SIR,
I recently moved to the small border village of Raglan and up until now have enjoyed living here, but for one problem – dogs.
Generally speaking, I get along reasonably well with most of our canine friends, provided they behave themselves and none of their ilk is inclined to sink its molars into my rear end.
Per se, dogs are tolerable, but they do make a mess and they can make a noise.
A circular from Monmouthshire County Council, recently pushed through the letterbox, draws people's attention to the fact that 'a dog fouling problem has been identified in your area'.
Dog owners have been reminded to pick up their animal's mess from public places or incur the penalty of a £75 fine. And rightly so.
Nevertheless, non-dog owners, perambulating about the village confines, must still be wary of each next step.
Apparently also, some time ago, a number of dog owners of particularly vociferous pets were politely requested to remember their responsibility to their neighbours, and to keep their animals under better control.
The odd thing is that they seem to achieve this more or less completely overnight, when there is little evidence of the problem.
But still the daily noise persists, often reaching bedlamic levels, for hour after disturbing hour.
Clearly, there are some dog owners who do not give a fig for the quality of life of their poor, beleaguered fellow man.
Do the owners of persistently noisy dogs, often physically much closer to the source of the disturbance than their unfortunate neighbours, actually enjoy listening to such dreadful sounds?
The current situation is all the more problematical for two parallel reasons; more and more people own dogs because it is easy to do so, and more and more people are working at home because the computer revolution allows such a choice.
I require a great deal of quietness to do my own work effectively, and continuously barking dogs in the background can sometimes make even thinking virtually impossible.
There are measures that might be taken to help matters. If sensible dog licenses were reintroduced and strictly monitored, people might think twice before acquiring an animal in the first place, and if the council took a stronger line on both mess and noise when complaints are received, things would be bound to improve.
My understanding is that the 'problem' is escalating throughout the country, and is not just exclusive to this area.
It is growing to such magnitude that something will surely have to be done about it sooner rather than later.
Am I the only person who thinks this way?
Glyn Rees
(Raglan)