Dear editor:

If you live in Powell long enough, sooner or later you’ll hear someone tell you how friendly, how neighborly our town is. That being the case, I think this is a good time, with summer approaching, to challenge the dog-owners of this community to zen on that word “neighborly.”

Having lived here for over 30 years now, I think my experiences regarding the multitude of barking dogs has been (sadly) rich — especially in the summer when the windows of the house are open at night. Air conditioning is nice, but there’s nothing like sleeping with fresh air coming through the window, unless that fresh air is accompanied by the sounds of a neglected dog barking in the wee hours of the night.

I challenge anyone to take an hour-long walk on the streets of this town — especially the alleys — you’ll have plenty of dogs barking at you.

I should be clear here, I’m not talking about dogs that bark all night long typically — although that’s not an unusual thing to happen around here. But, if one is a light sleeper, it doesn’t take a dog to bark all night long to ruin a night’s sleep — ten seconds of barking is all it takes to disturb one’s sleep. At 63-years-old now, once I wake up from such a disturbance, it often takes up to two hours to fall back asleep. 

According to the Powell Police, a dog that barks frequently — at anytime, day or night — can be a “nuisance” to anyone living near by. Being a nuisance is not very neighborly, and further it’s unlawful. Even if the dog is barking during normal daylight hours, it can also be considered a nuisance. 

Here’s the official language from the Powell City Code of Ordinances (Sec. 6.04.130) on “noisy animals:”

A. Any dog, cat, or other animal, habitually or incessantly barking, howling, yelping, screeching or making any other noise which disturbs or endangers the comfort, health, or peace of the neighborhood is declared to be committing a nuisance, and the owner of such dog, cat or other animal is declared to be the author of such nuisance.

B. It shall be the duty of any person who is the owner of any dog, cat, or other animal, which barks, howls, yelps, screeches or makes any other noise which disturbs or endangers the comfort, health, or peace of the neighborhood between the hours of 10 p.m., and 6 a.m., to place said dog, cat or other animal inside a closed house or other structure so as to prevent the noise, disturbance and nuisance from continuing.

C. It is unlawful for the owner of any dog, cat or other animal to be the author of any nuisance created thereby.

I decided to look up the definition of nuisance just to make sure I knew exactly what it meant, and here’s what I found in a real, printed dictionary:

Thing or person that annoys, troubles, offends, or is disagreeable. Synonymous with annoyance, plague, trouble, inconvenience. 

A barking dog should not be the problem of an annoyed neighbor to solve. Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only one who reports such disturbances to the police. These days it seems that the only certain reprieve to a barking dog is the coming of the colder months when windows are closed up and the barking dogs of Powell aren’t as likely to be left out all night— though sadly, some are.

In closing, if you’re being annoyed by a barking dog nearby, call the police (307-754-2212). Do yourself and your neighbors a favor. And, if you’re the owner of an annoying barking dog, it’s high-time to think about how you can be more neighborly. 

Morgan Tyree

Powell