Am I crazy??

[Jackieshoes]

A few summers ago a dog in our neighborhood got loose and I found her owners who'd just moved to our neighborhood. Well she was a huge brown lab with gray paws and face. I grew quite fond of her. Found out she's deaf and just wanders because she's old. Normally just around her house and comes to visit me every once in a while. She's the sweetest girl.

Fast forward to this afternoon, I'm pulling out of my neighborhood and see the president of the HOA yelling at her and chasing her out of the yard. She was terrified. The whole thing hit me wrong. So I text him and asked if she upset him. He asked if she was mine and said his problem was with what they leave in the yard! SERIOUSLY?!? Then he said that he wouldn't discuss it with me because it wasn't my dog... Fine.

I'm still crying because it upset me that bad. And HAD IT BEEN MY DOG, He'd have zero doubt that they were mine because momma bear would have been on a rampage.

I haven't responded yet because I haven't decided how to handle it. Am I crazy for getting that upset?

 

[harveyspecter]

What this means is that you are a dog loving person and others will not get that. You are upset because while this is not your dog, you have that bonding and became fond of this animal. No you are not crazy.

Unless they are being aggressive and potentially hurting someone, people just need to chill and be tolerant. While dogs are often considered property, same are considered family so he'd better be careful. Had that been Harvey, he would have been well off as I would have offerred to buy his property right then and there so he would be out of the neighborhood but that is just me.

 

[Jackieshoes]

I'm already over 15 minutes late to an event because it upset me so much. I even offered to clean the **** up if he'd never treat her like that again. I don't think he hit her (I didn't see it at least, or I'd be awaiting bail) but I think seeing her so scared is what made me cry. There's no excuse for all that over a little poo. I'm going to mention it to her owners. I'm glad it wasn't my dog-sending an ugly text would have been the LAST thing he'd have experienced.

I'm also appalled at his behavior. I respected him until I saw that. I might poo in his yard for s&g now!!!!

 

[nycbullymama]

We just purchased a property with an HOA (NEVER AGAIN).
I know here, your neighbors can shoot dogs if they're on their property. After meeting some of our HOA members, I wouldn't put it past them. So there's no way I would ever let my dogs leave my property, ever. They'll never even be outside without me.
To be honest, I think the owners of the lab are idiots for letting this happen repeatedly. The fact that she's deaf and wanders just makes it even worse to me. If she's getting out, they need to lab proof their property.

While the HOA president sounds like a true a$$, and I'm probably be close to going off just like you, there are people out there who just don't like dogs, and even a little poop on their property is going to aggravate them big time. Unfortunately for us dog lovers, they're perfectly within their right to get upset. He didn't do anything wrong, the labs owners did.

 

[Donnam]

I agree with nycbullymama. It just would never upset me to have a dog poop in my yard, but I've heard people complain about dogs pooping in their yard even when their owners clean it up! And I've seen signs saying "don't pee on the grass!"
Wow! It's terrible to be mean to a dog for pooping in your yard, and does absolutely no good anyway. It's the owner's fault--not the dog's.

I do have an issue with someone letting their deaf dog wander around the neighborhood. That's just dangerous for the dog and asking for trouble in my opinion.

We don't have an HOA and I sure am glad. I've never heard one good thing about them!

 

[ddnene]

A few summers ago a dog in our neighborhood got loose and I found her owners who'd just moved to our neighborhood. Well she was a huge brown lab with gray paws and face. I grew quite fond of her. Found out she's deaf and just wanders because she's old. Normally just around her house and comes to visit me every once in a while. She's the sweetest girl.

Fast forward to this afternoon, I'm pulling out of my neighborhood and see the president of the HOA yelling at her and chasing her out of the yard. She was terrified. The whole thing hit me wrong. So I text him and asked if she upset him. He asked if she was mine and said his problem was with what they leave in the yard! SERIOUSLY?!? Then he said that he wouldn't discuss it with me because it wasn't my dog... Fine.

I'm still crying because it upset me that bad. And HAD IT BEEN MY DOG, He'd have zero doubt that they were mine because momma bear would have been on a rampage.

I haven't responded yet because I haven't decided how to handle it. Am I crazy for getting that upset?

Absolutely NOT… I would of completely lost my with that guy!!! NOBODY should treat a senior dog that way EVER, I don't care WHAT they did… has he completely lost his mind?!! You should tell the owners of that dog, and you should let the other neighbors know what he did. I have a soft spot for ANY senior dog, especially one that is deaf… If you ever see him do that again you should video tape him…

I do agree that any deaf dog should not be allowed to wonder for his own safety…

 

[cali baker]

[MENTION=6241]Jackieshoes[/MENTION], I'm fearful that the next time this lab gets out, she will get hit by a car or someone may harm her. Do let the owners know what happened and I hope they will do their best to keep her from wandering out again.

