Hi. This has been going on ever since i’ve (23F) moved into this house. My neighbor has multiple dogs. A pitski, and another pitbull. Both of which have jumped over my fence more than a dozen times.
The pitbull has jumped over my fence, and bolted inside my house (i leave the back door open when the weather is nice for my cats), with one of my cats in his mouth.
I got my cat out of his mouth and grabbed the dog by the collar, walking her over to the neighbor’s front yard, where he was doing yard work. A short, heated conversation went down. As i remembered it:
Neighbor: “Oh, Lady, what are you doing over there?”
Me: “Yeah well she almost killed my f*cking cat” (im a tattoo artist i have colorful language and i was very angry at the time. I also live alone so i didn’t want to have a full blown argument with this man.)
My cats are very friendly toward dogs, having been raised around them, so he probably thought the dog just wanted to play. Not knowing not all dogs are nice.
Their dog jumped over again. So,
I left a note on their door, saying if i see their dog in my yard again, i’m calling animal control.
I know for a fact the dogs have jumped over while im not home. And the neighbors son, will come over, across my yard, and open my side gate to let their dog out. I know this because I see their son walk across my yard on the front camera.
Now, I come home, to where i’ve been gone for maybe 2 hours. Ghost, didn’t want to come inside, so i left him outside because I knew i’d be back shortly. My fence is wood paneling, so he can’t climb out. He likes to sit in the tree and watch the neighborhood. He’s never escaped. The furthest he’s gotten was just walking on top of the fence, and that was over a year ago.
Right before I left, I set a trash bag on the back porch that had their litter. I was planning on throwing it out when I got home, as to not let it sit in my house and cause an odor.
I get home, and the trash is strung out about the yard, torn to shreds. Ghost is up in the tree, higher than he’s ever been before.
I can only assume the dog jumped over, tried to attack Ghost, tore up my trash, and was retrieved. Like many times before.
What do i do? Do I call the police? Do i call the non-emergency number? What CAN i do?
I cannot even walk to my garage without them constantly barking. They have dug holes under my fence, barking under it. I have put bricks there, but they eventually get moved with more digging. Quite frankly i’m terrified to put anything there because they seem extremely aggressive when barking under the fence.
I have picture proof of the first time the Pitski (i have come to find out his name is “Scooby”) jumped over the fence. May 18, 2023
Cats aren’t being let outside until some sort of safety net is put in place. Cameras have been ordered for the time being to see if they jump over and use my gate again. P lanning on something to put over the fence that doesn’t cost a lot bc i have a feeling the neighbors will take down/damage whatever i put up. Tried calling the off hours animal control number, but they haven’t picked up my calls. Will be calling monday when they’re open to establish my paper trail. Especially since i have photos and videos since the first incident. Thanks for all of your suggestions.
Update:
I woke this morning (og post was posted last night) to 2 dogs in my backyard. Scooby, and a golden one i’ve never seen before. I took a picture of the golden one as Scooby was under my door and i couldn’t move quick enough to take a picture of him. They saw me in the window, hauled tail back to the fence and easily jumped back over.
I’ve called the non emergency police department and the sheriffs office and spoke to an officer. I was essentially told that they can’t do ANYTHING until someone gets bitten.
I asked, because my parents wanted me to ask, if i am walking to my car, in my garage, or if my nephew is playing in the back yard; and these dogs jump over, What would happen if i shot them?
I was told I cannot use a firearm in city limits and i have to essentially just let the dogs attack us.
My parents and I are going over to the neighbors house w my brother (my brother is very large and intimidating) as per the officer’s advice. We are also going to stop by animal control in person because apparently it’s well known that they don’t do anything about calls that aren’t a loose dog.
I have set up cameras for my backyard, and side gate, i’ve locked the side gate, and i’m keeping my cats inside. That doesn’t stop the dogs from jumping over. And it doesn’t stop me from having to get to my car everyday. I don’t even feel comfortable going back there long enough to pick up the trash they’ve strewn about my yard. Which is really irking me.
I cannot use my own backyard because i guess it just belongs to my neighbor’s dog’s, now!!
Also: In the comments i have pictured, Scooby the first time he jumped over, tethered. And the golden dog i saw this morning. Won’t let me add pictures to the post. So they’re somewhere in the comments. I rarely use reddit so i’m sorry for being a dunce lmao
And for those of you saying that i shouldn’t be letting my cats out in the first place… move on, save your breath. My cats are being kept inside until i know it’s safe for them to lay in the sun in peace. Try to argue that my cats are leaving, when i know they’re not. They have never once left the yard. They don’t roam. They just like to sit in the tree and watch the neighborhood, roll in the dirt, or lay in the sun. 99% of the time, i am home with the door open so they can come and go as they please.
Ghost was only left outside unattended because he wasn’t coming in when i was calling him. I hadn’t let them outside for a few weeks due to weather, so i guess he was savoring it. I was gone for less than two hours. And I trust Ghost knows how to get to a high ground or a safe space because he was the one in the dog’s mouth. Sirius, on the other hand… he’s a little dumb. I would never leave him outside while i wasn’t home. This was literally the first time i’ve left for an errand with Ghost being outside.
BUT My cats being outside or not clearly does not have any affect on these dogs jumping over or being aggressive toward me. They will jump over whenever they want. What’s to stop them from jumping over whenever i have my two year old nephew over? I was told i have to wait to get mauled, and essentially let it happen for the city to do anything about it.