Welcome to The Neighborhood

We have lived in the new house less than 2 weeks and already the American Dream is getting skewed thanks to neighbors. I.E- I was just subject to listen to my neighbor's barking German Shephard who they lovingly stuck in the backyard while it is 40 degrees outside and getting colder for the last 2 hours! And it shows no signs of stopping! I ask-if it is driving me into a murderous rage just being next door, how are they faring so nonchalant and oblivious to the noisy canine in their own backyard? Seriously?!?

The dog was barking when we looked at the house and my husband raised his eyebrows and said "that could get annoying." To which I shrugged. When we were here for several hours during the home inspection, the dog barked a while and the Realtor commented, "Wow! I don't know if I could get used to that, will it be okay?" I naively dismissed it with "it isn't that bad." And it wasn't. Until we moved in and the dog barked and barked and barked. And barked....and BARKED. And just when he it stopped and some semblance of sanity began to return, you realize the dog was just getting warmed up and he begins to bark and bark and Bark and BARKBARKWOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF BARK. ARGH!!!! 

So I decide tonight I will not be a helpless victim. There has to be some sort of noise law against this. It is cruel and unusual to be treated this way-and the dog may be suffering too. I look up Animal Control and their website addresses noisy animals. But their business hours are 8am-8pm and it is approaching 10pm. Frustrated, I search for City ordinances in a vain attempt for someone else to call who will come out and solve all my problems. Instead, I stumble upon the Police Department Registered Sex Offenders site. Curiousity took over and compelled me to enter my zip code pulling up:

16 registered sex offenders within a 2 mile radius. 

Now, I live in a nice, gated community. It's safe and (mostly) quiet. But damn if 16 registered sex offenders nearby doesn't scare the living bejeezus out of me. 

I remembered a story line on Law and Order where a registered sex offender is harrassed for a crime in the neighborhood, but his past crime was from 6 years prior when he was in his young 20's and got too drunk and peed in public-but it happened to be in front of 2 girls who were walking down the street and so it was considered a sex crime. I figure, i can deal with an intoxicated impatient pee-er, so I clicked on the closest sex offenders crime details to reassure myself of his harmless status.

Um... In 1994 he broke into his 24-year-old neighbors home and violently sexually assaulted her before burning her with lit cigarettes. Then in 2001 he drove his daughters 15-year-old friend home and offered to pay her $150 for sex. When she declined, he forced her to have intercourse by threatening her life. 

And here, in 2010, he lives less than 2 miles away from me, presumably "re-habilitated." I was so disgusted and terrified, I didn't dare look at the other 15 offenders and their laundry lists of crimes. This website gives full names, pictures, and addresses in addition to a complete rap sheet. It's incredibly invasive and terrifying to think that this is made public knowledge for a reason. So that we can have a means to educate and protect ourselves because the system has failed to keep these offenders away from society.

Puts the noisy dog dilemma into perspective.