'Please just take [your] dog home': Neighbor threatens to call animal control on Karen's massive dog to teach her a lesson after she allows her doggo to charge them and then saunters away

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Sep 29, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

We don't understand people who have the false confidence to take their untrained dogs off-leash. Unless your dog is perfectly trained, and very few dogs are, we don't recommend it at all. Even if your dog has perfect recall, you can't anticipate instincts. And the consequences of an accident far outweigh the benefits of letting our dog go leash-less to go potty. 

We've invested a lot of time in training our dog. She's been a project. Her training is nearly perfect - we feel that we could let her off the leash if we wanted to, something a lot of these selfish (yes, you read that right - we think it's selfish to have your dogs off-leash in a public setting) dog owners don't think about is other people. What if there are people who are afraid of dogs? What if there are other dogs that will be reactive to your dog? You can't control everything, and like we said earlier, the consequences of an accident could be fatal.

That's why stories like this infuriate us so much. If the Karen below was really just taking her dog to go potty, they will survive having a leash on for five minutes. It makes everyone around you feel safe, and it ensures the safety of your dog by at least 90%. Just put on the leash, people.

Is your inbox feline too professional? Add some cats falling off counters. Subscribe here!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to start your Caturday with the funniest felines on the internet!

Advertisement
  • 01

    Am I [wrong] for telling "Karen" I will call animal control on her dog

    Husky barking including 'I will just call animal control because I can not put the residents at risk'
    via TRAVELARIUM

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Scenario: apartment complex next to a street of townhomes Characters: Myself (apartment employee), Dog, "Karen" (lives in townhomes)
    via Proper-Anywhere-9266
  • 03
    Scene: I am walking in the apartment complex towards supply shop, the section faces the street the townhomes are on, as I round the corner I hear a dog barking, I look to see a the dog which is barking at me and approaching me (not on a
    via Proper-Anywhere-9266
  • 04
    leash), I stop, then I hear " Karen" yell for her dog, Karen is 20 plus feet away, as she approaches her dog starts walking away from her and further into the complex, I remind her that her dog should
    via Proper-Anywhere-9266

  • Unless it's a Chihuahua, even we get scared of charging, barking dogs, and we love dogs. We stop to pet every dog we can, but you don't know if a dog is dangerous until it's too late. That's a surefire way to have an accident happen.

  • 05
    Big dog looking at smaller dog
    via FredrikPersson

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 06
    be on a leash, she says her dog got out by accident, the whole time I am walking away slowly, she is walking towards her dog, her dog looks like it is sniffing to use the restroom, I ask her can she make sure she cleans up after it, her dog disappears
    via Proper-Anywhere-9266
  • 07
    around the corner, she stops going towards it and starts walking home, I stop and I'm tell her to please go get her dog, that she can not leave it unsupervised, I am concerned for the residents especially if
    via Proper-Anywhere-9266
  • 08
    she approaches them the way she did me, Karen does not care and proceeds to walk home, I tell her that is fine, I will just call Animal Control, Karen stops and starts asking me why, I explain that since she is walking away and not getting her unleashed dog, that I will just call animal
    via Proper-Anywhere-9266

  • See? It's never worth it. This all would have been avoided Karen had either trained her dog to follow her commands or put a leash on (or both!). A dog is never too old to learn new tricks; it's all about the patience and consistency of the owner. 

  • 09
    control because I can not put the residents at risk. Just then her dog comes running around the corner, straight at me. I again freeze, thankfully it stops just to sniff me, and Karen takes this opportunity to grab it's
    via Proper-Anywhere-9266
  • 10
    Dogs running outside
    via ArmanWerthPhotography

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 11
    collar. I tell her to please just take her dog home and I walk away. I go to the supply shop, look for what I need and then go to the office. I walk in to find Karen inside the office complaining about me to the property manager. The property manager tells me that I should
    via Proper-Anywhere-9266
  • 12
    not have threatened to call animal control on her. I explain what took place and that I only said it because Karen started to walk away and leave her dog on our property. A AH for threatening to call animal control in this situation?
    via Proper-Anywhere-9266
  • 13
    WanderingMadmanRedux NTA, but this is how it's going to go... you call Animal Services and they ask if the animal is still roaming around. You say "no". They hang up on you.
    via WanderingMadmanRedux
  • 14
    BedroomEducational94 NTA- The dog approached you barking. You were not ab live or r ide upon your first several requests for the dog to be gotten under control. She began to walk away leaving the animal unattended. There was no need
    via BedroomEducational94
  • 15
    for animal control AFTER she grabbed the dog, but prior to if she had left you would be in the right. The animal was roaming around unguarded, unleashed, unaccompanied. Had someone been bit or the dog gotten into traffic, then what? What if the person who was bitten was a child or elderly person? NTA
    via BedroomEducational94
  • 16
    atmasabr YTA I agree with your property manager. What you witnessed was a nuisance violation, not animal abe or a dangerous animal. Actually calling animal control would have been a very serious ab e of your discretion and should not have been done without your supervisor's approval. If it is an emergency and someone's safety is threatened, call 911.
    via atmasabr
  • 17
    Wise_Session_5370 NTA but Animal Control is useless. If the animal is causing damage or endangering anyone, call the police.
    via Wise_Session_5370
  • 18
    Otherwise, you need to write to the property management. Reminding them of their liability issues should make them sit up and take notice.
    via Wise_Session_5370
  • 19
    CeramicToast · 1d ago • You don't know that a dog is dangerous or not until its too late. Sure, the dog was harmless this time, but you unfortunately cannot guarantee that every dog that comes running
    via CeramicToast
  • 20
    up to you is a well behaved, well trained dog. And even a well trained dog can snap in certain circumstances. People should not be letting their dogs roam free -- its dangerous to other people and the dog itself.
    via CeramicToast

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

big dogs dogs neighbors neighborhood drama animal control doggo victim karen story animals karen
Scroll Down For The Next Article