Her Neighbor’s Dogs Kept Jumping Her Fence, but Police Told Her They Couldn’t Act Until Someone Was Bitten
Her neighbor’s dogs had been jumping her wooden fence for years. One pit bull even entered her house and grabbed her cat in its mouth. She rescued the cat, confronted the owner, and warned him about calling animal control, but the dogs kept coming back. When she contacted the police, an officer told her nothing could be done until someone was bitten.
Her Neighbor’s Dogs Had Been Crossing the Fence Since 2023
In a Reddit post on r/neighborsfromhell, user u/mae_me_ described problems with her West Texas neighbor’s dogs, including a pit bull and a pit bull-husky mix named Scooby.
Both had jumped her fence more than a dozen times. She had photographs of Scooby inside her yard dating back to May 18, 2023.
During one incident, the pit bull entered through her open back door and caught her cat in its mouth. She pulled the cat free, grabbed the dog by its collar, and returned it to the neighbor, who was working in his front yard.
When the dog crossed the fence again, she left a note warning that she would contact animal control.
The dogs also dug holes beneath the wooden fence. She placed bricks in the gaps, but continued digging displaced them. Attempts to drive the dogs away with water hadn’t stopped the problem.
She Found Her Cat in a Tree and Trash Scattered Across the Yard
After leaving home for less than two hours, she returned to find a bag of used cat litter torn apart across her backyard.
Her cat Ghost, who had stayed outside, was perched higher in a tree than she had ever seen him climb.
She suspected one of the neighboring dogs had crossed the fence, frightened Ghost, and torn open the bag, although she hadn’t witnessed the incident.
Her front security camera had also recorded the neighbor’s son walking across her property and opening the side gate to retrieve the dogs.
An earlier lock on that gate had disappeared after she moved into the house, according to the homeowner.
Police Said They Could Do Nothing Until Someone Was Bitten
In an update, she reported waking to find two dogs in her backyard. Scooby was accompanied by a golden-colored dog she hadn’t seen before.
Both jumped back over the fence when they spotted her at the window.
She called the police non-emergency number and the sheriff’s office. According to her account, an officer said authorities couldn’t take action until someone was bitten.
She asked what would happen if the dogs entered her yard while she was walking to the garage or while her two-year-old nephew was playing outside. She also asked about using a firearm in the event of an attack and was told she couldn’t discharge one within city limits.
One Reddit commenter, u/WHATnoMaybeOK-, shared an experience involving a neighbor’s aggressive dog. After submitting video evidence to a police canine unit, officers visited the property and required the owner to install a barrier along the fence.
“Once you start a paper trail, you get results,” the commenter wrote, recommending that she document each incident, keep video evidence, and record the names of officers contacted.
The homeowner had struggled to reach animal control through its after-hours number. She planned to visit the office in person with photographs and videos of the dogs entering her yard.
She Installed Cameras and Locked the Side Gate
Following advice from commenters, she installed two Eufy security cameras supplied by her mother. One faces the backyard, while the other monitors the side gate.
She installed another lock and stopped allowing her cats outside.
Reddit user u/Glad-Watch3506 suggested another approach: “Look up DIY coyote rollers for the top of your fence.”
Coyote rollers use rotating tubes mounted along the fence top. When an animal tries to climb over, the tubes spin and prevent it from gaining a foothold.
The homeowner considered installing them but feared her neighbors might damage or remove the equipment. Raising the fence was another option, although she wanted to avoid paying for modifications because of someone else’s dogs.
She also reported that her neighbor kept the dogs outdoors through West Texas summer temperatures reaching 115°F and winter nights below freezing. She believed their living conditions contributed to the digging and repeated escapes.
At the time of her last update, the cameras and gate lock were in place, but she had not reported action by animal control or any changes to the neighbor’s fence.
Would you reinforce your own fence or insist that the neighbor pay to keep his dogs contained?