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That creepy bug-eyed Progressive ad. The ad agency and company execs that approved this ad should all have their eyelids held open and be forced to stare at that pic for days. Creepiest ad yet.

Labs are wonderful dogs. He will be a great companion for your son! Training is the key to opening doors for your son. The shelter adopted lab we got almost a year ago has been a real companion to my son. He's a quick learner, too. I still don't understand why he was abandoned (or any dog). He is so sweet and loving. Plays a bit rough, but is getting better. He immediately "took" to my son, and continues to draw him out. He knows when to go away. My son used to be scared of dogs, but now the dog stays by him on the sofa and my son is starting to pet him independently. There is so much that is evolving as time goes by. Love, love, love this doggie! *** Rather than let the puppy scratch at the door to go out (as he grows, he can really damage the door with those big old feet), have you considered getting one of those dome bells and teaching him to tap it to go out? When he starts to scratch the door, gently take his paw and put it on the bell. As soon as it rings, praise him, open the door and take him out. You can use tiny treat pieces, too, but he must ring the bell and see that door open immediately so he learns to associate the bell with "outside". I would pair it ringing with the word "outside". I'd love to hear follow up stories of how your lab is helping your son. I think he will amaze both of you!

Family is now "formally told to stay home". Man may have come in contact with at "least" 80 people. 5 children exposed (and went to school until told to stay home). What about the people on the plane, in the airports, or any other place this man visited? I think the count of possible exposures is much higher. WTH? Are we that arrogant to take something like this so lightlty? Why are people still allowed to leave the areas affected? I am not in the immediate Dallas area, but it does give me the chills to think of what may happen if they don't get this under control.

Thanks, Fallon. I'll have to check into Roxul. For now, I've just switched rooms with him. He's only waking a few times now. My room has brick on two sides, where his room is only brick on one side. I suppose the extra brick is dampening some of the sound. A little inconvenient, but better than broken sleep all night long.

I'm sorry for your loss. It was nice that you were able to make some new memories together. Prayers for comfort to you and your family.

Hack. Kitchen hack. Life hack. anything hack.

Thanks Radi8 for the info. It is a fairly large wall, so this could get pricey. I would have to get fireproof. Hanging it would be a real challenge. I can't put screws in the walls per lease, only picture hangers. I would also need to "roll up" the sheeting over the window during waking hours and ensure that the window can still be used as egress at night in case of emergency. I think part of the problem is I am on a large corner lot and the lowest part of the subdivision. I have one interior bedroom (between his current room and the garage) but I don't know if it would be any quieter because the mechanicals are along one wall in the garage so there is noise from those. No basement. I'll keep looking for a solution and appreciate all the advice offered here. Maybe I can get creative and find a way to hang the sheeting that doesn't involve screws or nails. Or, those @$$holes could just move.

Landlord is aware of the noise. Owns several houses in the neighborhood. When it started getting bad, they bought another house in a super quiet part of town and moved. Still renting out all of these houses. People don't tend to stay after the first year, so they aren't considering the expense of having revolving tenants. It seems like landlords in our area aren't looking for long-term tenants (like me). I suspect because they can find ways to use deposits to cover their make ready costs and it's all legal. I could get out of the lease. However, I would leave thousands on the table with forfeited deposits, plus having to pay a hefty "termination" fee of a couple of thousand bucks. They seem to leave you a way out in the standard lease used in our area, but it costs you dearly. I'm not finding any homes in the area or bedroom communities surrounding the bigger cities, so I wouldn't have any better place to move into at this time. I think I'm kind of stuck.

There are noise ordinances. Not priority calls for PD, so unless is is a continuous source of noise (loud parties that go on for hours), it is unlikely they can do anything. Neighbors are moving out at a high rate. Those that are renting their houses don't seem to be too picky about demeanor and ability to be good neighbors. I now have a bunch of college kids living in the house across the street. They change out every semester. I hung a heavy sleeping bag over the window just to see if it helped, and it really didn't. I suppose I would have to hang several that were layered, and that isn't feasible. I'll keep looking for a solution that will help him sleep better but I don't want to spend a lot of money since I plan to move away. I hear the country calling my name. Somewhere that is more laid back but still a reasonable drive into the city when needed. Thanks for your suggestions.

I think I should soundproof my son's large window and/or the wall surrounding it. He is awakened at every 1 to 1.5 hours each night by traffic. We have white noise in the room that has always worked for the stray loud car that wandered through. Neither of us is getting enough uninterrupted sleep. This used to be a quiet street where only residents came and went at normal hours. Now there's a guy a few doors down that runs his diesel truck in the driveway for up to 15 minutes while he throws pipes, tools, lumber, who knows? into the bed. All hours of the night. Every night. The two Chopper riders don't help at 3 and 4 AM either. Add to the mix the suspected drug house(s) at the end of the street for the last year with a steady increase in traffic over the last 3 months. It's like they make hourly runs all day, but more at night. Same vehicles at about the same times all night long. No mufflers. Loud music. All day and all night there is traffic that goes down there and comes back out a few minutes later. It's like living next to the interstate. My lease isn't up until next summer. I don't think we can last that long with little to no sleep. I have to do something, so soundproofing might be the solution? If any of you are familiar with what type of materials I should look for (hopefully not too expensive), your direction is deeply appreciated. I tried researching some, but it just made me more confused. Thanks.

Have you tried looking at the local thrift stores?

Oh, don't you even think I would ever let them come here. I canned them because of what had been done with my son. Not sure exactly what the hell happened that last day (no visible signs of abuse), but it has taken this long to get him back to what is Normal for him. And then, when I'm finally able to do something but redirect him, I discover this has happened. No one will have access to anything but bare necessities in here. The rest will be locked up like fort knox and under video surveillance with mobile access. I just feel very violated. And sad that my item is probably gone for good. Thanks so much!

I thought about that, but I don't bluff or lie well. I'll chalk it up to a hard lesson learned and will take steps to secure everything and make sure video is rolling if I have to be gone. Maybe I'll find it in all my searching shops, ebay, and BST groups in the area. Maybe. Sometimes hope is all you have. Thanks guys. I'll see what the police say and also my insurance company. I think it is a lost cause.

Just what I thought. They denied. Sent email stating they have no need to take someone's stuff and I have their phone and address to give to the police and insurance. Mentioned it has been over 30 days since they were here, so why am I just now mentioning this. (Because it was in a locked room and I haven't had an opportunity to go and finish my insurance pics and repack the items because I've spent the last 45 days fixing whatever the hell you did to my kid on your last visit that made him a basket case) I think they had hoped I wouldn't notice at all. (they are the only ones who had access without me here). So I don't think I will ever get it back. Pretty sure it was pawned somewhere or sold off for a fraction of worth. What now? I can file a police report, but I already know what they will say, if they will even take the report. It wasn't on my insurance yet. That's why I was having it appraised but got sidetracked. Or, do I just suck it up buttercup and move on. So I suppose I'm gonna have to lock up everything and install cameras. WTH is wrong with people.

No. They didn't have keys. But I may just change the locks anyway and upgrade security. Thanks for your input. I hope they will just bring it back and leave it on my porch. I'm trying to be realistic though and resign myself to the fact I may not get it back. For now I choose to hope for the best. At least they will know the swap did not go without notice.