Construction noises are too much for the pup

Dear Amy: I live in New York City in a co-op building. The apartment next door was sold eight months ago and has been unoccupied ever since.

I work from home doing some freelance writing, and I teach voice lessons via Zoom. I always have between two and eight voice students — of all ages.

I have wanted a canine companion for a very long time. Three weeks ago I brought home a puppy.

One week later, I was given notice that the apartment next door would undergo a gut renovation that would last for at least three months.

Last week the renovation began and it’s as loud and jarring as you might think.

I can’t take work calls and I can’t conduct voice lessons from my home.

Worse, my puppy is very scared by the banging

(who could blame her?) and she’s trembling and anxious.

The big bugaboo? I’m in a very tight financial position and I don’t have the capacity to rent a petfriendly shared workspace in the area.

To my knowledge, I don’t know of any pet-friendly voice studios.

I also don’t have the financial means to send my puppy to daycare every day. My vet said they could recommend some anti-anxiety medications for her.

Am I totally out of luck here, or am I allowed to ask for compensation to vacate my home during construction hours, as well as money for meds/a thundershirt for my puppy?

— Broke Thirtysomething

Dear Broke: If you rent your apartment from the unit’s owner, you should contact your landlord regarding any rent decrease or compensation while work is being done next door. If you are a coop owner, you should contact your building’s manager and the co-op board to inquire about any possible redress.

One obvious solution would be for you to move your virtual voice classes and other phone work to evenings and weekends, when the next-door apartment will be quiet.

You could try carrying your puppy in a dog sling as much as possible while inside, and spend a lot of time outside during these warm months.

However, because of the trauma of these sudden noises on your puppy, I highly suggest that you try very hard to find someone to foster this young dog in their own home until the demolition and renovation work next door is completed and your apartment is quieter.

Your vet — or the individual or entity where you got the puppy — might have ideas for individuals to temporarily foster your dog.

Dogs can be extremely expensive. You should realistically determine whether you can afford to take good care of this pup.