Rumors of my illness

Rumors of my illness have been greatly exaggerated.

Yes, I had two broken ribs -- from coughing convulsions -- and they hurt. The location of the breaks made it impossible to bind my ribs, so needless to say the healing process was both awkward and painful. Every little move...

A few good night's rest would probably have helped -- but the pigs moved in.

Now, I'm not blaming the pigs, or the hog farm, but I can't help thinking it's somehow connected to something that's been going on in this area ever since they moved the hogs into the building.

Our dog is basically very quiet. In fact, ever since we got her you'd rarely hear even a peep out of her. The only time you'd ever hear a noise out of her would be if someone drove into the yard...

All of that's changed since the hogs moved in.

Almost every single night -- after dark -- the barking starts. And it's not just annoying barking that you might hear from a dog that just won't shut up. No -- it's fierce, angry, protective barking -- as though she's protecting the house/yard from predators of some kind.

Ever seen movies of half starved junkyard dogs attacking? Know the sounds they make? You know the kind, that deep throaty growl followed by furious barking and gnashing of teeth. Well, that's the sounds we hear... almost every night.

Sometimes she'll do it from the deck of the house. Other times, she runs frantically around the yard...

We've tried keeping her in the house, but the growls and angry barks persist, like she knows something is out there ...and we don't.

My husband and I theorized that maybe they do something at the hog building every night after dark that might be setting the pigs off to squealing? Maybe the high pitch of the noises over there can't be heard by human ears, but can be heard clearly by dogs??

It's not just our dog.

The odd thing is, in the past other area dogs would sometimes bark late into the night, but our dog would never join in. She would be her quiet and calm self, only barking if a deer strayed into the yard, or a strange vehicle would show up and park too close.

Since the hogs arrived, it's an entirely different story.

One thing is for certain -- something is upsetting the dogs in this area after dark. And whatever it is, it started AFTER the hogs showed up, not before.