A Texas woman became so infuriated after a neighbor let their dogs pee in her front yard that she allegedly threatened to call the police over the matter. She claimed to have invested a lot in lawn maintenance, so the neighbor should take their dogs to the “common areas in the neighborhood” to relieve themselves. The neighbor took to r/mildlyinfuriating to complain about the angry woman, but Reddit users’ reactions were mixed.
Calling the encounter with the angry woman her “first crazy neighbor interaction,” Reddit user Lycheefruitlover felt neither she nor her dogs were at fault. “We have a backyard but I guess we can’t let our dogs go relieve themselves on a walk now?” she questioned, sarcastically. She claims to have told the lady that she’ll avoid her house moving forward, but still felt the police threat was too much.
Plenty of people in the comments spoke out in support of the dog owner. “Imagine the earful the squirrels, chipmunks and opossums get!” joked a Redditor. “From the perspective of someone who isn’t a fan of dogs, you’re not in the wrong at all,” agreed another.
On the flip side, a good handful felt the dog owner should have been more considerate of her neighbor. “You do have to respect her property and avoid letting your dogs stop to pee on her grass in the future. Some people do spend a lot on their yards,” writes one person. “It’s her property. Your animals aren’t entitled to her yard,” remarks a second.
While Lycheefruitlover didn’t initially mention skin color as a notable factor in her interaction with the angry woman, one commenter asked whether the lady was white. “She was [a] young white lady, I assume. She was working out in her garage and approached us as we were passing by,” responded OP.
The Dog Owner Is Allegedly Guilty of Trespassing But There’s Little Legal Repercussion Over the Dogs Urinating
Lycheefruitlover also questioned her neighbor for accusing her of trespassing for letting her dogs pee on her property. According to law scholar Matthew Liebman, she’s actually right: “allowing your dog to cross onto someone’s private property (and pee there) counts as trespassing,” per KXAN Austin.
Unfortunately for any property owners upset with neighbors letting their dogs do this, Liebman adds that “The likelihood of actually being held criminally or civilly liable is very low, almost zero.”
