Must Love Dogs

I’m so mad right now I can’t see straight.

You see, I take Siggy for a walk every morning between 6:00 and 7:00. Because this is still during “quiet hours,” I’m very careful to pull the door shut quietly as we leave. Sheridan also leaves for school before 8:00.

This morning as I returned from our walk my next door neighbor accosted me angrily. He works nights, and sleeps days, and apparently we are waking him up every morning with our door. Oh, not only that, but he complained also about the dog hair in the stairwell (which I sweep 2-3 times a week) and on his mat outside his door. Siggy’s been sitting on his mat as I open the front door, and he’s mad about that. The third thing was letting Siggy off leash in the stairwell and the courtyard as I walk him in the mornings. He threatened to call the police about that one!

I’m pretty certain this is the same neighbor who complained about Siggy “barking all day and all night” — those of you who know my dog know how ridiculous this is. He said something to me once about the front door, after which we’ve been careful to close it quietly in the mornings. Honestly I don’t know how to do it any quieter!

Anyway, I told him we’d been trying to close the door quietly, and his response was “Try it another way then!” And when I told him we were cleaning the stairwell several times each week. he said “I don’t really care what you’re doing, it’s not enough! This is the last time! Once more and I write a formal complaint!”

And as far as the leash thing goes, there are many dog owners in the building, and many of them let their dogs off leash occasionally. Siggy was actually (and embarrassingly) attacked by a couple of yapper-type dogs the other day, who were off leash (Siggy wasn’t) — no harm done, they just scared him as he tried to hide behind me…. Anyway, this guy is watching me from his window or balcony as I walk the dog, to see if I let my dog off leash! To me, this is creepy.

Am I wrong to think he’s being completely unreasonable? The other neighbor on the floor goes out of her way to tell me that Siggy is no problem to her at all, and that she sympathizes with me over the complaints. I don’t know whether he hates dogs, or he hates us because we’re foreign (or American), but I think he’s looking for things to complain about. In D&D there’s a term for this kind of person… a “rules lawyer.” I consider myself a considerate and respectful person, and this asshole is making me crazy! I’m terrified that he’ll write a complaint to the landlord — valid or not — and we’ll have to get rid of Siggy!

My solution at this point is twofold. One, I think I’ll write a letter to the landlord myself about the situation, to try to head off his complaint. Two, I plan to ask my other neighbor to writ a letter in my favor, saying that she’s never had a problem, to highlight his unreasonable nature.

What do you think?

2 thoughts on “Must Love Dogs

  1. sounds very proactive. could it hurt? i found that some Germans do not like Americans. Maybe he is one of those. if so, unfortunately i doubt that you can do anything to please him.

  2. You CANNOT get rid of Siggy, I’ll pay for you to move before I will let that happen!! You know how I feel about that dog. Being proactive can’t hurt, but I would ask the other neighbor to write a letter and INCLUDE it with yours.

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