a hymnal...

Jaime said...

Hey I have a Murphy dog too! And a hershey monster lol! Both dogs think they own the entire neighborhood...anytime the mailman comes the dogs go nuts even though they are inside!!! It's just crazy around here with these two!