# My jerk neighbor keeps contacting animal control



## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Ok, I should say upfront that I don't necessarily know its him, since complaints are anonymous, but the other neighbors and my roommates and I are all sure its him... 

He's a jerk period and a lot of neighbors have had issues with him making complaints and acting as if he owns the whole street. He's also called the health department (again, no PROOF its him, but...) on us and another house because of things in the yard. They did nothing, because there's nothing wrong. One of my roommates does a lot of gardening and sells plants as well so he has tables set up, lots of pots, some toy wagons with stuff in them, and bags of soil and mulch. 

So apparently he's complained about me and my dogs to other neighbors (but never me or my roommates) since I moved in. These neighbors tell me or my roommates about it. Including some weird stories he's made up where he probably saw one thing and then turned it into something different, or I'm being too nice and he's totally pulling stories out of his butt. 

So, animal control first showed up about a month ago. I happened to have been sitting in my car, Emma was inside but Tessa was in the car too due to rain. There are a LOT of people living in this house, and when I moved in it was supposed to be temporary but has stretched on and I've temporarily given up on moving. I cherish my alone time, privacy, and also just plain quiet very much. We've got 4 adults, and 2 kids (boys ages 13 and 11) in an itty bitty house. Also, the dogs aren't allowed to roam freely in all parts of the house. Like I said, this was supposed to be temporary. So the dogs spend a lot of time outside, which is supervised by me. Especially since Tessa having gone missing, I don't allow them outside unsupervised for even a short while. So, I come sit in my car with my laptop, or a book/kindle, or just listen to an audiobook on my phone. And keep an eye on the dogs. Depending on the weather, they sit in the car with me. This is nothing new, I've done it for years actually during times I didn't have a/c so I'd spend the hottest part of the day in the car with the a/c running, or when I moved into a place that turned out to have electricity issues so I'd sit in my car with it running to charge up my laptop battery. 

So, animal control arrives. Tells me there's been a complaint about german shepherds living in a car. Uh, what? One guy tells me how dogs can't live in a car, and I'll have to get the dog out of the car or surrender it. Uhm, seriously? First off, I've actually lived in my car in the past and never had a problem with animal control... Secondly, there's NO reason why a dog can't be in a car. Me sitting in the car with the dogs is no different than if I was driving the car with the dogs on the way to training, the vet, etc. He says that theres a specific statute and he actually removed a dog from someone recently, he'll go look it up... He goes out to his truck. The other guy, MUCH nicer. Agrees with me, there's no reason a dog can't be in a car if I'm sitting in the car with it. Eventually the other guy comes back and says yea I'm not doing anything wrong, sorry. We all kind of talk for a few minutes, relax and laugh about it, they say sorry for bothering me and leave. 

My roommate happened to ask me what would happen if the neighbor keeps sending complaints. I said well they would have to escalate the situation. Since animal control checked out this complaint and found it false, something new/more serious would probably have to be said for them to come out again. 

So the other day, animal control shows up again. This was just the nicer guy from the first time. I happened to be in my car again when he got here I see him and get out of the car and walk up. He starts off by apologizing for having to bother me again, LOL. But says he's getting more complaints, and has to check them out. Says he has to ask me some questions, even if they might be weird. I wish I was paying more attention to remember, but the only one I remember was do I tie my dogs to the bumper of my car. I said no, but I do tie out my dogs and there's one next to the car. We were only a few feet away from the tie out area next to my car where Tessa was, and I also gestured to the other one (they both have dog houses, so its easy to see where they are.) The neighbor I believe is making the complaints lives on the other side of the driveway, so I guess I could see him thinking the tie out was attached to a bumper if he sees the dog in front of or behind the car but the rest of the cable is hidden by the car. The animal control officer also says the complaint said my dogs were starving to death. He remarked that obviously they weren't and were in good condition and well taken care of. We talked for a few minutes, I mentioned I'm pretty sure I know who's sending the complaints. He said how if the same complaints keep getting sent he knows they aren't true and someone won't come out, but something new would have to be checked. And jokingly said 'see you next month' before leaving. 

During a very irritated moment I thought about leaving him a rude letter. But I know while making me feel better, it wouldn't help the situation. I'm not too concerned, as I said I'm going to be moving eventually so I just need to put up with the guy until I'm gone. He has no reason to complain, I don't let my dogs in his yard, definitely don't let them defecate on his property or anything. Tessa doesn't bark at all, Emma will give a single bark at certain things and if started barking will stop with a quick reprimand. If she gets too excitable she goes inside to chill. 

I'm sure he's not honestly concerned about my dogs, but I thought about writing a super sweet sugar and honey letter. I'd be anonymous and vague just in case its not him, but say stuff like "I really appreciate your concern for my dogs well being. You may not realize this, but they're actually at ideal weight and most pets are kept overweight which is not healthy. If you'd like to meet them and see for yourselves feel free to come over when you see us out some time!" yadda yadda. I'll probably just end up doing nothing and forgetting about the guy until the next neighbor tells me what he's saying now, or animal control shows up again. But it really irks me that he's wasting AC time. AC is hugely overworked and underfunded here.

