I live in Forest Lakes and we have a very, very big problem with barking dogs and no help in resolving the dilemma. I purchased a home here in 2000. There are approximately 800 residences in Forest Lakes. I figure there is an average of two dogs each. That equals 1,600 dogs that bark some or all of each day and night. This is a really big problem!

No one believes that their dogs bark. Most dog owners have become tone deaf to their dogs’ barks or have given up trying to quell them. The main problem is when owners leave dogs outside when they leave for work, run errands, go on vacation or away for the weekends: out of sight, out of mind.

Calling the sheriff’s office does no good. “We do not respond to barking dogs,” is the rote refrain, and in Forest Lakes there is no homeowners’ association to put pressure on or fine barking dog owners. All windows must be kept closed in order to hear your own TV or to sleep at night. There is no current incentive for residents to do anything about their dogs’ barking problem.

I have resorted to blowing a boat air horn. When dog owners’ object, I blow it at them until they do something about their dogs. Usually it works because of their embarrassment at being singled out. It is neighbor-against-neighbor out here.

From August 2014 to May 2105, nine new dogs were added in my immediate neighborhood. These were not replacements, but additional dogs to add to the bedlam already taking place in my immediate vicinity of three or four blocks.

The county commissioners need to address the problem of barking dogs in La Plata County. Please let them know of your concerns. Dogs are an invasive species in La Plata County and need to be dealt with as any other harmful invader. We need help out here!

Sally A. MacDowell

Bayfield