My idiotic neighbor is at it again

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Some of you will remember this guy but for those of you who dont, I have a neighbor who has killed almost every single dog we have had since we have lived at this address. I think maybe two he didnt kill. Either he has poisoned them or shot them outright. 2 of them he shot right in front of us!

With that case, I rushed the dogs to the vet, they did a necropsy-one dog was paralyzed from the shoulders down, the other died, but they did the necropsy to get the bullet out to compare to the guys gun. It costs a pretty penny but the Animal Control Officer said not to worry about it because the guy that shot my dogs would be made to pay for everything. Well...that was all well and good until they learned the man's last name. The man is the brother of a sitting judge. Well guess what happened to my case? Of course no one told me they were not going to prosecute! They actually had me and Tony come in to court for a preliminary hearing one time. Then we never heard another thing. I would call and no one would return my call. Then I get sued for the bill and I was told that the case had been declined to be prosecuted because the neighbor had made a lot of animal control complaints against me over the years! Do what????? I had never had the animal control people out to my house in all the years I had lived here. Well I take that back, I called them about a stray dog. Can I steal from Walmart because I keep taking clothes back that dont fit right? That makes as much sense.

Well...this jerk is back to make my life miserable. I pretty much figured it would happen when Abby started running around in my yard. Now Abby never leaves my yard at all. She just doesnt. She stays under the house or right around my front steps playing with bones. She does go out to our camper shell but its well on our property and about 30 feet from his. He also has his property completely fenced in so she cannot get into his yard.

We he called animal control and told them I own a vicious pitbull that was trying to climb over his fence and attack him and his dogs. (he has 5 little yappy yorkies)

Now Abby is maybe a quarter pitbull at this point but I will not admit that at any point. I claim I know nothing of her lineage and Jamie got her from somewhere in VA. The ACO that came out here said he thinks she has some sort of lab mix with maybe some bulldog...not pit but some type off bull dog way down the line. Certainly not vicious at all. Just a puppy. Well since the idiot called on me, I put in my own report on his dogs. They bark at night all hours of the night and keep me awake. They cause our beagles to go off. So he told me he would tell Craig to keep his dogs in after 9 pm. good.

Now the issue is, I cant let Abby out at all because I know he is building a case to shoot my dog. He will keep calling saying the dog is loose even she isnt. I tried putting a harness on her to walk her. She chewed it off. I have no clue what to get to put on her to keep her on a chain so I can put her out for a little exercise at some point. She is killing me. At night she and Buddy are running laps through the house and knocking everything over. I physically cant walk her like she needs and I am afraid to let her run in the yard loose even if I am standing there with her. I mean he shot two knowing I saw him and the cops arent going to charge him for anything. I dont want him to kill her. Even if I put her in an electric fence, he can say what he wants. He wont see the electric fence. If she is on a chain he will know. I am thinking of sending him a certified letter telling him to cease and desist and that she is on a chain or in an electric fence and that if my dog gets killed I will sue him for every dog he has killed.
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
What a terrible human being.

For the time being, get one of those dog chain metal stakes you put down in the ground and then attach a chain to the top. The top swivels so Abby can go a full 360 and you can put tons of chain on it. The stake goes down pretty far and has little "spikes" that help keep it down.

Sorry this has to be an option.

Sharon
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Janet is there any way Tony could set up a dog run for her? It's like a clothes line (made out of a steel cordage lined in heavy plastic) and you attach another of those steel cordage lead lines to it and the dog. We had one for one dog that was 50 ft long, went from mother in law's backdoor to her garage, gave the dog the whole use of the yard but she couldn't get out. It has a little pully type thing that allows the dangling down lead to move smoothly along the one stretching the length of area you're giving her. They have them at walmart and petsmart. I've used it with Rowdy for years because he was my escape artist when a female came into heat. It let him still be in the yard, but he couldn't jump over the gate or dig out under the fence. I've used it with Maggie because she could get through the gate when she was little and there is a small hole in the fence. They both could run up and down the yard with Molly and get plenty of exercise and fun. Use a regular leather collar with it though. Rowdy has a choke chain because leather collars don't fit him right. lol

With such a set up Abby can be outside all she wants and you know she can't wander. You also can show the dog wardens she can't wander. And it's clearly evident that your neighbor can see she can't wander.

