Drama

I had an interesting episode with our neighbor on the far end. It's a really nice elderly lady who has her daughter and son-in-law from Texas living with her. The daughter is not so nice as I found out today. She has a Pomeranian dog named "Rowdy" (approprately names) who loves to bark. They let him run free almost every day in the big shared back yard. Anyway, last week the weather was warm enough for Cedric and I to play in our private yard, and Rowdy had taken to barking at us through the fence. Oh yeah, and we also realized he had been pooping on our back patio all winter but that's another story. Anyway, the barking was upsetting Cedric, sometimes making him cry, not to mention totally disrupting the peace and scaring all the birds away. I had tried yelling at the dog and even carefully (so as not to hit him) throwing sticks at him but the dog would hardly flinch. So one afternoon I noticed that their back door was open so I walked over to let them know there was a problem. The dog was barking at me the whole way over and the whole time I was talking to the older lady. She was really nice though.. So was I. I just let her know what was happening and if they could keep him on this side of the yard if he's going to bark. So I tried walking back home but the dog kept rushing me every time I turned my back. It was totally freaking me out! The dog was being very aggressive but the lady (Linda) kept telling me that "he won't bite you!" Yeah right. Prove it. There's always a first time. I finally inch my way back to my door. And that's that until today.

Same thing happened. We were playing in our private yard and the dog came barking. Tim was home this time but I went ahead and trucked over there myself with the dog barking all the way. Linda wasn't home this time so the daughter met me at the door. She had heard us coming because the back door was open. Well, I explained to her what the dog has a habit of doing and that it makes my 18-month-old cry. I asked if they'd thought of getting something like a baby-gate fence thing to put the dog in when he's out going potty, and she explained that the landlord said that the dog could run free in the yard. I said that I understand and that I really wouldn't mind the dog running free if the dog was friendlier and didn't bark at us but that Cedric and I come out to play in the communal backyard every day in the summer and that it was not okay for the dog to be free while we're out there. She did not concede or agree or apologize. I was really proud of myself because I wasn't even flustered when I spoke with her and, of course, I always try to be polite and diplomatic. So anyway, I tried walking back home and the dog kept rushing me again so I stopped and told her with a laugh that I'm just going to wait here until you come and get him. After a minute of standing there she finally admits that if she comes out there the dog is going to run from her. So she can't control her aggressive dog. That reason alone says that the dog should not be running free. She assures me again that he has never bitten anybody even when he's barking at them like this. Well, since she can't come and get him, I venture to turn my back. The dog barks, rushes and jumps at me. About half way back to my door he rushes, barking, within 6 inches of my heals and I've had enough so I turn around and kick at him, yelling and scowling. He immediately backed off about 2 feet and stayed at that distance, though still barking relentlessly, until I was safely in my back door.

Now the funny part. About an hour later, I was sitting in my car in the parking lot trying to do devotions. My window was open and apparently she didn't know I was in there. Linda comes home and while the door to the house is still open the daughter starts loudly telling the "story" of what happened. I didn't get to hear all of it, but of what I did hear apparently, I came raging over "pounding on the back door" (remember, the back door was open and she met me there, I never touched her door). She told Linda that I said Cedric was crying (which of course was true) but that he was actually laughing and squealing (how would she know when she couldn't even tell her dog was barking at us?). She ranted about how "I was like, oh my gosh, your son is behind a fence!" (As if that makes it okay for your dog to bark at him endlessly.) I think she conveniently left out the important point I made that we play every day in the back communal yard when the weather is nice. It faded at that point until she loudly accused me of having "kicked the crap out of my dog!!!" *sigh* I kicked at her dog, yes. Made contact? NO, though the dog would have deserved it completely. So according to the gal I'm an animal-abusing bitch.

Oh, goodness, I just hope that Linda knows that her daughter lies and exagerates and takes the story with a grain of salt. If this happens again when Tim is home, he's going over and including the fact that we're going to be talking with our landlord. If he's not home.... *sigh* I guess I'll have to go be a "bitch" again. I'm really tempted to take my broom with me next time and warning her that unless she gets her dog in the house, I might just hit him on my way back to my door. *sigh* I didn't ask for this, and I was extremely nice about it! We just can not be harassed in our own yard or communal backyard by a dog who's owner admittedly can not control him. If she won't control her dog, I will. Cedric and I were out in the communal backyard today for an hour and a half. I'm really concerned that they might not notice us out there next time and let the dog out. That will really piss me off. Don't mess with the mother-bear, things are liable to get ugly. :)