Neighbors dog

[jimbob86]

The OP's story reminds me of one that I have heard many versions of over the years...... here's the Cliff's Notes version:

Jed the Farmer phones his neighbor Clem. "Clem!" Jed thunders, "Your dogs were chasin' my cows this morning! Keep them HOME"

Clem cuts Jed off, "Jed, MY dogs ain't NEVER chased no cows, and you know it. They're Good pups! Must've been somebody else's mutts chasin' yer cows this mornin'!"

Jed looks at the phone angrily for a second, then calms down and responds, "Maybe so, Clem ....... I could have been mistaken. Have a good day!"

The next day, Clem calls Jed, "Jed, have you seen my dogs? They went runnin' around last evenin', and weren't here this mornin'...... "

Jed replied, "Nope. I did shoot two dogs that were runnin' my cows just about sundown, but they couldn't possibly have been yours, because your dogs don't chase cows, and these two most definitely were ........"

 

[enola]

My neighbor runs a very nice stable. My rooster went over there and wandered around pooping everywhere. She come over and asks me to please keep my rooster home. So I do, he never got the chance to go back. Fast forward two years, I catch her dog trying to dig under my coop gate. I go to her and say please keep your dog out of my barn. Oh it is not my dog. So I say OK if it comes back it is going to the pound. No problem she says it's not my dog.
Yea, right, I send the dog to the pound, and she comes over screaming and yelling at me......

So it is not OK for my rooster to poop in her barn, but it OK for her dog to try digging in to get my chickens???? Sheesh!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

My neighbor runs a very nice stable. My rooster went over there and wandered around pooping everywhere. She come over and asks me to please keep my rooster home. So I do, he never got the chance to go back. Fast forward two years, I catch her dog trying to dig under my coop gate. I go to her and say please keep your dog out of my barn. Oh it is not my dog. So I say OK if it comes back it is going to the pound. No problem she says it's not my dog.
Yea, right, I send the dog to the pound, and she comes over screaming and yelling at me......

So it is not OK for my rooster to poop in her barn, but it OK for her dog to try digging in to get my chickens???? Sheesh!

Ya gotta love a good old fashioned hypocrite!

 

[LowerBamaMama]

I was asked to take a look at this thread and see if I could help.  Not sure that I have much to offer that hasn't been said, and I'm sure that some of what I have to say might not be received very well.  But that's never stopped me before.  

First of all, your dogs running loose sometimes and getting under her trailer, and her dogs coming onto your yard and killing your chickens are NOT two separate issues - not in this case and not in the eyes of the law. They are firmly connected by the fact that she has made it very clear that she does not want them on her property, just as she knows you don't want hers around your place.  So it becomes a matter of, what is known in legal terms, as both parties having "dirty hands."  I know your dogs are sweet and all of the other neighbors like to give them treats and such, but they are still NOT where they are supposed to be.  And I know that you said your dogs are not causing any kind of damage, but if you can't see them you can't be 100% certain of that. For instance, did you SEE your dogs roll in the rooster carcass?  There's an old saying, "The only person who doesn't hear a barking dog at 2:00am is the dog's owner."  Okay, so that's the part where the yelling at me can commence.  I'm glad that you will accept responsibility for any damage your dogs might do on another's property.  But I'm sure that you'd want them to prove your animals did the damage, unless you personally caught them in the act and knocked on the person's front door.

