Dear Eric: This is regarding “Also an Animal Lover,” whose neighbor was feeding wild animals in her backyard.

I lived next door to a woman who would feed deer, and one day my wife counted 32 deer in our backyard ravaging our flowers and bushes. I called the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and their investigation uncovered that she was also harboring raccoons in her garage and slept with a bear cub in her bedroom!

Thankfully, the DEC gave her a citation, the animals were removed, and her deer feeding was curbed. Your correspondent needs to do more than just website suggestions; she needs to contact her state environmental authorities to get them to curb her neighbor’s behavior.

— Responsible animal lover

Dear Responsible animal lover: This is extreme and extremely dangerous. In many states, it’s also illegal to feed wild animals, so even if the neighbor is not harboring them in her home, she still puts herself at risk of a citation or fine, in addition to the clear danger presented by some of the animals themselves. If she won’t listen to reason, the authorities need to intervene.

Dear Eric: Here’s an idea for the letter writer, “No Lifeguard on Duty,” regarding friends inviting themselves over to use their pool.

When growing up in Monrovia, California, our next-door neighbor had a pool, which we could see over our fence. We longed to be in it. Our neighbor had a system whereby she would put out a white flag on a pole, indicating that all in the neighborhood were welcome to come use the pool. Children had to have a parent with them.

All of our neighbors were friends, so there was lots of socializing going on those afternoons. It was unspoken that you brought your own towel, water or drinks and used the bathroom prior to coming to the pool.

We kids LOVED “White Flag Day,” and it solved the problem of people asking if they could come to use the pool.

— Thankful for a generous neighbor

Dear Thankful for a generous neighbor: I love this suggestion! It was a very popular one! It seems that the readership of this column is chock full of people who have Pool Flag Neighbors. Having never lived in an area with pools, this is very interesting. I’ll be sure to look out for those flags, too, this Fourth of July.

Other readers pointed out the liability pool owners assume and cautioned that the owners should think twice (at least) before letting friends use it when the owners weren’t home. The risk involved could serve as a good way of politely declining requests.

(Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.)

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