This guy has a major issue. It did not help matters they let him get away with it before.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
You've gotten great ideas above, I have nothing else to suggest. I just wanted to exclaim how horrified I am! Omg, I can't believe a dog owner would kill, COULD kill, another dog. He's not right in the head...and it's absolute BS he can't be prosecuted for it!
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Well I had to put her in her crate last night because her and Buddy were just going nuts in the house when we went to bed. I know its because she didnt get any exercise during the day. I just let her outside for a few minutes with Buddy but I am going to get her back inside in a little bit to feed her then I will take her back outside again. I am going to go today and see if I can find one of those runs. I will have to see if I can find a collar she cant pull out of. She has a bullet shaped head that most collars can slip right off if they arent pretty tight. Maybe a tight leather collar. If not that it may have to be a choke collar. I will probably buy both just to be on the safe side.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Buddy on a lead run a dog can unclasp the hook. Maggie does it all the time if I forget and attach it to her harness instead of her collar. It takes maggie all of 5 mins lol
 
S

Signorina

Guest
Janet, I'm so sorry your neighbor is a jerk. Have you tried a restraining order? Also, I would post '"no trespassing" signs on the perimeter of your property. This way- if he steps one foot on your property, he is in violation of the restraining order AND definitively trespassing.
 

DaisyFace

Love me...Love me not
Why not a privacy fence? It would "prove" to animal control that your dog is not getting loose, and the neighbor won't be able to see her - much less shoot her.
 

buddy

New Member
Wow, how does she do.that? ! JJ has a working harness which is actually a seatbelt harness ...made by pet smart. It has fleece on the chest part. Only one big strong clasp between his shoulder blades. I cant imagine how he'd ever get it off but where there's a will there's a way!
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Daisy...I wish I could afford one but I have at least 200 feet across and 400 feet wide I would have to fence in. That would be the bare minimum and really I would need to do more. That would just be encasing my trailer and a little bit of my yard in the fence. My trailer is 28x80. It sits smack dab in the middle of a field on property that is 8 acres. Now most of that 8 acres is wooded and swampland that isnt used. We only use about an acre and a half or maybe two. Im not really good at knowing how big an acre is to tell you the truth. I think my cleared house lot would probably be an acre.

It really ticked this man off when I moved this double wide on this cleared lot back in 2001 when my mom had to move in with me. We used to live back in the trees in a single wide trailer. When I was moving my double wide in this idiot came out and started screaming at the movers that they couldnt put it on the land. It isnt his land. He was screaming that "he is an Indian from Saddletree. I told him I was a white woman from Virginia and I didnt know what the F that had to do with a darn thing!" LOL. I still dont know. Back when we lived in the woods he used to complain to people that he never saw me except when I was in my car coming up and down the driveway. Huh? And that is a problem? I was taking care of my boys and working. That was from 97-2001. I was extremely busy and didnt have time to just lollygag around in the yard. And I had been in a car accident in 97 so I was also in extreme pain starting then. And I always thought it was a good thing when your neighbors werent bothering you! What did he want, me to dance naked in the moonlight? I dont think so. Whats scary is this guy is a pharmacist.

I think he is now baiting his fence to get the dogs to go over there. I noticed when I called them in this morning they came from around that side of my house. I am going out in a little while to check his fence line. That is how he killed Heidi. He put out poison. I found the bowl. A pharmacist can certainly have access.

As far as a harness, I bought her one last night and she ate it. I was trying to get her used to wearing it by putting it on her and giving her treats but I left it on her when we went out and I came home and she had chewed it off.

I am trying to decide what type of collar to use. I may have to go with a choke collar. One she cant back out of. I am going to have to figure out where I can put the run though. I have one tree in my yard. There is also the power pole at the edge of the yard. There are other trees over in the woods but that would cross the road that the 4 wheelers and trucks drive on and I dont think I want to cross that.
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Yikes, Janet, so sorry your neighbor is such a creep. I have no great ideas, just sending good thoughts and hopes that you find a perfect solution..........
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Janet, it is time to get some books on dog training and really train the dogs. Train them to only eat food when you give a certain command. It sounds overkill, but this guy has already used poison and likely will do it again. If your dog only eats when you give a command, then she won't take the bait he puts out.

