Among Friends

[joa]

Yes they do have leash laws but they only have 7 police on the entire force in this borough.  They talked to me over the phone and said the animal warden would call me and make a decision on whether to go to their house. She did go yesterday. I was told that the dog could be loose on their property if it is under control of someone. If it goes off of their property it needs to be on a leash. Which it wasn't when it came into our yard. The animal control person said once they give the first warning I can call her back if it happens again ( and it will) and she will start issuing citations to them.  I just hope something tragic doesn't happen in the mean time.

[riley1]

Oh gosh, sorry you are going through this. I'm sure your town has a leash law - not that that matters to some people. In our old home we had two sets of neighbors with 2 pitbulls each - one set of pits were calm (not that I would walk into their yard without their human being around), the other set scared the sh** out of me - I felt they could jump the 4' fence without a problem, and when I had my lab outside, I felt like they saw us as "dinner" - they were guard dogs at the guys business.

If it continues to be a problem with this dog running, you might have to call animal control every time the dog is loose - if they do take the dog, when the people go to pick up the dog they will have to pay to get it back.

A fence would not be a bad idea if you could swing it - you probably hate the start out that way - but it might solve your problem - You shouldn't be afraid to be in your own yard with your pet. Good Luck 

[Lu12jm]

Pit bulls have a bad reputation. I had a pit bull that was the  a loving and caring dog. He was properly trained and I never ever had one issue with him. He loved kids and was affectionate. I never worried about him.

However most pit bulls are not trained properly. A fence might not even keep the dog out. Calling the animal control and police was the correct thing to do. Keep calling if you get no satisfaction because you do not need to be afraid in your own home.

As for being bad mouthed - Who cares. I would guess all your neighbors are in the same situation you are living in fear of the dog and have no respect for th people who own it. The people who don't want to be neighborly probably would not have been anyway.

Good luck

[joa]

I know other people who have pit bulls who are incredibly loving and friendly.  I did talk to the people on the other side of me who are retired. They said that the dog makes them nervous also. They have seen it in their yard too. She said the owner have a "shock collar" for the dog but they are not properly training it. When I first moved in the dog let me pet him when I was out getting my mail during daylight hours. The real problem is the lady just opens up the back door in the evening and lets him out and if we are out he comes running into our yard. She has absolutely no regard for us obviously.

[hckynut]

@joa

Do not feel bad or sad, you did the right thing, especially for the dog. Big animal lover here, both my wife and myself, but that means little when comes to roaming dogs.

When we moved in our closest neighbor, this a rural type area where everyone has an acreage. They had 2 Rottweilers and they had a fenced yard, however! That was not high enough to keep them in when they decided they wanted to roam.

I talked with the neighbors and they said they had dug under the fence. Now I met both of the dogs when with my neighbors, no problem. Now when they roam at night in our rural area? Very dark and not quite the same. Saw one of them wandering our yard late at night and called my neighbor.

I told her that if I saw either of their dogs loose again, I would be calling animal control. We live fairly close to a state highway and i cannot even count the number of dead animals I have picked up off that highway, including 2 beautiful dogs, both of which had tags on them. I was just as worried about their dogs becoming a highway victim as I was about a possible danger to my wife or myself.

Once again i saw 1 roaming our gravel road. I got out my camera and shots several pictures of the dog roaming, which had the date and time stamped on them? I called Animal Control and told them the situation. They came to our home and I gave them pictures I had printed in case the neighbors said "it wasn't my dog.

They fined them and ordered them to post a "Dangerous Dogs" steel sign where anyone approaching their property could easily see it. We are still friends and they finally increased the height of their fence, problem solved.

I did not feel the least bit bad or sad, I told my neighbor I was concerned about the dogs safety, including my wife and myself. I feel I know what is the right thing to do when I see stray or a neighbors dog roaming on or close to our property, and that is exactly what I do.

You also did what you felt was the right thing, and I fully agree with your decision.

hckynut(john)

[Nightowlz]

I don't know what the leash/dog laws are where you live. If your neighbors want to let their dog out without a leash they need to fence their back yard. You should not be stuck with the burden of paying for a fence because of your neighbors actions.

You need to call Animal Control every time you see the dog running loose. Your neighbors should be fined each time they have to come out. Eventually your neighbors will get tired of paying those fines & put up a fence or get rid of the dog.

Here if your dog is outdoors not in a fenced area they are suppose to be on a leash. People don't always respect that. We have a pit bull behind us & 3 mean dogs next door. We all have fenced yards but the neighbor with the 3 dogs gets out of the fenced yard. It's best not to go outside if we see those dogs roaming because we don't know when one may attack. I finally called Animal Control & they came out. The lady was just getting home when he pulled up & she jumped out of her car & grabbed the dog & took it inside. Animal Control would have fined her $250 but since she put it inside he did not. We have also called animal control from all the barking & howling with those 3 dogs. I printed out the City Ordinance that states 1st offense $500 2nd offense $750 with possible taking your dog. I gave the printout to the neighbors. Since then they are not barking & howling much because they keep dogs 2 inside at times & leave 1 outside so they are not barking. All the barking started when their daughter moved into a house without a fenced yard & needed some place for her dog. The other 2 dogs don't get along with it.

Hope Animal Control takes care of the situation.

[CrazyDaisy]

It is not safe for any dog to be allowed to roam unsupervised.

[stevieb]

You might find over time that while these neighbors are friendly with others in the neighborhood you are not alone in feeling they need to better sequester their dog... If not, then it might be a tough row to hoe, but you still have the right to expect the dog will be contained. It's just plain stupid for anyone to assume it's all right to let their dog roam the neighborhood and especially a dog that is not perceived in a universally favorable light. You shouldn't have to put up a fence. They should. You can persist in calling the proper authorities when you need to and, as the opportunity presents itself, explain to neighbors, without feeling like you need to defend yourself, what the situation really is... You might even want to consider a small neighborhood cookout or some other social event, so you can get to know a few of them and they can get to see that you are not the villain in this story.

[Mz iMac]

@joa

The next time you see the pit bull in your yard and/or roaming the neighborhood, take a video & while it is running say the date & time.  Make a written note of same.

Take the video to the police department.  File a written complaint.  Just because you have a 7 person pd is no excuse for them not coming out to assess the situation.  Especially, if the pit bull roams unleased daily.

Another thing.......

If other neighbors are concerned, get together & contact your local tv news station investigative team.  Let them know of your situation.

[Hellodemocrat]

What about getting some dog treats and start there.

He could be barking because of your dog and wants to make friends.

We have had pitts on both sides of us and our german shepherd and them have played and had a great time.