Your neighbors have told you that your incessantly barking dog drives them crazy.
You’re sympathetic. Or not. But, truth is, the constant racket wears on you, too.
You’re tired of performing the tricks you’ve learned to quiet the beast. And you suspect that when you’re not home, the dog — good companion that it is — probably never shuts up.
What do you do?
If you live in unincorporated Clallam County, you can phone the new animal control deputy at 360-417-2259.
Tracy Kellas has some answers, and one may work for you.
“It depends on why the dog is barking,” she said Friday.
“Is it barking because it’s looking at neighbors working in the yard? Is it barking because it’s bored?
“If it’s bored, give it toys to play with. If it’s a stimulus it’s seeing, put up privacy fencing.”
An owner can use more stringent measures, such as bark collars, but the point is, there’s probably something that will soothe everyone’s frazzled nerves.
“She’s a really good problem solver,” said Kellas’ boss, Sheriff Bill Benedict.
“The vast majority of what she does is not enforcement, it’s education and dispute resolution.”
Benedict swore in Kellas last week, as animal control duties shifted to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department from the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society.
The humane society’s contract with the county to provide animal control had expired at midnight, and the baton was passed by mutual consent.
The society will continue to shelter animals, including those picked up by deputies, and offer them for adoption.