Now, for what to do.  You have two first steps here.  One is to put away the telephone, the second is to document, document, document.  Phone calls to officials rarely mean much and you can play phone tag until you have no chickens left.  It's a waste of time by this point, and the more they see your name on the caller ID the more they are going to roll their eyes and say, "Oh, it's just the chicken lady again."  Town officials do not like to get in the middle of anything that looks to them like a neighborhood spat.  So fire up the word processor on your computer and compose a letter.  You'll need to call up all of your word skills and make your letter short, firm, but leave the sarcasm, any exaggeration, and anger out of it. In the first paragraph simply state who you are, where your property is located, and what the issue is.  In the second paragraph give the dates and times you have had problems, and you can do that in bullet form or outline form, and the ways you've attempted to remedy the situation.  You can tell them that you've talked to the neighbors, and log in as best you can remember (making sure to use the word "approximate" if you can't remember the exact date and time you called) when and who you called.  Give the responses you got and in your final sentence in that paragraph let them know that those responses are neither adequate NOR within the parameters of the law.  In your last paragraph inform them that you have been in contact with the breeders of your chickens and have replacement costs available in an enclosure, but here's where you are going  to have to be the bigger person.  You are going to have to concede that although the cost might seem high, you are more than willing to meet the neighbor halfway.  I know, it's a financial hit, but it looks far better for you if it doesn't look like you are just out to see what you can get.  This letter should then be signed, and indicate on the bottom that you have enclosures and will be cc'ing another office.  Those enclosures will be a copy of the "animals at large" and "killing livestock or domestic fowl" sections, a letter from the breeder of your chickens stating reasonable replacement costs, (a print out of an email will do here)  and any photographs you have.  You can tell them then that you'd like to set up a meeting with them to resolve this situation as quickly as possible because your goal is to have a equitable solution that all parties can accept to ease any further tensions.

This letter will be addressed to the mayor and town council of your community, if applicable, or to your local county officials as well as to the Animal control officer, in care of the town if you have to address it that way. In most communities, not all, the ACO is hired by the town council or appointed by the mayor.  If it is sent in the mail, it MUST be acted upon by officials, whereas a phone call is just "he said, she said, they said, we said" communication. Send copies to the state livestock commission as well, and indicate on your letter that you are doing so.  Every state has one, I'm just not sure what it's called in Alabama.  Then from now until after you hear back from them, keep your dogs at home, no matter what you have to do accomplish that.  Keep a camera handy to document her dogs coming back to your place.  And for heaven's sake, keep your temper whenever you are dealing with these folks and with the local officials.  Keep a copy of your letter for yourself.  If you can afford it, send theirs registered or certified.

I am posting this as a former member of our community's Planning and Zoning Commission and as a Town Council member who was heavily involved in drafting our town's first animal ordinance.  I know that we would always, always act upon any written complaint before sitting in a council meeting and listening to who called who first.  I know it seems like a lot to do, but break it down into steps. Fencing is expensive, but if you look on Craig's list or in the local Penny Saver you can usually find dog kennels at a reasonable price.  That will weigh in your favor as well because it tells them that you took her complaints about your dogs seriously and have taken steps to placate your neighbor.  Good luck with this....just remember, YOU are the person who has suffered the loss and YOU have a right to expect that your local officials DO THEIR JOBS.  They can do that much better with a calm, rational person.

First, I'm ranting and raving here because I am frustrated with my apparent inability to accomplish anything that even remotely resembles a resolution. My dearest husband has told me that I am not allowed to spend the money to file a claim to get any compensation for my dead birds. So all I have left is making sure that the dog doesn't do it again. I am frustrated BUT that does not mean that I have lost my temper or been difficult to deal with in any way like you seem to be implying.
AND I'm not going to yell at you for disagreeing about my dogs trespassing and her dogs killing being separate issues. It is a little tiring to keep being told the same thing in regards to keeping the dogs in when I've already said I no longer let them out. My dogs rolled in the smelly body of the dead chicken when they were let out by my dearest husband. Nothing I can do about that. I've started saving my money week by week $60 at a time to fence in the yard because my husband has refused to give the money from his account to do it.
I'm so burnt out on all of this. Of people telling me it's not a big deal. Of people telling me it's somehow ok because my dogs went under her house. I'm done with it. I'm here to learn about chickens and enjoy talking with people who share my interest and enthusiasm for them. So I'm done with my own darn thread. I'm "dropping it"

 

[Blooie]

