Neighbor Dispute Ensues After One Kid Kept Kicking His Toys Over The Fence Which Hit The Homeowner's Sleeping Dog

The parents of the kid refused to do anything about it, so the homeowner is starting their own stray ball collection

Chelsi

• Published in Interesting
• July 30, 2022

One of the joys of owning your home is finally having your own space to do as you please. Not thoughtlessly, of course, because you still have to be a considerate neighbor.

Otherwise, it will be the beginning of a tense relationship between you and the people next door. You don't need me to know that this is not an ideal situation.

This homeowner was at their wit's end with the neighbor's son. It may sound odd to have beef with a 7-year-old but that's exactly what happened to OP.

The kid enjoys kicking and throwing his toys over to OP's yard. The final event that solidified OP's feelings towards the neighbor kid involved their 6-month-old puppy and a ball.

OP's adorable little puppy was lazily sunbathing in their yard when a ball suddenly came flying in and hit her. Now, the poor dog is too nervous to go into her own yard because of what happened.

Even the sound of a ball hitting the fence makes her anxious. OP spoke to the kid's dad about what happened.

OP said it wasn't fair that their dog could no longer enjoy her own yard because of the kid's actions. OP asked if the dad could talk to his son and tell him to stop using OP's fence as a bouncing board.

There is a nearby playing field where the kid could play but he refuses to do so. It has been four weeks but nothing changed and OP just found four balls in their yard which they don't plan on returning.

OP's full post can be read below:

FOUR footballs??

The toys are from the neighbor kid for sure but is he also to blame for the balls given that there's a field nearby?

Again, the stray balls are all from the neighbor kid because OP saw where they came from

Their garden is also far enough that no stray balls from the field is unlikely. OP wouldn't have had much issue with the neighbor's kid if the dog hadn't been affected by it.

Suffer might be too much for this situation; inconvenienced maybe.

OP did what they thought was best because giving the kid's toys and balls back has become too much of a chore. Their dog also couldn't enjoy their garden any longer because of it.

Is there anything else OP can do to prevent their dog from getting hit again?

OP's fence is already six feet tall. Building a taller wall would be an expensive job and if the kid is deliberately throwing his things, a tall fence wouldn't work.

OP can make lemonade out of these many inflatable lemons

Oof, let's not give the neighbor's kid more ideas, shall we?

OP can do this while looking the kid and his parents in the eye. That would definitely send a message.

Apparently, this hasn't happened before and the person in OP's position was judged harshly

Chalking up bad behavior to kids being kids is a lame excuse. You don't let kids do what they want regardless of consequences. You have to teach them what they can and can't do.

We LOVE this idea and we are hoping that OP saw it

We have to assume that the kid is not an a**hole but his parents should definitely provide guidance here. There are much better ways to communicate that he wants to play with the dog.

OP can tape this note on the toy shrine to really send the message

It didn't have to end up this way but since the parents refuse to do anything, OP had to do what they could. Exactly how many balls does this kid have?

Maybe OP's actions will force the kid's parents to teach him how to be considerate. OP's dog will finally be able to sleep in the yard again.

Chelsi