I don't think you're being "crazy" by your reaction to this HOA-guy's behavior towards the lab. Just demonstrates that you are a compassionate human being.

 

[Jackieshoes]

In no way do I condone that the lab (Nola) is allowed to wander. I think they have the collars with the underground fence and the batteries run out, so she's not running free by any means. I've seen her a handful of times, but that's not the point. I've had dogs my whole life, and they've never run away. I've always had inside dogs though...so I don't understand how people 'lose' them, but that's another point. I even acknowledged that she should be fenced.

I was so taken off guard by him chasing and yelling at her that I didn't even know what to do. I'm in charge of the HOA website so I have to work with this guy relatively often. I was so impressed by his approach to our little community (it's 6 streets- tiny) and patience with all the complaining people, but then this.

I can understand that he might not like animals, and that's fine. You don't have to love them like I do, but you have to make a conscious decision to be an a$$ to one.

But thanks everyone for the affirmation that I am not crazy for being upset. Haha. I'm glad it wasn't my angel, I would have lost my mind and probably gone to jail.

 

[ddnene]

In no way do I condone that the lab (Nola) is allowed to wander. I think they have the collars with the underground fence and the batteries run out, so she's not running free by any means. I've seen her a handful of times, but that's not the point. I've had dogs my whole life, and they've never run away. I've always had inside dogs though...so I don't understand how people 'lose' them, but that's another point. I even acknowledged that she should be fenced.

I was so taken off guard by him chasing and yelling at her that I didn't even know what to do. I'm in charge of the HOA website so I have to work with this guy relatively often. I was so impressed by his approach to our little community (it's 6 streets- tiny) and patience with all the complaining people, but then this.

I can understand that he might not like animals, and that's fine. You don't have to love them like I do, but you have to make a conscious decision to be an a$$ to one.

But thanks everyone for the affirmation that I am not crazy for being upset. Haha. I'm glad it wasn't my angel, I would have lost my mind and probably gone to jail.

What bothers me about this is that my senior baby Roxie (who was almost 11) would have accidents ALL the time, and I could tell right after it happened that she felt bad about it. It wasn't her fault, her body was failing her… and that's what happens when we get old. Would he yell at some elderly person like that?!! How is a older dog ANY different…

 

[Manydogs]

What bothers me about this is that my senior baby Roxie (who was almost 11) would have accidents ALL the time, and I could tell right after it happened that she felt bad about it. It wasn't her fault, her body was failing her… and that's what happens when we get old. Would he yell at some elderly person like that?!! How is a older dog ANY different…

Believe me, I have been to the nursing home,and there are people there who have families who never visit,but guess who are the first ones grabbing stuff at the home place? I feel like I never trust anyone who doesn't LIKE dogs,and wouldn't put it past that HOA guy to put poison out somewhere on his property-for that poor dog, If he loses someone he loves, his lawn might not seem so important,or maybe it will.......

 

[BodiesMom]

