Introducing Our Neighbor

I sit here, watching The Hobbit with Boyfriend, enjoying our house. Things are hung on the walls (most of them). We have tons of eggs in the fridge thanks to our chickens. We're learning to remember where things are in the kitchen. Boyfriend cleaned up the garage the last two days. The wood we've gotten is 6split and stacked.

While we are enjoying our new house, there is one thing we are not enjoying. Our neighbor across the street.

It began the week we moved in - their dogs barking incessantly. One night, they barked non-stop keeping Boyfriend up between 1am and 4am. Finally Boyfriend was fed up with the dogs on our property (yep) barking incessantly that he went outside and chased them back home across the street. He knocked on their door and eventually the wife answered the door. Boyfriend asked her nicely if she could keep the dogs on their own property and quiet and she acted all bewildered and had no idea what he was speaking of. He replied with, "You can't hear that?" pointing at the (still) barking dogs. Nope, she apparently couldn't hear it.

A couple days later, the husband came over after getting home from an elk hunting trip to discuss the incident, dressed to the nines and wearing $1000 alligator boots. And by discuss, I mean using his 6'6" frame to intimidate Boyfriend into never ever scaring his wife that way again as she is ill. (Like Boyfriend was supposed to pyschically know that.) Boyfriend is not one to be intimidated, and therefore, got back in the guy's face telling him that his dogs bark incessantly. The neighbor said, "Dogs will be dogs and they'll bark. I also like them barking because it keeps critters away." Boyfriend clearly stated that his dogs barking like that are a nuisance and there are laws against it, and that he's simply asking that the guy keep his dogs on his own property and quiet. He questioned how Boyfriend knew they were his dogs, and Boyfriend replied with, "You have two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, correct? Your two dogs have been getting into my yard, attempting to bother my chickens, pooping all over my yard, and barking at me while in my yard. By law, if your dogs are threatening my livestock, I have every right to shoot them. I don't want to do that. I'm simply asking you to keep your dogs quiet. You're argument that 'dogs will be dogs' is not a valid argument. It's a bother to your neighbors." After a few choice words (started by the neighbor), the neighbor finally said he would do what he could.

About a week later, that dogs were barking incessantly during the evening, for three hours straight .As a side note, it amazes me that dogs never seem to go hoarse. Boyfriend and I decided to go over and talk to them about it. Off we went, knocked on the door, and the daughter answers. We politely ask if she could quiet the dogs as they've been barking for three hours and we can hear it through closed windows and over the TV. She crosses her arms in front of her, gets an extremely pissy look and says, "Dogs will be dogs and will bark. I can't make them stop." I asked if there was a pen they could be put in, or put in the garage for a bit until they quieted down. That wouldn't work either. Boyfriend tried talking to her for a few more minutes and she got pissier with each minute. Because it was dark, we had walked over with a flashlight. Boyfriend began to turn Italian while talking and at one point, the flashlight smacked the door. It was by accident, but that's all it took. She started hollering that she was going to call the cops.

I dragged Boyfriend away. Back home, he left a message with the Sheriff's department regarding the issue. Two hours later a deputy calls back and Boyfriend has a lengthy conversation with him. He told his side of the story, and the deputy eventually told Boyfriend that the daughter called claiming she was scared for her life and that of her toddler. When her dad got home, he also called the sheriff. The deputy told Boyfriend that he does have a right to shoot the dogs if they are bothering his livestock. And asked us not to go back over to the neighbors house.

Now, when the daughter drives by, she stares at us, makes rude faces and flips us off. No joke. And the guy just stares at us when he drives by. Nice.

The worst thing about all of this? This neighbor is a minister. He's unlike any minister I've ever known. Now granted, I don't know very many, but I have never met a minister like this. He has shown us absolutely no respect whatsoever. We both admit that he has made an effort to keep the dogs quiet, and we do appreciate it. When he's not home however, his wife and kids don't give a shit.

And as it turns out, the entire street hates him.

To be continued . . .