Those of you that have been to my house have all encountered the very vocal dog next door. A few of you, like me, on many occasions jump in fear of him coming right through the fence. He has, in the short time of being there, managed to tear away a couple of fence slats just enough to poke his head through and be even that much more scarier than if he just growled from the other side. Looking at him, you know he wants to get through and tear you to bits.
Last night, at the nudging of a friend, I decided to call my neighbor Gary, the dog owner, and see if we could discuss a solution. He didn't answer so I left a very detailed voicemail. I mentioned who I was and that I'm sorry we had never met yet. We both have Harleys so I mentioned a possible future ride as well. I told him that I was nervous sitting out in back when I smoke my cigars, and that I was also concerned that his dog might hurt himself on the damaged fence slats. Gary happens to be a local handyman, at least that is what the sign said on his truck, so I proposed that he might fix the fence between our yards. I even said I was renting and if the repair was and/or the fence was my landlord's that I would get their approval to pay for it. I left my cell number and went to dinner.
During dinner, Gary called back. I was eating so I had to retrieve the message later. In the message Gary left, he simply acknowledged that he got my message. That was all he said.
Today, while I was getting ready to go about my day, I heard some unusual noises coming from my backyard.
When I peered through the mini blinds to see what was going on, I was pleasantly surprised to see that while I was in the shower, Gary had replaced two of the three fence slats and was finishing the third.
Had I not asked, it is difficult to determine whether Gary would have done it at all, or that it would have been after an unfortunate incident for either me or the dog. I'm glad I called.
Sometimes asking is all it takes
that's The Brick Way...
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