PS I wrote all this from my laptop in my car. The dogs on their tie outs. Its been a beautiful day, shame its supposed to start raining soon.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I wonder what makes the man so unhappy.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I know I am going to the Fiery Pit for this, but here's a thought for you. Get a list of your local churches in your area. And every week call a different one, and tell them about this lonely shut in that would really appreciate a visit from someone from the church because he sometimes talks about God, and how you are worried about him, etc. 

I really am not sure each church would visit him, but I am guessing some of the more evangelistic ones probably would.


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## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

Take him some cookies and just chat. Introduce yourself and offer to introduce him to the girls. That requires effort and have to be nice which can be difficult when he is a jerk.

Maybe you could send him a nice card. Say I know it seems odd to see me and my dogs hanging out in the car. I am grateful that you cared enough about the dogs to make sure they are ok. You must be an animal lover. I am too. I am thankful that I am in a position to take great care of my dogs. If you would like to meet them, call me and you can come over and say hello.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Encourage your neighbor to move to California. Here we have tethering laws, and laws about leaving your dog in the car. 

On the other hand, I like what Cheyanna wrote. We have a very irritable neighbor up the street, he seemed to hate dogs. When I walk by him I would have Molly on her best behavior. I would nod and say hello. Soon he became familiar with me and started a conversation on superbowl day. He really respected and admired Molly as it turns out. So maybe once he knows you and likes you, he won't be against you.


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## volcano (Jan 14, 2013)

Dont let it keep building up, confront him now before youre so pissed off you do the wrong thing.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

I found out my neighbors complained to others about us soon after we moved in --the contractors working on the house rolled over one of the bushes on the property line while delivering a load of lumber, and that set off the neighbor in a screaming fit about how terrible it had been since we moved in. I wasn't there. I heard about it from the contractors.

I went to the best bakery in town and bought a great cake, and stopped at a good nursery and bought a gift certificate that would have bought about 4 of those bushes (and the one that got rolled over wasn't dead--just a big branch mushed--it recovered).

I brought the cake and gift certificate to _his wife _and was very apologetic that we'd done something unintentionally to upset them so. 

She was embarrassed by the amount of the gift certificate, I believe she gave her husband an earful when he got home. He's been sweet as pie ever since. It cost me less than $100 to buy peace -- and that's truly what I did -- I bought this guy off with a cake and garden center certificate. Maybe it was the gesture that made him realize we weren't nasty people, maybe it was having his irritation acknowledged. I don't know, but I'm glad to not be fighting with them.

If you can't buy him a gift, bake him something and take it over as a peace offering.


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## gowen (Nov 4, 2011)

selzer said:


> I know I am going to the Fiery Pit for this, but here's a thought for you. Get a list of your local churches in your area. And every week call a different one, and tell them about this lonely shut in that would really appreciate a visit from someone from the church because he sometimes talks about God, and how you are worried about him, etc.
> 
> I really am not sure each church would visit him, but I am guessing some of the more evangelistic ones probably would.


Even worse, make sure they are all Mormon churches. I hear they score heavenly bonuses for converting


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

Have a lawyer send a letter to animal control and demand they stop or divulge who called. I had this with my macaw and a neighbor calling the police and animal control. A nice legal letter to both stopped it. The blame falls on them if they keep acknowledging someone who is harassing you. The police were showing up at 2 in the afternoon. It got to a point I got nasty with them since no laws were being broken.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Gretchen said:


> Encourage your neighbor to move to California. Here we have tethering laws, and laws about leaving your dog in the car.


Uhm, so do we. But leaving your dog in the car is completely different from being in a car with your dog. If having your dog in the car was against the law, no one would be able to transport their dogs by car. It doesn't matter if the car is moving or not. There's no difference between me sitting in my car in the driveway, and me sitting in my car on the way to a vet at a red light. 

LOL about the churches. Unfortunately he's not a shut in, in fact he's rarely ever home which makes the fact that he complains about everything in the neighborhood so much more annoying. And he doesn't like dogs at all, so bringing my dogs to meet him wouldn't help the situation. When he is home, he stares at me when I'm training so I'm sure he realizes the dogs are well behaved. Its actually amusing what I've noticed since moving in, there are a lot of people with dogs on this street. In fact every house surrounding except the complainer. And I've seen the others try to copy what I do with my dogs. 

When I first moved in the guy was actually finishing out a jail sentence. He has people over frequently so he's not lonely, and when he doesn't have people over and is home he's frequently on the front porch on his cell phone talking so loudly you can hear him 3 houses down. I'm not sure what he does for work (probably the same thing that put him in jail... drug dealing I hear) since he comes and goes all hours of the day and night. 

I'm a laid back person, I'm not going to do anything I'd regret. The stories I hear about what he says to other people I find amusing. And the animal control officer and I joked and laughed about it all. As for trying to get a lawyer involved it's not necessary, I don't have money to waste lol, and it wouldn't do anything. Its not that the officer couldn't divulge who was making the complaints, they came IN anonymously. He said they're being left through the online form for the mayors action line. 

