Well, specifically, our neighbors suck. In the 8 months we’ve lived there, we’ve put up with quite a lot from them, including their late-weeknight loudness, shitty hair band music blaring from their Harleys as they warm up on their front lawn and their excessive quantity of vehicles that force anyone who visits us to park a hundred yards away. And through all of that, we’ve been incredibly cordial, even excessively so, as we’ve waved to them and said “hi”, sometimes not getting a response. But, whatever. No big deal.
Yesterday evening, Carrie and I went out to eat and as we were leaving, a young, though large, dog came running through the front yard. Being dog/animal people, Carrie and I pet the dog and what-not, which may have been our biggest mistake. Upon returning, the dog was still running around outside, which was a bit problematic as I tried to avoid killing it with my car. As I was getting out of the car, the damn dog jumped right inside, getting his muddy paws all over the upholstery. Now, that pissed me off quite a lot, but whatever. It was becoming obvious at this point that it was the neighbor’s dog (using process of elimination), and while that was irritating, it wasn’t a big deal. Seemingly, the dog had just gotten loose, and I’m not going to bitch about that – shit happens, right?
So, this morning I go outside to start my car. Upon opening the door to come back into the house, the dog, from out of nowhere, runs right inside the house – again with muddy paws. I yell at it to stop, which caused it to pee on the carpet. So, at 5:30 AM, as both Carrie and I prepare to leave for work, there’s mud and piss on our carpet. Awesome. I drag the dog outside, and chase it into the neighbor’s yard. Obviously, at this point I’m fuming. But, whatever – I’m willing, once again, to give the neighbors the benefit of the doubt and assume the dog got loose again. And while its inexcusable, I understand that shit happens, and I’m not about to make a big deal about it.
Then, as I go to get into my car, I see the neighbor let the dog back in. So, now its totally obvious that they’re letting the dog out into the neighborhood to do its “business”, rather than letting it into their back yard, presumably because they have another dog (or dogs), and they don’t get along or something. I’m not sure of the reason, but its clear that they’re choosing to let the dog out into the wild to piss and shit wherever. Not only is this illegal, but its also not cool, considering their dog is absolutely untrained. I don’t mind loose dogs, so long as they’re mindful of commands and so forth.
So, because I know the neighbor is awake, I go up to her door:
Me: Hi. Look, I’m not trying to be a jerk, and I don’t want to start a war or anything like that, but if I see your dog running loose one more time, I’m going to call the cops. Yesterday, I had to clean mud from my car’s upholstery and this morning we’ve got mud and piss on our carpet, from your dog. So please, please, please keep your dog inside, in your yard or tied up or whatever. Please. I do not want to have to call the cops, but if I see the dog outside one more time, I absolutely will.
Her: (in an incredibly snotty voice) OK.
OK? Oh kay??? No “sorry”? No, “oh my goodness, I had no idea”? Not even an apologetic tone to the “OK”? What the fuck? And here I was, actually feeling guilty for saying something to them, even after all the bullshit we’ve graciously put up with from those mindless, self-centered fucks!
Now, I hate being “that guy”. I actually felt embarrassed and guilty for taking such a strong, angry stance in the situation. So, I suppose I should thank that stupid bitch for being such a stupid bitch, because now I don’t feel guilty anymore.
Fucking people.
