Man demands negligent neighbor pay $3500 in damages after his dog destroys man’s rare flower garden, the neighbor refuses: ‘[You] should have a stronger fence if you didn’t want anything to happen’

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Mar 25, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

What a fine, flowery morning it is today, animal fam. Spring is in the air (and so is all of pollen) and it's time for those of us with green thumbs to get outside and start our gardening. We love getting our hands dirty outside while our doggos play with a ball in the yard around us, and sometimes, they even help us when we need a hole or two dug. However, we're there to control that, and they know not to do it unless we tell them to (in the garden area, anyway).

If they were to one day dig up our whole garden that we literally spend weeks working on, we would be furious. Even more so if it was a neighbor's dog that snuck into our yard and trampled the whole thing! Well, that's exactly what happened below, except this gardener wasn't just planting vegetables, he invested over $3500 in rare flowers, a fountain, and more…and then his neighbor's dog ruined it. When he demanded the negligent neighbor pay, he refused. Scroll down to read the whole story below!

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  • 01

    A**A for demanding my neighbor pay after their dog ruined my garden?

    'I told him that his dog caused real damage and that I expected him to pay for the repairs'
    via sanjagrujic

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    I 24m have spent years creating a beautiful backyard garden its not just a few plants i have a carefully designed space with rare flowers a small fountain and a vegetable patch gardening is my biggest passion and i put a lot of time and money into maintaining it my yard is fenced and i have clear signs that say private property and keep out.
    via u/Efficient_Way6064
  • 03
    My neighbor, lets call him mike has a large dog named rocky rocky is very energetic and often runs loose in the neighborhood ive warned mike before to keep him on a leash or make sure his yard is properly secured but he always shrugs it off saying hes friendly dont worry.
    via u/Efficient_Way6064
  • 04
    A few days ago i came home to find my backyard completely ruined rocky had somehow gotten in most likely by digging under the fence and trampled my flower beds knocked over the fountain and dug up my vegetable patch several of my rare plants which i had spent years growing were destroyed.
    via u/Efficient_Way6064
  • 05
    When i confronted mike about it he apologized but said hes just a dog these things happen i told him that his dog caused real damage and that i expected him to pay for the repairs the total cost to fix everything is around 3500 considering the plants soil and restoring the fountain.
    via u/Efficient_Way6064
  • 06
    Mike refuses to pay saying its not fair to blame an animal and that i should have had a stronger fence if i didn't want anything to happen some of my friends think i should just let it go but others believe mike is completely responsible for what happened.
    via u/Efficient_Way6064
  • 07
    So, am i wrong for demanding my neighbor cover the damage after his dog ruined my garden?
    via u/Efficient_Way6064
  • 08
    Cheezburger Image 10485165312
    via ptaa2010

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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  • 09
    peakpenguins Mike refuses to pay saying its not fair to blame an animal and that i should have had a stronger fence if i didn't want anything to happen
    via u/peakpenguins
  • 10
    No, Mike should have had a stronger fence. It's not the dog's fault, it's Mike's fault. NTA, but it doesn't sound like you're going to get any money out of him unless you decide to sue him in small claims court.
    via u/peakpenguins
  • 11
    shyfidelity Small claims court.
    via u/shyfidelity
  • 12
    EDJardin NTA. You aren't blaming the dog, you are blaming the dog's owner, who was irresponsible and did not maintain control of the animal. Tell him if he won't pay, then you will go through your insurance company, which
    via u/EDJardin
  • 13
    will then want to deal with HIS insurance company, and I don't think he wants his insurance company to know that he lets his large dog go running leash-free around the neighborhood and digging into other peoples property.
    via u/EDJardin

  • Yeah, this neighbor is totally in the wrong here. The poster has all the power and could easily win this court case if he so chose to. However, it's all a matter of if he wants to go through the trouble of doing it. Because it will be a hassle, that's for sure.

  • 14
    Away-Elephant-4323 NTA your neighbor should cover the expenses, your not blaming the dog your blaming the owner, if he was a responsible owner this wouldn't have happened, so yes he should pay for the damage, another thing in my
    via u/Away-Elephant-4323
  • 15
    neighborhood you can't just let pets run all over, animal control will come, you have to be a responsible owner so nothing bad happens to the dog or someone else's property!
    via u/Away-Elephant-4323
  • 16
    Cheezburger Image 10485165568
    via Aleksander Potashev

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 17
    Emotional_Fan_7011 NTA. You aren't blaming the dog. You are blaming Mike for being a dog owner. Take him to small claims court if you have to. Maybe having to pay up will teach him to be a better dog owner.
    via u/Emotional_Fan_7011
  • 18
    Right_Meow26 You are the ah for barely using punctuation. Reading this is about to give me a stroke. To the matter at hand, NTA for asking to be compensated for the damage.
    via u/Right_Meow26
  • 19
    lun4d0r4 You're not blaming an animal. You're holding the animal owner accountable for his pet parenting. Which, everyone should do. NTA
    via u/lun4d0r4

  • Sure, accidents happen. And he's right, it's not fair the blame the dog. But your responsibility as a dog owner covers anything and everything your dog does, even if it's an accident. That's part of being a pawrent.

  • 20
    janabanana67 Mike is wrong. I am sure there are leash laws in your area. He is correct the dog isn't to blame, but you aren't asking the dog for $. The owner is responsible for his dog and he is responsible for any damage he may cause. Looks like this may be a case for Small Claims Court.
    via u/janabanana67
  • 21
    GrumpyPacker Do you have video that it was his dog? If it ends up going to court you will need to prove it was his dog.
    via u/GrumpyPacker
  • 22
    Sassy_Weatherwax As someone who has recently gotten into gardening, I'm so angry for you. I worry that some Dog Person is going to let their dog tear through my front yard and damage all my baby plants. You are NTA at all and I would absolutely take him to small claims court.
    via u/Sassy_Weatherwax
  • 23
    He is legally responsible for anything his dog does.
    via u/Sassy_Weatherwax
  • 24
    ProfBeautyBailey Photograph and take a video of your garden. Keep a copy of any quotes for the cost of repair. Take him to small claim court.
    via u/ProfBeautyBailey
  • 25
    I would also check the leash laws in your town/ state. I would also consider putting some videos cameras in your back yard.
    via u/ProfBeautyBailey

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refuse demands dogs neighbors neighborhood drama rare garden fence destroy doggo flowers animals
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