billy g Wrote:
I'm not saying that these people are good neighbors or that their dog isn't dangerous, but I don't think their reaction to you is surprising once you said something to the effect that you thought their dog was "dangerous. and that you didn't feel comfortable living next to it." At that point, you made yourself a threat to them keeping their dog that they probably love. It's not all that surprising to me that they would be defensive. Just sayin'
I get what you're saying, and while I'm naturally biased here, I still don't think they're justified in their general attitude or their specific response to me. Something my mom sent to me in an email today:
Drinky's mom Wrote:
Believe it or not, your neighbor's reaction is typical of people whose dogs attack other people's dogs or other people. Before you were born some acqaintences of ours had a German shepherd that bit me when we were in their yard playing badminton and then followed me into the house and would not let me out of the bathroom. Because she broke the skin, I went to the doctor and got a tetanus shot, and the people were not at all upset. The dog even bit their young son. She finally bit someone who threatened to sue them, and they got rid of her. The little old woman whose dog killed a mother cat with a litter when your dad was little was not upset by that, either. Eventually, that dog killed someone's pet who got really mad and fed the dog ground glass. The little old lady couldn't understand why someone could be so cruel. Even Mike across the street was not upset that his dog killed somebody's kitten because "he probably didn't mean to". I do not understand how people can love their own dogs and totally not understand how much other people love their pets (or children) who are injured or killed.
Mahndoo was a problem dog in a lot of ways, and there was always the possibility that he would do something to someone that would force us to finally get rid of him. It was actually something we discussed several times, but he never actually
did anything besides run away a couple of times and just be loud and annoying. And there was little or no chance he would ever kill anyone else's pet unless it was a pet bird or hamster or something. And like most small dogs, I am very sure that he would only have bitten someone if he were cornered and felt threatened. We were very conscious of how his barking affected or might be affecting our neighbors, and we did everything we could to stop it or limit it as much as possible. We were always dreading the day one of neighbors would get fed up and either come over to complain or file a complaint without even telling us. So - in addition to just trying to be good neighbors - we've tried to keep communication open with our neighbors - especially our nextdoor neighbors which these aren't - and urged them to be honest with us about whether or not our dog bothered them. Contrast that with these people who absolutely do not care how their dog affects their neighbors - even when it kills one of their pets! I mean, I don't care if I put them on the defensive, not everyone would try to immediately retaliate or even
dispute my claim in this type of situation. These people are low class. I guess their response in "understandable" if you're starting with the base assumption that they're not wholly civilized.