Would I be the asshole?

KatsDontDance

46690

766

The neighbor has had several dogs throughout the time we've lived here. They are directly next door to our right, and we only have a chain link fence dividing our yards. They used to have 3 big dogs, and they had a litter of puppies at one point. I've witnessed that pack maul the other neighbors' chickens and rabbits because they were hungry.

Now they only have one dog from the previous pack but now have 2 other dachshunds. One is blind in one eye. They're both allowed inside, but one is super emaciated. Like, you can count ribs and vertebrae emaciated. Sunken eyes skinny. So, I made friends with the dogs through the fence and have been steadily providing them food through the fence.

I have not confronted the neighbor because I know their wife is very ill with cancer, and they have a 13 yr old kid as well. I'm not trying to disrupt anything.

Last week, the kid came outside while I was feeding the skinny pooch through the fence. He didn't say anything to me and went back inside. 4 days later, I got a letter from their lawyer saying that I'm trespassing on their property?
It stated that if I crossed into their property again, they'd sue us.

I've never crossed the fence line in the backyard, nor have I been in their front yard at all. I've been very respectful of property lines as I live in a red state and desperately don't want to be shot. (We do have cameras, I could prove this in court)

Now, im thinking of lawyering up myself and calling animal control or a few shelters to try and get the dogs out of the house.

Would I be the asshole if I tried to have their dogs taken away? I'm super conflicted because I know the mom is sick, and my mom was sick with cancer, too, so I know how hard that is on a family. But the dogs don't deserve to die or be left outside like they constantly are. And I certainly don't want to be caught up in court over false trespassing charges. Especially against someone im going to have to live next to.

*update*

I have made a report with our local animal control and have contacted 3 separate rescues in our area to try and get these dogs out of their house. I have put some feelers out for local civil atournies to assist me as well. I'll try to keep yall updated as best as I can.

DaSauceSeeker

No, you wouldn't be the asshole, definitely report it. Sadly, there is also a possibility that mistreatment may not be limited to the animals...

2 years ago |

codenameRadical

Make the call

Bleedingyamato

You’re doing the right thing @op. It’s sad the mom is so sick but they’re clearly abusing the dogs and it’s not ok. The world needs more people willing to help like you.

lindabelchersfirstcousin

SAVE THE DOGS! CALL THE FEDS!

Bonesy84

I’m glad you called animal control. If someone can’t care for their dog due to cancer they need to ask for help, just like if it were their kid.

Hotsauceman

Animal control NOW!!

bigk001

call crime stoppers anonymously & have his criminal dumbass busted.
get money.
fuck bitches.

aThingWithTheStufAndTheJunk

Almost every neighbor story I read makes me extremely grateful for my neighbor.

artemismaximus

Your neighbour is an idiot.

AyatollahBahloni

You are a good person, and I hope this comes out well for you and the animals. And fuck your neighbor.

FloridaLawyer

PM me with your state if you want. Maybe I can get you a referral.

llamprey

Animal Control NOW!

backrideup9

Your description of your neighbors doesn't really make it sound like they can afford a lawyer. Does the firm on the letterhead actually exist?

The firm does exist, and it's one of the firms that sends out thousands of flyers to specific zip codes around where I live. They don't have a good reputation.

Malibloo

If you didn't trespass, they don't have any proof to sue with. Do whichever you're most comfortable with.

theothermeisnthere

Report the neighbor to the police / ASPCA or whomever handles animal abuse in your area.

AndroidSoul

Gotta ask, did you, like, talk to them at any point?

I've spoken to them in the past, yes, but only in regards to their previous animals (the ones that were killing chickens). I have not spoken to them about the dogs since they got the dachshunds because they told me they were watching them for their older children temporarily. But its been almost a year since they took the little dogs on.

Sliprunner

I am going to be absolutely furious about this until I get an update the dog is being taken care of properly. There is no excuse for making the animals suffer if there are others that can take care of them.

Dunothar

Yeah, keep us updated @OP. Crap like this makes my blood boil.

I will try my best to update the situation throughout the process

HopelessNecr0mantic

A good resource for finding legal help would be your local bar association, and or a legal aid society, if one exists. Frankly the lawsuit threat is a nuisance only, they have no grounds to do anything to you, because they have no damages. It is really nothing much to worry about. What are they going to have a court declare, you can't walk up to your own fence? It's laughable.

Thats kinda what I'm thinking, especially since we do have cameras and the emaciated dog has been caught on film several times throughout my feeding her. If they do actually follow through, I have hard evidence against them

Obviously do not rely on my word, always talk to an attorney, but it's hard to imagine them not quickly getting laughed out of court when u file a motion to dismiss their lawsuit.

