Neighbor accuses woman's dogs of barking constantly and contacts HOA, despite woman having ample evidence it's the neighbor's 5 rescue dogs: ‘Had it up to here’

Advertisement
  • Moving to a new neighborhood can be immensely nerve-wracking. There's a specific uncertainty that comes along with setting up your new living space, adapting to the social environment, and making a good impression on the neighbors you'll be living next to indefinitely. Finding just the right balance of kindness and assertiveness is the difference between being lovable and being a doormat. Of course, moving into a new environment means treading lightly (even if you want to get settled in as quickly as possible) because you never know what kind of people you'll be sharing fences with. You can be the best neighbor; keep noise levels low or bring them a freshly baked pie, and some neighbors will still not be satisfied, and throw you under the bus for things you didn't even do. Much like the sneaky neighbor in this story.

    A woman is renting in an HOA community, and her neighbor has been living in the area with her five rescue dogs for several years. Upon meeting the neighbors, they admitted to the woman the dogs were not trained or socialized. Though admitting this to the woman, they believe the woman's three quiet, well-socialized dogs are the ones constantly barking at all times of the day. The woman has even recorded video evidence of the neighbor's dogs making copious amounts of noise, and given that there are five untrained animals on their premises, you would think this evidence would back the woman up. Nope. The neighbor went to both the HOA and the woman's rental company, and they believe that the noise, in fact, is coming from the woman's three reserved dogs. Other neighbors have suggested the two opposing groups work out a schedule so the noise is kept to a minimum. Absolutely bonkers. What would you do if you were in this situation? Petty payback, or talk to an attorney like OP?

  • Advertisement
  • 01
    Neighbors are crazy
  • 02
    Just moved into a residential neighborhood with an HOA. We're in a house with a fenced in yard. We have three quiet, well behaved dogs. Our neighbor has five rescues that he told us upon meeting were not trained or socialized.
  • 03
    Long story short, when we let our dogs out to potty/play in the yard, if his dogs are out, they rush the fence, barking non stop and going berserk. Our dogs grew up in a college town/apartments and are pretty much immune to noise/reacting, so our dogs. don't really realize they exist.
  • Advertisement
  • 04
    The neighbors have been complaining about barking dogs and have accused us, going straight to our HOA President and our rental company despite our ample video footage demonstrating that the barking does not come from our yard. Because our next door neighbors with
  • 05
    the rescues have been here for several years, no one believes that it's not our dogs barking, which we find utterly shocking because his dogs keep us up at night from time to time.
  • 06
    We're getting comments from other neighbors around the block that HEAVILY imply they are concerned about us because we're renters, never mind the fact that we pay more to stay in this house. than we would if we had the mortgage ourselves.
  • Advertisement
  • 07
    Had it up to here. A few emails on my attorney letterhead have more or less diluted the situation, but we have a neighbor now suggesting we "schedule with our next door neighbor what time we let our dogs out" to mitigate HIS reactive dogs barking.
  • 08
    Just needed to get that off my chest. I'll never pay to live in a place like this again.
  • 09
    nold 1 day ago off your "this one trick neighbor" Call local code enforcement and ask how many dogs you can own in a residential area. Give no further info. You might find out that 5 is too many. If so, thats leverage for neighbor to fix their issue.
  • Advertisement
  • 10
    Anxious_Technician41 19 hr. ago Keep in mind you may need to get your landlord involved since all fines and correspondence are technically his responsibility not yours. If your landlord chooses not to enforce, you may be out of luck.
  • 11
    Battleaxe1959 17 hr. ago We had new people move into our neighborhood (non HOA). They got the house when Grama and they (5 adults) moved in with 5 pits. Their house had a 4' chainlink and an above ground pool. We were the only house that had a 6' wooden fence, a choice we made due to our dogs and privacy. Our neighbors saw it as being snobs.
  • 12
    However, after the 5 pits moved in, fences went up, all 6' privacy fences (we weren't snobs anymore). Any time you went outside, those dogs went nuts. A leaf moved- bark bark bark. Wind- bark bark bark. It was driving us crazy, so I called enforcement because our township has a 2 dog rule. I felt bad, but they barked 24/7!
  • Advertisement
  • 13
    3 dogs left with animal control. They were also cited for 4 cars parked on the lawn; lawn was just weeds & up to 4' high, so they got cited for that; 3 of the cars weren't registered, so they were towed; and 1 car didn't have insurance. Sad. It has been so quiet.
  • 14
    • griminald 1 day ago Renters get a bad rap in HOAs. But, you wouldn't be friends with these people anyway, so them. Nobody can do anything about the dogs without proof, and it would be clear to anyone listening that it's coming from your neighbor's yard. So don't worry about any action being. taken against you.
  • 15
    The HOA should be talking to your landlord, and your landlord should be talking to you. If the HOA is coming to you directly, tell your landlord about what's going on, so they're aware that neighbors are harassing their tenant.
  • Advertisement
  • 16
    I'm saying this as a board member too -- don't adjust your behavior based on your neighbor's dogs. These other neighbors just want no dogs barking. So take it up with that guy, the one whose dogs are actually barking.
  • 17
    Your neighbor's been lucky; he's gotten away with 5 (!) untrained, reactive, dogs because he didn't have a dog-owning neighbor. He's the one who gets to watch out for your dogs, not vice versa.
  • 18
    iwantthisnow .22 hr.@go Please show me the rule that I have to schedule the exclusive use of my property?
  • Advertisement
  • 19
    CharlieInkwell 1 day ago. Ah, my daily reminder to be glad that I refused to buy a house with an HOA.
  • 20
    Puzzleheaded-Phase 70 18 hr. ago Oh, I'm so glad to hear that you rent! That means you can just leave! Find somewhere else, no HOA, and learn from your mistake. So many people buy a house with an hoa, and they can only hope to sell to some other poor who doesn't understand what they're getting involved in. Or else, just disappear and lose the money on the house.
  • 21
    • oaksandpines1776 23 hr. ago They want a schedule? Fine. Yours will get outdoor time every day 6 am until 0900. Then 0930 until 5pm. The. 5:30 pm until midnight. 7 days a week, 365 days a week. Or they can go outside with their dogs and actually put in the work to train them.

Tags

Scroll down for the next article

Also From FAIL Blog