I might be a little biased since I'm already pissed off that it's now noisy in my apartment almost all of the time. I had the quietest upstairs neighbors for three or four years. I can't even remember how long they've been up there. But they've moved into a larger apartment down the way. In fact when they told me they had moved out, I admitted that I hadn't noticed the place was vacant--that's how quiet they are. This new person, whom I have not met, makes the most noise I have ever heard. It sounds like large bowling balls rolling across hardwood floors. Some times there's loud music, or just stomping around, some times it's high heels. But the some times is almost all the time. And my Friday night of stopping Mr. Chatty from comments was mostly in regards to the upstairs ruckus. But now she's really hit a nerve.
Supposedly, she's dog sitting. But rather than dog sit at the person's house, she brought two Chihuahuas here (which isn't the problem), but then she left her door open so they could see out the screen, locked the door, and left. It was non-stop barking for three hours this morning. This is why people aren't allowed to have dogs in apartments. And this is why my ability to do this might now be jeopardy. Certainly I never leave dogs alone here. But maybe people don't know that. All I know is I was ready to kill her just on the chance that I might have to send Skippy back to boarding for good--even though he didn't bark, it would best to lay low for a time.
I talked to my apartment manager and he was just angry as I was, and suggested that perhaps if Skippy could eat the two offending Chihuahuas upstairs, all would be forgiven. I said that would be nice, but Skip seems to like little dogs, so he probably wouldn't kill them for us. (See, if I had a pit bull we probably couldn't make dog mauling jokes like that, but because Skip looks like he should be wearing a sea captain's hat and have a pipe in his mouth, we can).
I know my apartment manager wasn't mad at me, and I don't know if the girl would have brought the dogs anyway. But honestly, it wasn't that they were there; it was that she left them. So here’s my point: I don't recommend anyone do what I'm doing if your apartment doesn't allow dogs (in fact some shelters and rescues require you give them proof your apartment does allow dogs if you want to foster for them). But if you do somehow find yourself doing an overnight for a dog in need, or have a dog illegally for a night or two, for goodness sake, DON'T LEAVE THEM ALONE IN YOUR APARTMENT! Seriously, it just ruins it for the rest of us.
I couldn't get Skippy to eat the Chihuahuas, but on our late night walk back, while I was distracted wondering what the lights were doing on at the top of Griffith Park, Skip violently bolted at the end of the leash (oddly, in complete silence). I was jerked back to see what had gotten his attention, and I saw a black cat go running off into a nearby parking garage.
"Oh sure, that one you couldn't alert me to vocally?"
At which point he corrected himself upon seeing the second cat--a black and white one--bolt under a car in my building's parking lot. Hypocritically, I shushed him, probably just out of habit. I had thought perhaps the presence of a dog would make the cat nonsense in the neighborhood go away. I don't know if one is in heat, or all, but outside my window it sounds like a bad impression of a Disney cartoon--cats yowling and meowing, howling and screeching all night long. I don't know who's in heat, but seriously, stop courting and just do the deed. We're sick of the noise. But more so, my apartment manager is sick of the marking all over the property, especially on the doorsteps of every tenant who owns a cat.
So as I helped Skippy stalk this offensive feline, I hoped karma would work out. Two Chihuahuas unattended is a very bad thing; but one cat-chasing terrier mix might make things good again.
"Okay, I lied," I whispered to Skippy. "Be quiet about it, and try not to get your face scratched off; just scare him a little."
I was surprised that this cat did not back off at first glance of Skip (maybe he was picturing him with the captain's hat and pipe). I gave Skip enough leash to get close enough to scare but out of feline leap-reach so he wouldn't get hurt. The cat took off behind another car. I didn't take note until the cat was off the premises that one of my upstairs neighbors was standing on the balcony, watching the whole game. As we passed under her she said that we had her day.
"Watching him with you was so wonderful. He was waiting for your command, and you were just giving body signals and he was following. It was teamwork. It really made my day to see that: dog and human, that bond."
Yup, kicking a cat's ass makes everyone's day.
[Disclaimer: I really don't hate cats. Honest. Animals of the feline persuasion have shown up at my door too, and I've helped them out. Lost cats, and even one that fell through that my bathroom ceiling (but that's a story for another time). I love all animals; I just don't happen to like these particular cats. And anyway, Skippy had to earn his keep so I didn't have to send him back to boarding for good.]
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