I was on my way out to jog when I greeted a neighbour with his dogs. One of his dogs went into my property and did it’s business right in front of him and me. I looked at the dog doing it’s business but he didn’t say a word. He carried on talking as if nothing had happened.
?It’s interesting how much responsibility people take for their animals. Don’t get me wrong, I love domestic animals.
Anyway, I didn’t say anything either and later when the dog poo was dry I picked it up, put it in a plastic bag and threw it away.
What could I do? This put me in a very difficult situation. I had just met this neighbour recently and I want to remain on good terms with him. I couldn’t say anything because whatever I said wouldn’t have come right.
So I just had to shut up and say nothing. I was expecting him to say something, to apologize or something like that, but he said nothing, absolutely nothing.
What do you do in this situation? What is the etiquette? Should you just keep your mouth shut and say nothing? What happens when it happens again and again? I don’t know the answer because it’s difficult and I don’t like confrontation. I don’t like being belligerent. I don’t like cutting people off.
Some people just don’t have respect for other people’s property. You might loan someone a tool or sporting equipment and when they return it you find out it’s broken but they say nothing. You’ve got get it fixed or replaced.
Some property owners erect illegal boundary walls with absolute no regard for their neighbour. This is illegal but either they haven’t thought it through or they don’t give a damn. You’d expect a neighbour to be aware of property laws and regulations. Pretending ignorance of the law is no excuse.
I’ve had workers on the property and some also have no regard or respect for tools and appliances. An extension lead is dragged over rocks and the plugs are scraped. A drill that has been kept in excellent condition is scraped across cement. Paint is spilt outside on cement paving and not cleaned up.
That’s why the best policy is to, where possible, not allow your tools or sporting equipment to be used by others. But it’s difficult to say no.
On the illegal disregard of property rights, that unfortunately has to be dealt with by approaching the authorities.
Allowing dogs to excrete on private property and public property is inexcusable. What’s right is when dogs excrete on private or public property, at least their owners should do something about it. There are dog owners who carry small plastic bags with them and do pick up their dog’s feces. ?At least these people respect other peoples’ property ?
