Our next-door neighbor got a new dog a few weeks ago. Not the ones who have the two dogs already, but the one on the other side. We don’t know this neighbor very well. He’s pretty quiet and when we accidentally throw Lucy’s frisbee over the fence, he’s the roll-his-eyes-and-throw-it-back-over-a-week-later kind of neighbor. Anyway. He got a new dog, and he hasn’t stopped barking since they brought him home. 7am. 3pm. 2am. He’s in one part of the backyard, maybe on the porch or in a pen, I can’t tell. He’s got a big-boy bark, so I think he’s full-grown, but no one has seen him. When I play fetch with Lucy in the morning before work, it’s quiet and peaceful and then I throw the first ball and he hears us and starts barking ferociously. Lucy looks at me like like she’s sorry, did she do something wrong? No, baby. We’re in our yard. He’s just scared.

I was irritated at first, because it was disruptive, but it’s been going on so long, now I feel bad for him. It’s beyond the adjusting phase. I want to go ask if he’s friendly and if I can borrow him to play with Lucy. I know he’ll say no, but at least he’d know that he’s not the only person that hears the dog.