THAT Neighbor

That's right, I became THAT neighbor.  The one that calls the police, calls the HOA, calls anyone to get rid of the nuisance dog. Yes, the one that has four dogs in her house, yes that one.

The house to the west of me is a rental house.  In the five years I have been in my house, I have blessed in that I have only had two neighbors.  Both of which were very friendly.  Both of which owned a dog.  The first renters dog barked but it wasn't outside much.  The current renters, it is a whole different story. 

First off, I cannot tell you how many fence pickets I have replaced in 5 years.  Finn loves to run up and down the fence and wants to play.  Well the dog on the other side always got angry and then it became a case of barking and chewing trying to get through the fence.  Finn knows he is not suppose to bark when he is outside so he gets ushered back inside promptly.  Unfortunately that was not the case with my neighbors.

If you have been to my house, you KNOW the issue.  For the past two years, I have been unable to enjoy my backyard.  See, the neighbors dog is let outside about 6:30 every morning and then allowed back in around 10 pm.  Guess what happens if you walked onto the porch or into my yard...yup...she barked, and barked and barked.  Sometimes I swore she was going to come through the fence and bite me when I was pulling weeds along the fence line.  Plus she is a digger, so she would dig holes along the fence line.  Of course, being the responsible owners they were not, they would put something to block the hole but would never fill in the dirt now missing on my side. 

Talk to the neighbors you say.  We did and have.  NoDIY had numerous conversation with them because he was always on the porch.  I have even gone so far as asking them to let the dog in because I couldn't stand listening to it bark anymore and I was INSIDE.  It was on deaf ears.

The male in the house didn't want the dog.  He said it was his wife and step daughters dog.  If it was up to him, the dog would have been gone.  The other two just didn't care.  The only exercise that I ever saw the dog get was the walks it took from breaking out.  Of course the dog had not been spayed so you can imagine what happened, PUPPIES.  It gave a break from the barking because they allowed her inside to care for the dogs.  However, once the puppies were gone, back outside and back to barking it went.

I couldn't take it anymore.  I called the sheriff's office one day.  Really it was for the dogs own good.  This house doesn't have a covered porch or area.  So, here is this poor dog outside all day in the Texas heat with no shelter and I couldn't see the food or water bowl.  It was 85+ that day and humid as hell so I turned them in for animal neglect and also being a nuisance.  Well, they could address the neglect but couldn't the nuisance.  So, I called the HOA and filed a complaint there.  This was all about 3 weeks ago.

All I can say is, I should have done it sooner.  The dog is gone.  I'm sure she was a sweet dog and I hope that she has found a good home with owners that will take care of her.  Poor Finn, well he is sad that his girlfriend is gone.  About once a day, he goes to the fence line and barks for her, hoping she will appear.  Of course, it scares me to see what he will be like when Murphy & Vito leave.  I'm going to have a very, very sad dog. 

Yet, I am excited to have grass grow in the areas that the dogs have run and run chasing the neighbors dogs on that fence line.

PS. It is just the two renters dogs.  I have dogs along another fence line and occasionally they bark at them but not very often!