Crazy dog-lady neighbor problem

Life Pets & Domestic Animals
1

I’m really losing my patience here. My neighbor (a crazy religous dog lady) has taken it upon herself to look after street dogs. She has about 7 or eight of them, cohabitating the rooftop across the small landing from mine. I live in one of those older 5/6 story walk-up buildings. She lives in the apartment below her dogs.

For some reason, and I don’t even care what it is anymore, she likes to leave her door open. Everytime I try go in or out of my place, I am greeted by these mutts barking wildly, snapping jaws, growling, etc. She has a low gate but they could jump over it and bite my ass if they wanted to. It’s really unnerving. I’ve been losing my temper. I think I have a right to open and close my door in peace.

As far as I can see, she just keeps them up there, overfeeds them like pigs, and cleans up the shit once in a while. She lets them out once a day and they roam around the neighborhood and she scoops the poop. I guess this is better than them being street dogs, but I’m really not sure.

They have been keeping me up at night with the barking at 4 am, I hear her beating one of them occasionaly, and she leaves her bags of open, rancid dog food in the stairs. And those gogs stink! And I’ve had some suspicious insect bites on my ankles. And I’ve had it!

I have asked her several times to keep the door closed with the help of a translator and also with my own lousy chinese. I can deal with it if the door is closed. They have an open air rooftop and there’s no reason that I can see to keep the door open.

I met a girl a while ago and she will not come to my house because she is afraid. This is unnaceptable.

I’m about to get a welder and weld the door closed. I’m about to piss in the dog food.

I just want her to close the f-ing door!!!

Is what she’s doing illegal? I’m feeling really drastic and unsettled. I no longer care if she is taking it upon herself to have a big heart and follow Buddha or something. I’m pretty sure Buddha would like her to be considerate to her neighbors as well.

If this escalates something bad is going to happen. I’m going to get bitten or attacked and there will be a problem.

She has been getting better about closing this door, but she still thinks there are certain times when it should be open. Nope, sorry.

Any advice? I’ve already tried being very nice to her, asking politely, giving her recycling, etc, but she obviously wants to keep the door open. I no longer feel the need to be nice to her. The neighbors just think she’s crazy, and she is.

2

I live on the top of a six floor walk-up in Banchaio, sharing the top landing with another rooftop which is occupied by about 7 or eight dogs. The owner of said dogs lives in the apartment below them. She insists on leaving the door open. Every time I am opening my door (usually carrying something, out of breath, and fumbling for my keys) I am accosted by a lot of growling, bared teeth, and loud barking.

Aside from this, I am often awaked at odd hours to incessant barking, which is bad for me. I have enough sleep problems as it is.

She also leaves her open bags of rancid smelling dog food in the hall.

I honestly fear that one or two of these f-ing dogs is going to attack me at some time. I have had flea bites around my socks (I don’t know if this is from the dogs), and I have a timid friend that will not visit me because she is scared. I’m a bit scared as well.

This situation is really getting to me. I have asked her nicely by myself and with the aid of a chinese speaker to shut the door. I have given her recycling to help out her situation (I think she is dirt-poor).

I wrote before about how it was nice to see people helping out with the stray problem in taiwan, but I’m not so sure about this person. I have heard her beating them on occasion, they hardly ever get any exercise (or let out) and they are all unhealthily fat and bored looking. She lets them out to roam the neighborhood once in a while and they come back, so I guess they aren’t that unhappy. She’s quite diligent about cleaning up after them. The neighbors tolerate her but nobody likes her. She’s your typical crazy lady with no friends and more pets than she can handle.

I just want her to keep the common door closed. At all times. I really can’t take the growling and barking two feet away from me when I’m trying to get into my apartment. There is no reason that I can see for her to keep the door open. The dogs have a tin roof over their heads and open air walls. they stink.

I don’t really want to move. I have a nice place for a good price. My landlords are excellent (they say they can’t do anything about her).

Any advice? It’s to the point where I have no patience left…

3

move

4

Make friends with her and her dogs.

5

canucktyuktuk, while I’m generally on the side of animals, you certainly have a right to live in a situation free from fear of them and free from noisy disturbance. If she beats the dogs, she is certainly in the wrong.

Perhaps you could talk to your neighborhood police. A visit from them will probably get her to keep the common door closed. I had a noisy dog problem (due to neglect by the owner), and a couple consecutive calls to the police was all it took to convince the woman that she did need to bring the dog in off the balcony and give it attention when it was barking miserably.

But that still wouldn’t solve the problem of her beating the dogs. :s And you don’t want a situation in which the animals are taken away from her forcibly, only to be put down. Perhaps she needs to be convinced that her dogs will be better off in the hands of others…

6

Well, I’m not moving… not until the fall anyway. I’ve tried giving them snacks and as I said before I did ask her nicely, even giving her my recycling as she asked for. I asked her if we could even have a deal, she gets my recycling, I get a peaceful hallway. She seemed happy with that so I was leaving her the recycling for a while. But the f-ing door stays open, so I stopped.

You would think that a person who wanted to take care of many dogs would find a place out of town a bit.

I can’t speak chinese enough to call the police. Are there any laws about this that I can wave in her face (animal control, noise pollution) so that she knows that I mean business? I don’t want the dogs to be taken away from her as well, even though I have my doubts as to their care.

I just want her to keep the f-ing door closed.

7

Call the English speaking police!

8

canuktyuktuk, I have to say I am impressed with how much you have put up with and I am glad you havn’t made moves that would endanger the dogs. Is there anyway you can just go and close the door everytime she opens it to see if she will get the point? I have no idea how your building system works. Thank god she cleans up after them though. Good luck on that one, maybe you could let her dogs outside everytime she leaves the door open as they seem to need the exercise and as you said, she does this and they come back. I guess thats all the ideas I have.

9

She often leaves the door open with something blocking the way or I would close it.

often some dogs are left out on the street at night because somebody closes the door at street level. She likes to leave that open as well, so the dogs can come home when they are let out for their nightly poop. Sometimes a dog gets caught beween her closed door and the one at street level and the dog spends the night in the hall.

I told her I was going to call the police yesterday and she seems to get the point today. It’s nice to get into your house without snarling dogs two feet away from you! I hope this lasts.

10

Where do you live? I would like to visit you and try to figure something out.