Dogs vs. Children

So, dear blog readers, I have to vent some steam about the nervous little dogs in our complex that have just been out of control lately.

I don't know why I've noticed them more in general, but maybe it's because the weather has been warmer and the windows have been open.

A couple of nights ago, we had a meeting with the other residents in our building to determine the best date and to go over the instructions for the termite tenting procedure. Since the room was extremely small and they had more people at the meeting than with the other buildings, Mike and I chose to stand outside the door. Some other resident in one of the neighboring buildings was breaking the housing rules by sticking their pooch outside and letting him bark the whole time. So, from our perpective, here's how the meeting went. (From what we could hear, anyway.)

"So when it comes to your food, make sure you...."
"Ai ai ai aiiiiii arrrgh aiiii" (Imagine a high pitched nervous bark, if you will.)
"Next item. Your mattresses. You're going to have to...."
"Aiiiiii ai ai arph arph aiiiiii rrrrrrr!!!!!!!!"
"Can any of you in the back hear? Good. Okay, so now we need to determine the date. We're conisdering Monday, Mar...."
"Arrrrrrr! Ai, ai, aiaiaiaiaiaiai, ARRRRRRgh! Grrrrrr!!!!!!!!" (At this point the little mutt sounds like he's going to have a stroke.)
"Okay, folks, you're free to leave."

So. all of that to say, most of the major points we were able to get later from a neighbor. Thanks, little canine friend.

And then, yesterday as I was quilting, I decided to leave the TV off for a change (I sometimes have it on as white noise to drown out some of the surrounding neighbors' music). Across the sidewalk/lawn area, a toddler started pitching a fit. Poor little guy needed a nap, and it seemed that for three hours, his parents didn't want to give this a try. Who knows, he may have been transitioning from two naps to one or something. But, everytime he started howling, you guessed it. The little pooch on the neighboring balcony decided it was no good having vocal competition. And this time, some one else's larger hound decided to join into the fray. So, on top of having the high-pitched squeals and cries from the child, added with the terrier-like noise, we had the occasional "Bouf!" from the larger dog, who seemed to be egging on his smaller, insecure friend. Maybe dogs in general feel the need to get over their insecurities by letting everyone know how tough they think they are? Even if it's small dog vs. toddler?

Another thing I've been pondering is whether or not small dogs are predisposed to dying of heart attacks or strokes. You'd think that those little yappy fellas would have nervous breakdowns or soemthing, the way they carry on as if the world were coming to an end.

Oh well. That's about all I have to say about neighbor dogs. It's enough to convince me for now that we will never be small-dog owners. (Mike's allergies to pets aside.)