<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"><DIV>The losses lately have been so overwhelming. We are sending love and condolences to all. We are still praying for Sandi's Pat's full recovery.</DIV>
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<DIV>I wanted to chime in on "excessive barking". I think each state has its own definitions. Here in Hawaii, to merit an excessive barking "ticket", a dog must bark for 10 minutes straight without interruption, or intermittently for 25 minutes. Complaints are handled by the police department rather than the humane society. There are escalating fines for each complaint--not sure what happens after 3 complaints.</DIV>
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<DIV>One of our boys, Harley, got us in trouble with our last landlady. When we were not home, if something started him up barking (a noise outside usually) and no one was there to say, "Quiet, Harley!", Harley didn't have an "off" switch. He'd just keep intermittently barking until someone came home (or the landlady came downstairs from her apartment) to tell him to be quiet. We have since moved. I have not really figured out how to solve this problem (citronella collars didn't work, and he stops if a human intervenes, so it's hard to reinforce being quiet since when he sees a human he'll stop). What I have been doing since we moved is dropping him (and his brother) off at doggie daycare if I will be out of the house for more than an hour. Our doggie daycare has a 'half-day' deal for folks who need this service. If I will be gone less than an hour and Harley and Bo can't come with me (they often do--they are popular at a lot of stores, even though they
have to ride in a grocery cart at Lowe's and Home Depot), then I close them in the house and shut the windows that face other houses. If anyone else has solved a problem like this, I'd love to know how you did it. I am embarrassed to admit that I plan just about all excursions out of my house around my dogs. Val</DIV></div></body></html>