The Sound of One Dog Barking

I'm not sure why, but I've always loved the sound of a neighborhood dog barking off in the distance. It must be one of those sounds I associate with my childhood, growing up in a safe and secure environment. It's one of those sounds that makes a neighborhood feel complete, as if I'm living in some sort of "Leave it to Beaver" wonderland where the paperboy is still a kid on a bike with a little bell instead of some creepy middle-aged person chucking papers from out of a slow moving van.

A lone dog talking to himself off in a yard too distant to see encapsulates a simpler time. It makes me feel like I'm home.

Now if the dog is right next door and won't shut up, that's a wholly different scenario. So really the warm, fuzzy feelings are a matter of proximity more than anything else.