Neighbour’s ‘simple request’ about barking dog leaves Aussie mum distressed

A neighbour’s frustration over a dog barking in the early hours of the morning has once again brought to light the divisive topic troubling sleepless residents across the country.

In a string of anonymous letters, one local has left a dog owner fearing the worst might happen to her two pooches – despite being adamant that the barking isn't coming from her home.

"If the person left their phone number or even their address and said pop over for a chat when you're home, I'd go knock on their door and chat to them," Tiffany, who owns a 10-year-old labrador and one-year-old Border Collie mix told Yahoo News Australia.

Queenslander Tiffany says that she hears the dog in question barking at night too, but knows for a fact that it isn’t her two dogs who sleep inside overnight.

Spate of letters about barking dog

Tiffany received the first letter from the anonymous neighbour in July last year threatening to call the council and have the dogs "taken away".

"We are sick and tired of it disturbing our right to quiet enjoyment," the letter read. "The next call will be made to the council and we’ll request it be taken away."

At the time, Tiffany shared the post with her local community of Ningi, Queensland, looking for the "cowardly" culprit.

The second note arrived earlier this week, with the resident claiming they knocked on the door but there was no answer — something Tiffany denies.

"Can you 'please' do something to stop your dog barking," the note said. "It goes on all night. I would love to be able to open my front door to catch some fresh air but the noise from the barking dog forces me to lock up my house up. The barking is also causing me distress."

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Frustrated Tiffany felt the need to raise the issue with her community again, criticising the lack of a name or contact number to resolve the issue.

The mum hopes to find a positive outcome to the problem with a "civil conversation".

"But I refuse to lock my dogs up during the day and put them through unnecessary "non-barking" training if that is even a thing," she told Yahoo.

While adamant that the late-night barking is not her dogs, she adds: "Dogs bark to communicate just like we talk and if this person was serious about finding the person and getting it sorted to actually put in the effort.

"I don't want to get any more of these letters."

Mum left fearing the worst for pets

The mum told Yahoo that she has been left worrying every she hears her dogs barking outside. "All I think about is when ‘will I get another letter?'" she said.

"I've also thought about coming home after work to dogs that have been poisoned because they had barked during the day. Those thoughts definitely ran through my head after I received the first letter."

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