Best Solution for a Barking Dog

Today while I was working in my office I heard my neighbor’s dog barking. Duka is about 14 years old and deaf. When the barking persisted, I put down my work and went outside to the fence. My neighbors and I put a gate between our backyards when we replaced our fence in 2005. It was a good idea. We can go back and forth without having to go around to our front doors. Something about the gate has cemented a good neighborly friendship. It says, “come on over if you want.” This is the best part of suburban living. As the world grows difficult, simple community offers a respite to all of us.

In this case, my neighbors Dawn and Jodee were at work and the dogs were outside catching some sun. Unfortunately the weather had turned quickly and Duka wasn’t entirely happy to be outside. She also knows I’m a sucker for golden retrievers. When I opened the gate Duka wagged happily at me for a minute, then came through as though my yard is just another part of her yard. I went inside thinking that she would just go back to her own yard when she had finished her rounds of my yard.

A few minutes later Duka barked at my back door. Part of her ease about commanding me to open the door lies in her recent experience spending a couple of nights with me while her people were out of town. I was tickled that she wanted to visit and opened the door so she could make herself at home. The friendly dog wandered through the kitchen, checked Maggie’s food dish, sniffed my cat’s raised eating area, and settled in the living room for a cozy afternoon nap.