I used to own a dog and I am that kind of person who goes "awww!! " when i see some really cute dogs
I am sure there are many responsible dog owners here in P21 and that the irresponsible ones only make up the minority.
SO, I feel saddened for responsible dog owners whose reputations are at stake because of the bad name that the minority of these owners create by simply being irresponsible and inconveniencing their neighbours.
I would love for my kids to love animals esp dogs who are man's best friends but sad to say, their exposure to my neighbour's dogs are making them very afraid of dogs. They are unleashed, uncontrolled and they are not well kept at all that they smell really bad. I hate to think what would happen if one of those 6 dogs that she have jumps on my younger son who has just learnt to walk. But still, I would liek to stress that she belongs to the minority.
I have also very considerate neighbours who take good care of their dogs, their dogs albeit large breed ones, are well maintained and well groomed, well behaved and cause no nuisance to their neighbours at all. On one occasion, a young man with 2 large dogs, a German Shepard and a rottweiler actually asked if we are comfortable with him boarding the lift with us cos of his dogs. Of course I told him no problem and my kids have no problems with he dogs as they can understand simple commands and sit when requested.
But my neighbours' dogs are let to run wild at our floor and accost people coming out of lifts and jump on them. they have on 3-4 occasions jumped on me and caused scratches at my waist. And the dog owners just stand there doing nothing to control the dogs. They weren't even the least bit apologetic.
So maybe instead of having heated debates on whether dogs are good or bad news in the community, we should actually come together, responsible dog owners and non dog owners alike to try to bring the incidences of dog nuisances to the community down and when the troubles some dogs caused are lessened, I am sure the community will be more accepting of dogs. It is not fair to non dog owners to feel threatened all the time and likewise, it is not fair for all dog owners to be labelled badly just because of some black sheep who actually make up only the minority.
SO instead of being divided into dog owners and non-dog owners, we should actually be divided as responsible and irresponsible residents. Where the responsible people try to make the irresponsible ones more mindful and frown upon their inconsiderate acts.
Exactly!!! Totally agree with you.
Cher_06,
Glad you agree with me.
But for people who repeated blatantly disobey the rules and are not apologetic, are rude and arrogant, I will take action. Hope this will redress the grievances of responsible people who are labelled badly cos of these black sheep.
Snowolf,
I have tried talking to the owner of the dogs nicely. I definitely do not want the dogs to be put down cos they are innocent. It is the owners who are so irresponsible. Which is why the dogs are still there despite all the evidence i have collected.. I cannot bear to hurt the dogs. I have photos, videos, etc..
Here are a list of things that have happened and why the authorities got involved in the end:
1 year ago: I book this last unit straight from the board. But cos i was heavily pregnant with number 2, I did not move in. However, we did go around to the area to have a look see.
8 mths ago: After delivery of baby and confinement, we booked a day to sign for leash.
7mths ago: HDB personnel came with me to check for defects at my flat. As the flat was left vacant for 5 years, they will replace defective stuff for me. HDB guy saw the furniture outside my flat and say he will take care of it for me. (In case you are wondering, they have a dining table, a coffee table, a 3 seater sofa and 2 separate pieces of 1 piece couch outside my unit. The sofa was shoved against the stairs and definitely blocked the escape route should a fire have happened and that was the only way out. But since we weren't moving in so soon, we did not chase to get it done. On top of this, there are at least 20 pots of plants all over the place. On top of informing Town council to settle the furniture, HDB guy also called AVA with regards to her dogs who were barking crazily.
5mths ago: We got the key and being excited home owners, frequented the place after work. It was our first home you see.
That was when we met our neighbour. One night at 11pm. We introduced ourselves and had a small chat. But when the topic of dogs came up, ( as there were dog urine on the floor with very bad smell) the neighbor says she don;t smell anything and we can tell her IF we see her dog defecating but not before that.
Then not long after, Town Council removed her bulky furniture outside my place. Def not me as i got a newborn to take care of at that time and i wasn't in a hurry to move in. Then she went to lodge a police report.. saying that i stole her furniture for my own monetary gains. When we did meet before i moved in, I told her I did not touch her furniture but she just went " you got o levels, you're uneducated. I have my masters, I will not speak to uneducated people."
In the meantime, Town Council was bombarded with her false allegations again and again that the police stepped in to make her stop.
Then AVA approached her due to the complain by the HDB guy. They heard dogs and note that there are no dogs licensed to that unit. So they wrote to them and tried to get hold of them. In the end, the neighbour had a fine of $400 for unlicensed pets. They claimed that they have 2 and on leash ALL the time.
4 mths ago: we moved in. She started the door slamming like 5-6 times very loudly each time. The night itself, She placed an envelope at my door. There was a letter that she had written and signed off as me, apologizing to everyone including her for 'my actions'. She demanded $400 from me and for me to send the letter out to the authorities. It was a saturday and she demanded to see the money by Monday or else... I decided not to pay as it had nothing to do with me.
My dad tried to mitigate and resolve the situation. Saying forgive us cos we're kids(BTW, my neighbours are a pair of identical twins around the age of 50.. both unmarried).. blah blah blah and dun slam the door. Why risk destroying your own gate blah blah blah.. But her reply was I can slam until the screws drop I will still slam.
Since we moved in til now:
While we were moving in, we had to open the gate a couple of times for contractors to move my furniture in and also to allow the citigas man to work outside the unit. As her dogs are unleashed and uncontrolled, they bolted out the house the minute my neighbour open the door and gate. And as fate has it, her dogs ran into my home leaving its wet paw prints all over the house. Then she told the HDB guy that I keep my gate open all the time and if i didn't want her dogs running into my place, I should keep my door closed at ALL times, just liek all other residents on the same level.
The door slamming continue many times on a daily basis. The dogs are now let out at around 2-3am daily and run free. Still without leash. And when we have our door opened and the dogs stand outside our place and bark, My neighbour will egg the dogs on. " That's right! Bark louder!"
I dunno what to do already. Everything under the sun they blame me.. everytime they see me they call me the neighbour from hell... thief even when they know very well it has nothing to do with me.
But once again, I stress that the authorities should only be involved when all other ways of trying to talk to the owner fails.