We do have a lawyer that our family has worked with for a long time, but he has mostly executed our wills. On his advice, I've contacted a civil attorney that he referred us to who practices in our county. I think that if it comes down to an actual lawsuit, he would have us covered

Layinginbed

And continue to follow up with animal control if nothing is done. Sometimes they do nothing and have to be held accountable. I've been in rescue for 14yrs and have dealt with some pretty lazy AC officers

UnrealDreamer

You’re an asshole if you don’t have the dogs taken away. They are being abused.

SteveTheEgg

They got money for a lawyer, then they got money to feed the dog, call animal control, cancer is not excuse for animal cruelty.

dudehiemer

Animals can't choose their owners. People go through tough times, but the adult thing to do if you can't take care of a fucking dog, is not have one. The same thing can be said about children.

TevinthaDude512

Imagine being so petty that you would rather get a lawyer involved than feed your own dogs. Shits ridiculous.

woozle

turn that bitch in. save the dogs.

407

I did report the home to our local aspca, and I'm going through my last 3 months of footage to get specific evidence incase they do try to pursue legal ac5ion

GlebReawer

Thank you. No pet deserves to suffer that kind of treatment. BTW are you sure the letter is legit? Call the law firm that sent the letter and ask if they are representing your neighbor. If he's faking the letter the firm will be very upset at him.

JestersWing

At first I thought they were feeding the neighbors emaciated dachshund, not feeding the neighbor's emaciated dachshund. Was prepared for a VERY different story and comments section.

ecobuckeye

Right? That's a terrible way to prepare dachshund.

HapilyDamaged

thank goodness I'm not the only one

dirtmarker

Put cameras up to counter any bogus claims, then call animal control. You're doing the right thing

We do have cameras in place, and I know I've been filmed feeding and not crossing the property line. It's just a matter of submitting it if a lawsuit happens.

Good. Protect yourself first. Help elsewhere when you can.

Call animal control, that poor thing needs care.

505

Hebbelille

Correct, call animal control. My sister's cat has problems with their kidneys, it gets medicine and special food. Still way to skinny. Key words, "special food", to not break their kidneys even more. Just feeding someone else's pets because they look skinny without talking to the owners first is dangerous for the pet, it could be sick. Op means well, but leave it to professionals.

mycatwontletmeclosemybedroomdoor

As someone who is married to an animal control investigator, this should have been the first thing. Two months of unnecessary suffering...

LooseyGooseyBrett

This. I mean seriously @OP.

imoutofnames

You should have called animal control to begin with. As much as you mean well let proper channels take care of it. They don't take care of their animals so anything they can do to you they will.

284

TheJuiceLoosener

Also, when Animal Control shows up, your neighbor's gonna know it was you who called them out so just be prepared for that.

ThomasThundersword

bonus reason to call the proper folks, and obviously an entirely dif circumstance . i have a jersey steer as a pet. and those bastards almost always look. underfed. i had the vet assure me a couple times “seeing some ribs and hip bone is *normal*. but if i didn’t know that and saw him, i’d think he was being starved. however since he is healthy, random food from a well meaning neighbor, could actually be bad for him. where as a real welfare check would confirm he is in perfect health, and>

if for any reason he wasn’t and was being neglected, well the proper authorities have the means to do that.

storytaletime

This, sometimes dogs look like they are starving even when they might be fine... certain breeds, old age, cancer, not neutered, are all reasons a dog might be skinny. It's not your dog so you don't know why it's skinny and don't know if what you're feeding it might make it sick. Calling the authorities or asking the owners is the only way to help, and it sounds like @OP already pissed the owners off enough to have a civil convo? Has OP tried asking?

Armyguy8382

Being sick or having a sick family member is no excuse to be an a-hole. I can understand them struggling to properly take care of the dogs, but threatening to sue you for trying to help out is completely uncalled for. You would not be an a-hole for calling the authorities to save those dogs' lives. And usually when people neglect animals they neglect people too, or worse.

138

Slickdoodle

Having enough time and "care" to get a lawyer means you absolutely have enough time and emotional room to feed your dogs. Screw 'em, and the little twit that lied and said you were on their property.

wipethatfaceoffyourheadbitch

If the kid has enough time and energy to go tattling on neighbours he should be assigned the task of caring for the dogs. It’s seriously not hard and well within the capabilities of a teen.

Yep. Not to mention that dogs are one of the few companions that can actually give you some solace from illness and death. They're spitting in the face of creation ignoring their responsibility to their pets. Screw 'em.

Comments (102)