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1) Call the “will do odd jobs” guy whose number you found on the bulletin board at the
supermarket. Offer him twenty bucks. He’ll know what to do.
2) Turn up
the Republican National Convention really loud on the television. (This strategy won’t
shut up the dogs, but it will give you a new appreciation for their barking as a
comparative source of intelligence in the world.)
3) Picture yourself at a
peaceful beach being caressed by tranquil breezes and bathed in healing sunshine. Now
picture the dogs at that same beach being chased by angry alligators.
4)
Get one of those bulky suits worn by the people who train attack dogs. Smear the suit
with bacon grease, put it on, and then let the dogs chew on you until they are too
exhausted to bark any more.
5) March right up to those dogs and tell them
in a stern voice, “Cut it out you guys, and I mean right now.”
6) Invent
an invisible soundproof force field. Install it in the appropriate
location.
7) Capture your other neighbor’s cat and feed it to the dogs.
(This is not actually recommended, but it crosses your mind every now and
then.)
8) Go on the Internet and see if you can find one of those dog
whistles everybody seemed to have when you were a kid. What the heck–anything’s worth a
shot.
9) Place a personal ad in the “singles” section of the newspaper.
Play up the point that you are looking for someone who really, really likes dogs. (This
is not recommended if you are married or in a serious, committed
relationship.)
10) Tie an anonymous note to a brick and toss it through
your neighbor’s window. The note should say that you “know what they’re up to” and “it
had better stop really soon or there might be more bricks.” (Don’t mention the dogs
because that would give you away.)
11) Get some sleeping pills and some
water. Bring the water to a vigorous boil. Add three or four pills. Add a bouillon cube
(beef or chicken–your choice). Reduce heat to medium. Cover and let simmer for half an
hour. Serve at room temperature in a doggie dish.
12) Call the neighbors
pretending to be the police. Tell them there’s been a rash of back yard dog abductions.
Advise them to keep their dogs inside for at least a year.
13) When the
dogs finally stop barking and fall asleep around 4:30 a.m., tiptoe up to them, and then
yell, “It’s about freaking time!”
14) Go to the pet store and purchase a
large bucket of “Bark-be-Gone.” Apply liberally.
15) Ignore them, and
they’ll stop – just like that bully in junior high.
16) Eat lots of
vegetables, exercise, take your vitamins, and outlive the hairy beasts by sixty years.
17) They say that living well is the best revenge, so buy a ten-year-old
Chevy, drink wine that has a screw cap instead of a cork, and take a vacation to
Dollywood.
18) Enroll in that community college continuing education
course about dog mind control that you’ve always wanted to take but couldn’t quite fit
into your schedule.
19) Walk by the windows naked every few minutes. That
should confuse them into silence.
20) Go to the library and check out a
book about dog behavior. Make sure it’s a really big book. Throw it at them. Throw it
hard.
21) When your neighbor finally comes out on the porch at midnight
and says, “Will my sweet puppies please stop their barkie-warkies? Who are my good boys?
Yes, you are, yes, you’re my good boys, yes, you are, oh, my pookie-wookie puppies!”
videotape the whole thing. Make sure your lawyer gets the tape into evidence at your
trial. No jury would convict you.
22) Read the dogs that notebook full of
love poems you wrote in tenth grade.
23) Throw the dogs a surprise
birthday party. Get a poodle in a bikini to jump out of a cake.
24)
Become friends with the neighborhood kid who’s really good with his slingshot. Invite him
over for target practice.
25) Take up the tuba. Practice late at night in
the part of your yard closest to your neighbor’s bedroom window.
26)
Begin a novel with the line, “It was a dark and stormy night, and my neighbor’s dogs were
barking again.” Begin looking for a literary agent to handle this can’t-miss bestseller.
27) Write a complaint letter to the president. If anyone can help with
such a difficult diplomatic situation, it’s him.
28) Help the dogs open a
dot.com business. That should make them disappear pretty quickly.
29)
Knit each dog a really nice sweater–maybe some booties and scarves too. They’ve probably
just been trying to tell you that they’re a little chilly.
30) Just bark
right back at the smelly bastards and see how they like it.
