I reside in Los Angeles, CA, and I desperately need some help with an ongoing harassment issue with my neighbor.
My wife and I have been at our current residence which is located on a fairly quiet neighborhood. For the past 12 years, a neighbor that's directly adjacent to my house has been complaining that our dogs (two Retrievers) bark excessively. Their original complaint was that they (husband and wife) go to bed between 7-8pm, and they're unable to sleep because our dogs bark near their bedroom door/window. About four months ago, our neighbor started complaining anytime our dogs make even a slight noise anytime of the day.
The fact of the matter is that our dogs do not bark excessively. I know this because I work from home, and I can clearly hear if/when the dogs are barking. Furthermore, about 90% of the time our dogs are inside by 6:30pm. Moreover, I have never witnessed our dogs barking without a valid reason, such as strangers approaching the front door, startling noises, etc. On the rare occasion that the dogs bark, the barking only lasts about 30 seconds or so. I have also talked to all of my other neighbors (including our other adjacent neighbor, where my dogs have a full view of their house and backyard) and nobody has a problem with our dogs.
My wife and I are extremely frustrated and at our wits end. For the past 12 years, it's as if we've been living in a police state governed by our neighbor. Things are now so bad that *we literally panic* if we're unable to get home before 7pm to ensure that our dogs are inside. We agonize over letting the dogs out for a few minutes to do their business because we're simply afraid of our neighbor. We even structure our weekends to ensure that we can come home every few hours because we don't know what our neighbor may do.
Approximately four months ago, our neighbor filed a complaint with the local Animal Control Department, but never followed up on the complaint that would have resulted in a mandatory joint meeting with Animal Control. I was actually relieved and looking forward to having this meeting so we could address this ongoing issue once and for all.
Instead, in the past three months, our neighbor has escalated his harassment by throwing debris at my gods, which has caused my dogs to become afraid of them, and sensitive to noises coming from their house. The neighbor also continues to attach complaint notes to my front door almost every week.
On several occasions, our neighbor has startled us by hiding next to some trees and screaming at us as we approach our front door. What's even more disconcerting is that our neighbor has setup a video camera on his property, and is recording the activity at my house. He's able to do this because his property is up a slope which gives him full view of my house and yard. This is not the first time our neighbor has been monitoring our activity.
In summary, my wife and I do not have any children and our dogs are very important to us. We've tried everything possible to appease our neighbor but this has only escalated the problem. I have reason to believe that my neighbor Knows that I'm financially unable to fight this matter in court, so he's threatening legal action.
I'd appreciate any guidance you can provide on dealing with this problem without having to go to court.
Thanks in advance for your help,
Regards,
Massis
My wife and I have been at our current residence which is located on a fairly quiet neighborhood. For the past 12 years, a neighbor that's directly adjacent to my house has been complaining that our dogs (two Retrievers) bark excessively. Their original complaint was that they (husband and wife) go to bed between 7-8pm, and they're unable to sleep because our dogs bark near their bedroom door/window. About four months ago, our neighbor started complaining anytime our dogs make even a slight noise anytime of the day.
The fact of the matter is that our dogs do not bark excessively. I know this because I work from home, and I can clearly hear if/when the dogs are barking. Furthermore, about 90% of the time our dogs are inside by 6:30pm. Moreover, I have never witnessed our dogs barking without a valid reason, such as strangers approaching the front door, startling noises, etc. On the rare occasion that the dogs bark, the barking only lasts about 30 seconds or so. I have also talked to all of my other neighbors (including our other adjacent neighbor, where my dogs have a full view of their house and backyard) and nobody has a problem with our dogs.
My wife and I are extremely frustrated and at our wits end. For the past 12 years, it's as if we've been living in a police state governed by our neighbor. Things are now so bad that *we literally panic* if we're unable to get home before 7pm to ensure that our dogs are inside. We agonize over letting the dogs out for a few minutes to do their business because we're simply afraid of our neighbor. We even structure our weekends to ensure that we can come home every few hours because we don't know what our neighbor may do.
Approximately four months ago, our neighbor filed a complaint with the local Animal Control Department, but never followed up on the complaint that would have resulted in a mandatory joint meeting with Animal Control. I was actually relieved and looking forward to having this meeting so we could address this ongoing issue once and for all.
Instead, in the past three months, our neighbor has escalated his harassment by throwing debris at my gods, which has caused my dogs to become afraid of them, and sensitive to noises coming from their house. The neighbor also continues to attach complaint notes to my front door almost every week.
On several occasions, our neighbor has startled us by hiding next to some trees and screaming at us as we approach our front door. What's even more disconcerting is that our neighbor has setup a video camera on his property, and is recording the activity at my house. He's able to do this because his property is up a slope which gives him full view of my house and yard. This is not the first time our neighbor has been monitoring our activity.
In summary, my wife and I do not have any children and our dogs are very important to us. We've tried everything possible to appease our neighbor but this has only escalated the problem. I have reason to believe that my neighbor Knows that I'm financially unable to fight this matter in court, so he's threatening legal action.
I'd appreciate any guidance you can provide on dealing with this problem without having to go to court.
Thanks in advance for your help,
Regards,
Massis
