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Article posted Thursday, July 7, 2011 5:00pm

Dear Readers,

I am not going to be answering a question today since I would like to address a situation that I was involved in on the 4th of July. The morning started out perfectly. I was having coffee on our back patio with family who were in for the weekend. We all got up early and were just lounging around in our robes and chatting. At about 8 o’clock, my dog “Spot” (I will protect his identity here since he factors into the story, and he is completely innocent) woke up and wanted to go outside. I put him on his leash, and walked him in our communal backyard. We live in a condo development where the buildings are all fairly close to each other, yet there are a lot of common areas where people walk, children play, etc. Spot did his usual tinkles on the side of the tall grass and I turned back around to bring him in for his breakfast. As I’m turning, I heard my next door neighbors’ sliding screen open and then saw them both on their patio looking at me. The first words out of my mouth were, “Good morning!” I rarely see my neighbors since this is their second home and can only remember meeting them once, so I wasn’t prepared for what came out of “Jane’s” mouth, “Do you not clean up after your dog??!?”

I was taken aback since I do pick up after my dog, and in this instance, there wasn’t anything to pick up. I answered that I did. And “Jane” said, “Well, I was looking out from my upstairs window and ran down here since I saw your dog go right over there,” pointing to another section of tall grass that Spot had thoroughly sniffed, yet had not done what my neighbor was claiming. I then invited her to walk over to the area to prove to her that he did not go there, but she wouldn’t. They were very defensive and very irritated and didn’t seem willing to believe me.

I went on to explain that I was a responsible pet owner, that I always cleaned up after my dog’s messes and knew that some people in the development didn’t, and that it was frustrating. Then “Jane” says, “I know that you live here year round. Are you a renter?” I explained that it was my family’s place, but I’m not really sure what my owner/rental status had to do with anything. I can only suppose it was some kind of hierarchy thing, i.e., buyers are more responsible than renters. I do happen to own commercial real estate in the county, a fact that I did not share with my neighbors since it is hardly relevant. At this point “Joe” introduces himself to me, asks what my name is and re-introduces “Jane” to me. Then “Jane” says, “sorry to ruin your weekend.”

The thing that was so annoying about this whole incident was that it didn’t have to be as adversarial as it was. Since Jane and Joe took it upon themselves to confront me, they should have had proof instead of supposition. And even if they were 100% sure, there is a nicer way to go about talking to your neighbor. I know that I was 100% sure that Spot didn’t go where they said he did. When there’s two-and-a-half feet of leash between your dog and your nose, there is no doubt when your dog does his business. And the “I’m sorry” rang a little hollow since Jane really didn’t come off as sorry at all. The only thing she was sorry about was that she didn’t catch me doing anything wrong.

Jane and Joe should have started by saying good morning back, introduced themselves, and then said that they had a concern. I had no problem whatsoever with them asking the question. I do, however, have a problem with the both guns blazing approach that left me not feeling very neighborly. I guess the concept of innocent until proven guilty slipped their minds. It’s a good thing Spot is oblivious. He went along with his 4th of July none the wiser and under the impression that all of our neighbors are our friends. It’s too bad we can’t all see things through a dog’s eyes.

Good luck,
Mary Pat