When I do get mad about something, I just vent to get over it. So I figured I'd vent here, and also maybe someone would have a suggestion I might want to try. So I definitely appreciate the suggestions and by all means keep em coming. I have no interest in speaking to him in person. Especially in case it ISNT him thats making the AC complaints, I have no proof like I said and since he's already a jerk in the other mentioned ways I wouldn't want to make it worse. But I like the idea of making him feel bad by being super duper sweet. Thats why I thought maybe a letter. I'd be anonymous and vague in case he isn't the one thats called AC. Since all the neighbors have dogs, if he wasn't the one thats doing it he also wouldn't be able to know who the letter came from. I don't think he was home either time AC stopped by, and since the visits were short he would have also had to have been watching out the window at the exact time even if he was home. I think thats part of why the complaints keep coming in, I doubt he realizes AC has even come out yet. Though I don't know what he expects to happen, unless he somehow believes the false complaints. Or, of course, harassment is his goal. In which case the super sweet letter thanking him for his concern and watching out for animal welfare would be good


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

If the guy is a drug dealer, that could explain why he hates your dogs. I would probably do nothing. He is a low-life, and acting like one. Keep your dogs safe, and move as soon as you can.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

I feel bad for my roommates, since they own the house and aren't going anywhere! I'm not sure how soon I'll be moving, this summer or maybe not until fall. I'm trying to save up for a few big things like a new (used) car. 

My roommates and some neighbors actually talked to me about how bad the guy was before he came back from jail. They said how much they LOVED him being gone! He lived in the house when he first bought it, and then rented it out for a while, and then moved back into it. And of course gone during the period of jail, when the house sat empty. My roommates and the neighbors who live on the other side of the guy joke constantly about pooling together to buy the house from the guy just to get him out of the neighborhood.


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## Draugr (Jul 8, 2011)

Some people are just miserable pukes. They have nothing better to do than be bullies and try and lord their pretend authority over other people (which they do through government agencies like AC).

Just realize that - whoever this is, they are living a very sad, pathetic, and lonely life.


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

Agree with all the suggestions on remaining nice, polite; you don't want to sink to his level. At the same time get caught up on the harassment laws for your area because this IS harassment.

If you decide to push the issue; the tips being left online isn't anonymous, especially since this is a government entity. They can go into the history and pull the IP address, contact the provider and determine user.


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## BahCan (May 29, 2010)

If I were you I would be second guessing as to whether it is the guy next door. If he is/was a drug dealer it would not fit into the profile of drug dealers, they do not like to bring attention onto themselves with neighbours, they like to remain under the radar sort of speak, fit into the neighbouhood, not cause problems, not complain, keep to them selves, and I would think the last thing a drug dealer would want to do is to start calling authorities, even anonymously, and risk negative attention being brought onto themselves with a neighbour, its bad for business.


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## curedba (Mar 31, 2013)

I am Mormon and we have people that come for home visits called elders they are men or women on missions to help others join the church or help tem with housework, tead a pasage, whatever it may be they would gladly visit call a LDS (latter day saints) church they would be more than happy to help


Or better yet call the police and say he's been suspected of beating his wife or children because our dogs are like our family it feels the same way when you call animal control.




selzer said:


> I know I am going to the Pit for this, but here's a thought for you. Get a list of your local churches in your area. And every week call a different one, and tell them about this lonely shut in that would really appreciate a visit from someone from the church because he sometimes talks about God, and how you are worried about him, etc.
> 
> I really am not sure each church would visit him, but I am guessing some of the more evangelistic ones probably would.


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## BahCan (May 29, 2010)

"Or better yet call the police and say he's been suspected of beating his wife or children "

Curedba...this is an extremely bad idea to suggest to the OP, calling and filing a false complaint like this could potentialy land the OP in jail...really bad suggestion


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## curedba (Mar 31, 2013)

Well then he shouldn't be such a jerk as far as I am concerned our dogs are family it's just as bad to file a false complaint of animal neglect or abuse animals should be treated no differently then people its a bunch of BS anyway I realize it may have been a little extreme I was just venting because I have had people call on me in the past because my Dobermann would bark outside at people that came too close to the yard so I know how it feels if the OP could be charged for filing a false claim then so could the f*c*king jerk



BahCan said:


> "Or better yet call the police and say he's been suspected of beating his wife or children "
> 
> Curedba...this is an extremely bad idea to suggest to the OP, calling and filing a false complaint like this could potentialy land the OP in jail...really bad suggestion


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

don't worry, I wouldn't file a false report. He also lives there alone, the people that come and go never stay long. For the most part I don't recognize the cars coming and going... Which has lead to me joking around that he's still drug dealing, since I see so many different cars. Maybe thats why he dislikes me sitting in my car or the front yard, I see so much of whats going on at his place! 

I don't know for sure it was drug dealing that resulted in the jail sentence, just what I've been told by my roommates and neighbors, so for all I know thats just gossip. He definitely was in jail though, and his mom would come and pick up the mail, mow the lawn, etc and she talked to people sometimes. 

My roommate was saying the guy likes to think we have a neighborhood association and he's the head of it. The animal control guy said where he lives they DO have a HOA, and that the crap this guy is pulling wouldn't fly there!


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