Looking out my Backdoor: Don't mess with us!

I thought long and hard before taking on the responsibility of adopting a pooch.

Lola has proven to be an asset to my life. If nothing else, she gets me out the door several times a day for short walks, for little chats, for daily interactions. She’s taught me when she wants to be brushed, when she wants a walk-about, when she wants her belly scratched, that sort of thing.

My neighbors, Josue and Erika, have two small poochies, Snowball, aged and toothless, and Princess, who showed up the year I moved here. Both are barkers, with small dog voices, though no less irritating for that. If...