Why Can't He Play?

Thats my neighbor in the treehouse. I think his name is Hooch. Mom says she  feels sorry for him. He has a boy that belongs to him but he doesn't  come outside much. He is always sitting in the tree house watching me but mom say he can't come play with me. He barks a lot, too.

Note from Mom: I do feel sorry for the poor dog. He is a Lab. He gets little attention and has to stay out in the heat all day. The little boy is only about 5 and very seldom is outside. Before we got Opie we had a lot of trouble with him digging and getting into our backyard. We finally got all of that taken are of. He does bark a lot and I'm hoping Opie doesn't start barking back.