I have lived in my home in a mid-city neighborhood for twenty years. A year ago my neighbor (of twenty years) moved and sold his house to his sister and brother-in-law who had been renting elsewhere in the neighborhood. Within a week of them moving in, I started receiving nasty phone calls and messages about my dogs barking "incessantly." At the time, my dogs were outside from around 7:30 am until 5:00 and then only out again to do their business around 9-10:00 pm. They did bark briefly at the neighbor's cat or at a strange car or person in our alley. After months of harrassment--including yelling at my daughter and me from her bedroom window as we were heading to school in the morning.
This woman does not work or drive. She is about 60 and her brother has told me she has psychological problems. In one of the nasty calls she said, "You know I cannot get back to sleep after I wake up." She wanted me to put bark collars on my dogs and wanted me to not let them out until after 8:30.
I finally wrote her a letter demanding that she not contact us. I posted a "no trespassing" sign on my porch. Also, for my sanity, I stopped leaving the dogs out during the day and made sure they did not bark when they went out in the morning and evening. Every once in a while they bark for 30 seconds, but as soon as I hear them, I call them in.
Everything was fine for about six months. For reasons not important to this post, we relocated out inside cat to a safe place outside and under the house about two weeks ago. During this time, our curious younger dog has sniffed and barked at the cat a little more than usual, but I have called her in within minutes of hearing her bark.
Yesterday, my daughter and I came home--after volunteering for four hours at our local humane society--and my neighbor started yelling at us from her front yard. I just ignored her and walked in, but my 14 year old daughter was behind me and heard the neighbor say something about having the dogs taken away. This upset her so much, that she went out side and told the neighbor that she was "scaring the crap out of her." She said, "Those are my pets and I am afraid you are going to have them taken away." I sent my daughter back in and tried talking calmly to the neighbor. She said I was the most rude person she knew and that I had no compassion. I'll stop here and just say there is no reasoning with this woman.
I have done everything I think a reasonble person would do to satisfy another reasonable person. My dogs do not bark incessantly. If they bark it is for a few minutes when they go out to do their business. I cannot help that this woman has some sort of sleeping disorder and think it is unreasonable to put bark collars on dogs that bark only briefly and usually appropriately.
I am angry that she has frightened my daughter. The last thing she said to me yesterday during our "discussion," was "You just wait and see."
What can or should I do, if anything.
This woman does not work or drive. She is about 60 and her brother has told me she has psychological problems. In one of the nasty calls she said, "You know I cannot get back to sleep after I wake up." She wanted me to put bark collars on my dogs and wanted me to not let them out until after 8:30.
I finally wrote her a letter demanding that she not contact us. I posted a "no trespassing" sign on my porch. Also, for my sanity, I stopped leaving the dogs out during the day and made sure they did not bark when they went out in the morning and evening. Every once in a while they bark for 30 seconds, but as soon as I hear them, I call them in.
Everything was fine for about six months. For reasons not important to this post, we relocated out inside cat to a safe place outside and under the house about two weeks ago. During this time, our curious younger dog has sniffed and barked at the cat a little more than usual, but I have called her in within minutes of hearing her bark.
Yesterday, my daughter and I came home--after volunteering for four hours at our local humane society--and my neighbor started yelling at us from her front yard. I just ignored her and walked in, but my 14 year old daughter was behind me and heard the neighbor say something about having the dogs taken away. This upset her so much, that she went out side and told the neighbor that she was "scaring the crap out of her." She said, "Those are my pets and I am afraid you are going to have them taken away." I sent my daughter back in and tried talking calmly to the neighbor. She said I was the most rude person she knew and that I had no compassion. I'll stop here and just say there is no reasoning with this woman.
I have done everything I think a reasonble person would do to satisfy another reasonable person. My dogs do not bark incessantly. If they bark it is for a few minutes when they go out to do their business. I cannot help that this woman has some sort of sleeping disorder and think it is unreasonable to put bark collars on dogs that bark only briefly and usually appropriately.
I am angry that she has frightened my daughter. The last thing she said to me yesterday during our "discussion," was "You just wait and see."
What can or should I do, if anything.