I live in a small HOA community, 3 streets, around 45 homes. The only HOA restrictions written in our covenants is that there can be no pitbulls, Rottweilers, or chows(that includes mixes of any of those breeds also) Do I agree? On some level, but not all! However, our county has an ordinance that any of your pets, whether dog, cat, ferret, etc...must remain in your yard at all times unless walking them in which they must be restrained by collar/leash. Example: our neighbor has a young lab, they had the underground fence, but when it would rain, the breaker would trip therefore tripping the collar/fence. Well, after a couple of times, Troy(neighbors dog) figured it out! So one day, it happened, he left the yard and went running through the neighborhood, he went running thru the back of one of the neighbors yards where they had their dog chained to a post that held up the porch roof, well, the lil chained up dog went to run after Troy, got his leg tangled in the cord/chain and broke his leg. The owners of Troy went and apologized and offered to help with any of the medical bills and the lady was just nasty and rude. Well, she ended up calling animal control about 3-4 days later, "just to see what her options were"(her words), well, even though this has already been a long story, to make it a lil shorter, she tried hitting them up with a $7000 Bill. Because she had 3 small kids, she opted to have her dog stay at an emergency vet clinic for 2 weeks cause she couldn't take care of it and her kids, therefore running the costs up further and further!! In short, Troys owners told her to take them to court cause they weren't paying for her laziness. Plus there was NO witnesses that even saw Troy in their yard, only her!! To me, a HUGE lesson in why you shouldn't chain a dog up!! (which is besides the point) I do have to comment on the person that said that in their HOA, their allowed to shoot animals that are in their yard...that's insane! And I would think there's a county/city/state ordinance or law against that...I do understand people not wanting other people's pets to do their business in their yard, we don't allow Bodie to pee or poo in our front yard, only because we've been trying to get the grass to grow and look good without brown dead spots everywhere!! We have had a neighbors dog poop in our, but they immediately cleaned it up and apologized, which was not an issue!!
But back to the animal control officer that came out after the incident with the neighbors dogs, I was at Troys owners home when the officer came over and he told us that it was a county ordinance and he could fine them for their dog being off of their property unrestrained, but he didn't want to do that because there wasn't enough evidence that Troy was the reason the other dog broke his leg. They did admit that Troy had gotten out of the yard, as I did too, I had seen troy out of their yard, but he wasn't near the other neighbors yard, so it was hard to say. Plus, troys owners had tried being nice and reasonable from the beginning even before knowing if it was truly their fault, but when the woman tried taking advantage of the situation, and started rumors and just being a plain b*tch...Well, that's when she lost any kind of compensation. At the time, her husband was in Afganistan(for those of you that don't know, I live in a military town, 5 bases within 45 mins of one another), well she even told her husband that troys dad put his hands on her!! Which was TOTAL BS!! So then her hubby reported it to troys dad's command to try to f*ck with his career...that's when it all went to hell in a handbag!!! J/K!! His command knew it was BS and laughed about it...2 months later the shitty neighbors moved, they were just renters anyway. But we do still have an issue with a neighbor across the street from us that lets their 2 cats just roam around the neighborhood, pooping in everyone's flowerbeds, peeing on our front porch rug. And when others brought this up to them, their response was :well, if you put down rocks in your flowerbeds, they won't poop in rocks"! And, "yea, they aggravate us at nighttime, so we let them outside so they don't bother us"!!! Now, I'm a lover of animals, I'm not a big cat person, never have been, they freak me out! I don't like being watched by anything while I sleep nor do I like anything swatting at my feet! I dont allow my dog in their yard, I don't want theirs in mine!! Especially cause one of them decided to make its resting place on top of my hubby's deceased fathers truck that's in our fenced in backyard underneath a "lean-to" connected to the shed.
So, with all that being said, I can understand both sides of the story, and maybe you should go talk with the owners of the senior lab and tell them what you've observed and your fears of what this man may do if their dog was to get in his yard again?? And you never know, since you obviously already have that bond with the dog, maybe you could possibly make him a part of your family where he can be watched over better...just a suggestion.
Sorry everyone for the LONG comment!!

 

[nycbullymama]

It's not my HOA, it's NY state law. You're allowed to shoot dogs if they're on your property. You may need a reason like "oh it tried attacking me", but I've heard of too many cases where it happened unprovoked just because a dog was on someone's property and the person just didn't want them there.

In fact I used to know one couple that it happened to- there neighbor warned them once, then shot their dog the second time. There was nothing they could do about it.

 

[bella100]

no your not crazy for getting upset i would have let him HAVE ITTTTT!!!! poor baby was scared

 

[Donnam]

I will put up with a lot and do practically anything to get along with my neighbors! There are always some in every neighborhood who are either crazy, totally unreasonable, or just looking for something to fight about. Years ago, in another neighborhood, I had a bad experience with some neighbors, and it never ends well. So often, dogs or cats are the catalysts and those arguments frequently escalate way out of control. Our bad neighbor chained her dogs outside all day with no water...yada yada yada...Ended up, my next door neighbor stole the little dog--the Akita ended up nearly taking off the arm of the vet doing a house call. The bad neighbors were so nasty--well, I guess anyone who would chain their dogs up in the side yard in Dallas in the summer with no water or human contact, would certainly be capable of being nasty to neighbors!

I had a cat problem in this neighborhood too, Toni [MENTION=11156]BodiesMom[/MENTION]. Cats across the street came over to my flowerbeds to pee. The ammonia smell by my front door was awful and they killed a couple of shrubs. We just lived with that, rather than complain to the neighbors.

I can't imagine what I would do if a neighbor shot my dog in their yard!! Probably move!

 

[My Otis]

No, You are not crazy, you are a dog lover and want people to respect dogs as you do, as all of us here on EBN.