First, I'm ranting and raving here because I am frustrated with my apparent inability to accomplish anything that even remotely resembles a resolution. My dearest husband has told me that I am not allowed to spend the money to file a claim to get any compensation for my dead birds. So all I have left is making sure that the dog doesn't do it again. I am frustrated BUT that does not mean that I have lost my temper or been difficult to deal with in any way like you seem to be implying.
AND I'm not going to yell at you for disagreeing about my dogs trespassing and her dogs killing being separate issues. It is a little tiring to keep being told the same thing in regards to keeping the dogs in when I've already said I no longer let them out. My dogs rolled in the smelly body of the dead chicken when they were let out by my dearest husband. Nothing I can do about that. I've started saving my money week by week $60 at a time to fence in the yard because my husband has refused to give the money from his account to do it.
I'm so burnt out on all of this. Of people telling me it's not a big deal. Of people telling me it's somehow ok because my dogs went under her house. I'm done with it. I'm here to learn about chickens and enjoy talking with people who share my interest and enthusiasm for them. So I'm done with my own darn thread. I'm "dropping it"

I so sincerely apologize. I left you with the entirely wrong impression and I didn't mean to do that all. I wasn't accusing you of losing your temper, I was just cautioning you to hold on to it when dealing with nitwit public officials who can't do their jobs. I didn't do that very well, I guess. I could have phrased my entire beginning better and I didn't. No one to blame for that but me. However, that said, I do stand by what I said about wanting you to be able to CYA when it comes to your dogs or she could come back on you with both guns blazing and you might end up without any resolution at all. Why make it easy on her when she's not interested in making it easy on you?

Of course it's a big deal. They were your chickens and it's your situation and you have every reason to be frustrated and burned out! I wish I lived closer. We could sit out on the porch, have a cup of coffee and see if we could figure out how to fix it all. I know you're upset now, but believe me I am still firmly in your corner on this, and I'll stay there as long as it takes!

 

[LowerBamaMama]

I so sincerely apologize.  I left you with the entirely wrong impression and I didn't mean to do that all.  I wasn't accusing you of losing your temper, I was just cautioning you to hold on to it when dealing with nitwit public officials who can't do their jobs.  I didn't do that very well, I guess.  I could have phrased my entire beginning better and I didn't.  No one to blame for that but me. However, that said, I do stand by what I said about wanting you to be able to CYA when it comes to your dogs or she could come back on you with both guns blazing and you might end up without any resolution at all.  Why make it easy on her when she's not interested in making it easy on you?

Of course it's a big deal.  They were your chickens and it's your situation and you have every reason to be frustrated and burned out!  I wish I lived closer.  We could sit out on the porch, have a cup of coffee and see if we could figure out how to fix it all.  I know you're upset now, but believe me I am still firmly in your corner on this, and I'll stay there as long as it takes!  

I appreciate the good intent and I'm sorry I took it badly. I would love a chicken friend to sit and sip coffee with. Everyone I have occasion to chat with is burnt out on my chicken talk.

I have preached and preached to my husband about not letting the dogs out since she moved in and made it known she didn't want them over there. He says he understand when I tell him she could gather them both up and haul them off to God knows where but then when it comes down to actually putting on shoes and walking them, he falls through and it falls on me to either walk them or clean up puddles and piles off the carpet.

 

[Blooie]

Good! I'm so glad you came back to your thread! Then let's have a cyber cup and toast to truces and new friends!

 

[LowerBamaMama]

I have a real cup that I just brewed and I am looking forward to chicken friends and conversation. I am still burnt out on the topic of my poor dead babies. I'm sick of things I have to do. *Im taking a break from it for the night*
I bought a red sexlink today for $7 that I was told was close to pol

 

[Blooie]

Atta girl! I really like my Red Sex Link ladies. They are steady, reliable, and for the most part very friendly - unless you step on their toes. Um, that they take exception to!

 

[LowerBamaMama]

Atta girl!  I really like my Red Sex Link ladies.  They are steady, reliable, and for the most part very friendly - unless you step on their toes.  Um, that they take exception to!  

This girl has never been handled unlike all my birds. She's been shy and my Biel is being a witch with a capital b and pecking the poor girl into a terrified frenzy. Will this settle itself? Should I take her out? Any advice?