YOUR PROBLEMS SOLVED
Q. I am retired and my wife and I live in a small estate where the front gardens do not have fences. Our neighbours, with whom we have always been on good terms, acquired two mongrel dogs last summer. They are both at work all day and leave the dogs chained up, on fairly long chains, in their front garden by an open garage which is on the other side of the garden from the house. (Our two houses do not face the road.) The dogs were left like this most days, sometimes for eight hours at a stretch, in all weathers, sometimes freezing and even when one of the owners was at home. They had no kennels or baskets, were bored, cold and barked at everything that moved. This unpleasant situation was in front of our house, in effect, and so, in a note, I said, trying to be diplomatic, that we hoped it was only temporary. One of the dogs was promptly withdrawn (meeting us halfway?) but the other dog is still there, now on its own, which is presumably an added misfortune. The RSPCA is sympa- thetic but apparently does not consider the situation serious enough to take any action. What do you suggest?
J.H.W, Lymington
Dear Mary.. .
Q. Mine is the usual barking-dog-next-door problem. Semi-detached Fulham house, marching with a charming and friendly woman, who goes out to work all day, and an inbuilt son, who works in and out of the house but sometimes disappears altogether. Whenever the dog is left alone he barks not just sporadically, but continuously, relentlessly, inexorably, every note of which can be heard by me. My neighbour knows she does this, apologises for it, looks help- less when we meet, but clearly awaits divine guidance, doing nothing like thinking what can be done. Of course she has never suf- feredbecause the barking ceases the instatit her car is heard or her footfall sensed. What can I do?
S.A., Haldane Road, SW6
A. 'Dear Mary' has received an enormous mailbag on the subject of neighbour abuse by dog — only two examples of which are printed above. The solution I am about to suggest is drastic but these are drastic prob- lems. Both S.A. and J.H.W. should write themselves poison-pen letters purporting to come from a local cell of the Animal Liber- ation Front. The letters could perhaps be daubed in dried blood or have feathers glued onto them to give authenticity and should be scrawled in maniacal hands. The authors should clearly have knowledge of the ownership of the barking dogs and be consequently levelling threats against S.A. and J.H.W. This will give our victims a per- fect opportunity to approach their neigh- bours, poison-pen letters in hand and wear- ing alarmed expressions. They can explain that they are anxious as the 'Animal Liber- ation Front are well known nutters' and ask their neighbours to deal with the problem at their earliest convenience to avoid vio- lence to their own persons.
If you have a problem, write to 'Dear Mary, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London, WC1N 2LL.
Previous page
