Love Thy Neighbor(but not necessarily their animals)The Hatfields and McCoys are waging a new kind of war on the homestead, but this time its not about land or water rights.by Kimball Lewis
During my career in animal protection and enforcement I have held several roles and responsibilities. Included in these was my role as Chief of an agency that handled animal control and enforcement for 18 municipalities in a major metropolitan region. Later, I was the chief of animal enforcement in rural Colorado. While the two regions are as different as night and day, both had more than their share of neighbor versus neighbor conflict where animals were concerned. Rural and Urban dwellers are dialing 911 at record numbers to report animal related conflicts with their neighbor. Some of these complaints arise from a lack of decency and common sense by pet owners. Still, more than half the complaints being lodged end up listed as "unfounded" in the dispatch log. For the sake of argument, lets look at both the legitimate and unfounded animal complaint to see if we can get a better idea of what is going on here. Legitimate Complaints:
Unfounded Complaints: These occur when a neighbor has a separate, often longstanding bone to pick (excuse the pun) with the guy next door. It has become common place for people to use animal complaints lodged with the local police, sheriff or animal control, as a backward means of harassing their neighbor. In fact, more than 50% of animal complaints involving neighbor-versus neighbor are not only unfounded but directly born out of ill intentions. The amount of public resources being wasted on these incidents is mind boggling. During the early years of my career when I was the director of an agency that provided animal protection and enforcement for 18 municipalities, the volume of staff/officer hours spent trying to unravel neighborhood disputes was staggering. Not an hour went by without one or two and sometimes three officers getting into a fray that made absolutely no sense. People where surprisingly quick to pick up the phone and report their neighbor's pet for some minor transgression. If someone were being bludgeoned to death in the street the same people would ignore the problem. Close to home: While living in Bend, Oregon, I owned three horses that I kept at my home. These horses were well groomed, fed, watered and generally in excellent health. One day an officer appeared at my door. He announced that "an unnamed neighbor" had reported me for horse neglect. The specific compliant was that my horses were standing out in the sun and had no way to seek shelter. In plain view was my barn, which the horses had easy access to. The officer, who had one year earlier attended a class I hosted on horse abuse and neglect, admitted his reluctance to even respond to the call but reminded me that their policy was to follow up on every complaint. Four weeks later a code enforcement office knocked on my door. This officer had also attended a similar seminar I had hosted on horse neglect and abuse investigation technique. This time, the complaint was that my horses poop was drawing too many flies. (Poop tends to have this effect) Yet when the officer inspected my pasture, he found that I kept it spotless. Again the call was logged as unfounded. Three weeks later the police were back at my door. This time the complaint was so ridiculous that even the police admitted their embarrassment at responding. The complaint: That while I was on my tractor cleaning the manure from my pasture, I was creating too much dust! Later, I learned that the same woman had generated all three complaints. While her motivation remained unclear, her landlord did mention that she was angry because she had been refused the ability to keep a pet at her rental and that she had commented that it wasn't fair that I had all of my animals. Imagine how wasteful, hateful, spiteful and absurd this scenario was. This situation left me baffled and bewildered and at the same time, gave me a real glimpse at how people feel who are harassed by neighbors in this same way. Fence Post Diplomacy: No matter where you live, city, country, rural, suburban, trailer park or apartment complex, you are going to have a neighbor or neighbors. It's just a fact of life. In today's ever-increasing impersonal world, we are not taking the time to become acquainted with the guy or girl next door. This leads to discomfort, distance and even suspicion. It is these emotions that prompt many people to waste untold millions in tax dollars annually tying up authorities while laying false allegations against their neighbor. Animals have been put to sleep, lives ruined, even people shot! All over what? Our increasing intolerance for our neighbor. There is a way to begin mending fences literally and it is called Fence Post Diplomacy. During my time as director of animal protection and enforcement in Colorado, I had many occasions to respond to rural and suburban homes where neighbors were waging war over animal issues. Sometimes shots had been fired. Animals, both livestock and domestic pets had been killed and neighbors were dangerously close to a physical confrontation. In fact, I can recall more than one occasion where one neighbor drew or even fired a weapon at another over animal issues. We began a simple policy of bringing neighbors together in a neutral setting where hard feelings and issues could be aired. More often than not, this lead to a better understanding of what each party needed or expected. In many cases, these same combatants even became friends. I am not suggesting that every neighbor is willing to bury the hatchet. I am certain however that if we simply took the time to get to know the guy next door, most of these incidents would never get started. I know this may sound like I am oversimplifying a very complex issue but at the risk of doing just that let me make these suggestions based on years of first hand observation: First, if you have an issue with something your neighbors pet is doing, try some "fence post diplomacy" Ask them if they can find a way to keep their dog out of your yard or pasture. Don't simply pick up the phone and call the police or animal control. Once you have taken that step you have made an enemy and created a potential barrier that will never be circumvented. Shake hands, make some cookies, share a beer. Whatever the case, whatever your tastes, extend the olive branch and take the high road. Once you have alienated a neighbor, you are stuck next door to someone you no longer trust or like and more often that not, you have begun a cycle in which they will initiate a counter complaint, legitimate or not, against you. Yes, there are times when "fence post diplomacy" will not work or is not safe. If you see a person physically abusing an animal via beating, kicking etc. you should call 911 the same way you would in a case of domestic violence. Otherwise, in most situations, a little conversation goes a long way. The next time your neighbors dog shows up at your door, or their cat makes a night deposit in your flowerbed, hold your cool. Go make their acquaintance and share your concerns and diplomacy. Mr. Lewis's site can be found at http://cascadeteam.com/ |