She has eaten a harness and if you allow her to, she won't ever tolerate one. Yes, it is more money but buy 2 more harnesses and make them associated with good things. NEVER leave her home alone on a harness until she has adjusted. Almost ANY animal will chew one off if they are left alone iwth something new on them. The harness will be about the only thing you can find that she cannot get out of, but you have to TEACH her to leave it on. It is a PITA to have to do all of this, but the only other alternative is to either get rid of the dogs or let this guy kill them, and neither of those seem like good choices.

Don't give up on the harness just because she ate one. Be the alpha that she NEEDS and teach her that it is a good thing. You might invest in a bottle of bitter apple and put that on her harness so that if she chews it she won't like the taste. Most dogs really HATE the taste of bitter apple, but of course there are a few who do like it and for them, use hot sauce on the harness. Just don't go to hot sauce first because it can irritate the skin and isn't as safe as the bitter apple. http://www.healthypets.com/bitapspray8o.html?gclid=CPPL8I7xsLMCFbKiPAodgXIAww

Around here we can buy bitter apple at Atwoods and Tractor Supply, but it is also available online. I haven't got a clue if petsmart/petco carry it because I don't go to the one in our town because the prices are ridiculous.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
You are giving this dog more credit for intelligence than she has. I dont know if you remember her mom but her mom was autistic and she probably has some of those traits. She is very skittish and shy. Very. She is more outgoing and will play with toys which is something her mom wouldnt do but she is in no way a normal dog. I thought we did wonderful yesterday when I managed to get her to walk on the leash for about 10 minutes. She thinks she is a lap dog.

She does remember things though. She is favoring the paw that they put the IV in when they spayed her. She gets very upset when anyone touches that leg. Now she should have long forgotten that but we cant even touch that paw or leg to hold it to cut her toenails but what she doesnt get upset. She is fine with the other leg.
 

flutterby

Fly away!
I have a metal corkscrew screwed into the ground with a 30 foot cable tie-out. Dogs have 360 degree radius - 30' in every direction. I'm sure you can get a longer cable. My dogs aren't out for long, but with that they can cover almost the entire backyard.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I went out and got a 25 foot chain and attached it to a tree we have in my yard. The only one...lol. It keeps her from being able to tangle up in anything near her but has a good radius. As soon as we can we are going to get the cable run to attach to the house and the tree so we can put the chain on that and then she can run the 50 feet between the house and the tree plus have 25 feet in either direction which will be even more space.

She was clearly not happy with me and at first just sat there without moving an inch but after about half an hour of figuring out she could move but wasnt getting off of that chain, she inched over to her food and water dishes and ate. Thats when I knew I had her subdued. Now when we took her off, she ran straight for the door but then she didnt want to go inside...lol. She wanted to run around the yard and prance and prance. That would have been fine with us and we would have sat outside with her but we had to go somewhere.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Being autistic or slow doesn't mean you cannot teach her, it means you may have to work harder. the chain on the tree is a great start. Bitter apple can do wonders if the dog doesn't like it. It would keep her from chewing a harness off. I would be very wary of having her on a choke collar on a chain or run because it is way too easy for the neighbor to tangle her up in something and have her choke to death. We had a lab until shortly after I was married and someone got angry at gfgbro for yelling at and kicking their dog who tried to bite hm (bro was attempting to break into their 'abandoned' barn - meaning it wasn't painted but still was in use but he thought it was free pickin's even though it was locked up tight - he used to think that way a LOT. We had a leash and choker on the porch because a neighbor's kids used to like to take our dog for a walk but this person put the choker on her and hung her from her run so she died a horrible death while we were all at work. You do NOT want to let her be on a choker on a chain - there is NO way to prove that it wasn't an accident and it is way too easy for the neighbor to hurt her.

The fact that she has such a good memory means that you CAN teach her. It may not be fast, and you must be consistent, but you CAN do it. Make her associate the harness with everything good and wonderful in her life. No snuggling with-o it, lots of high value treats and praise and playing, and don't leave her in the harness at first until/unless you are with her. That spray cheese in a can is supposed to be pretty effective as a really high value treat. You also can get some ideas if you can find any episodes of Dog Town, that national geographic tv show about Best Friends Animal Shelter that is out in Utah or Idaho somewhere. If Abby doesn't like spray cheese, try cooking some liver for her, or deli turkey or roast beef. The spray cheese is handy because it is easier to carry with you.
 
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