To whom it may concern,
To begin this story, I need to go back about two years. Charlie was about 6 months old and a really playful puppy. He would play with any and every dog he could. He loved it. There were a few dogs in the house that he would play with and that was great, we just had to go outside and he had a play pal. What was really great were the walks. He was able to be off the leash, because at 6 months, he knew his name and would more often than not come when called.
Then one time we ran into Mr. Polish Prick. He lives one floor above us and had just gotten a new dog. A little brown one that is cute, but because his owner is horrid (which I will be getting to), I have never had the chance, or lust, to pet the dog. Charlie had played with this dog before, so I really thought nothing of it. Mrs. Polish Prick was walking the dog then, so I just yelled ahead that Charlie just wants to play. Usually the other dog owners are all for wearing out their dogs, but not Mr. Polish Prick. I saw that he was really tense, even though Charlie was wagging his tail and had his tongue out, looking like any dog ready to play, not a dog on the attack. Mr. Polish Prick quickly picked up his dog and when Charlie got close, proceeded to beat Charlie with his umbrella. It happened so quick and I was in such shock that someone was there beating my dog that I really had no idea what to do. I was running towards Charlie and asking Mr. Polish Prick what in the world he was doing beating my dog who just wanted to play. He responded with something. I didn’t understand it because he was mumbling or it was in his native tongue, I am not sure. At this point I was absolutely shaking. I wanted to call the police and report him for animal abuse, but seeing as I had no witness, my husband thought it wouldn’t help.
Needless to say, Charlie didn’t forget what Mr. Polish Prick did to him. To this day, if he sees Mr. Polish Prick, Charlie’s hair goes up on his back. I always have him on a leash when we are no t in fields where he can run. So, I know that whenever we see Mr. or Mrs. Polish Prick walking their dog, we make Charlie sit and stay until they are far away. I don’t want to take any chances of Charlie harming their dog.
There is only one time when I didn’t see Mrs. Polish Prick and her dog. She was walking though a field and was obstructed from view. However, I noticed that Charlie went quite still and was staring at something. I made him sit, lay down and stay. When I got close to where Charlie was, I noticed Mrs. Polish Prick and her dog. I tried to get to Charlie to put him on the leash, but her dog made the first move towards Charlie growling and barking. Then my verbal commands didn’t work. Charlie went after the dog. Mrs. Polish Prick was able to get her dog and Charlie jumped in front of them, not biting either of them, but yes, it was pretty scary. Charlie was just going after the dog, NOT Mrs. Polish Prick. I ran and got Charlie and scolded him and apologized to Mrs. Polish Prick, but I don’t think she understood me. I tried to explain that Charlie wasn’t after her, just her dog for what her husband had done the previous year. So, I just apologized and went on my way.
Today, August 13, 2010, I believe things with the Polish Pricks and myself have come to a head. Mr. and Mrs. Polish Prick were coming down the stairs and I was near the front door about to put my 10 month old daughter in her stroller. I noticed that their dog was, once again, not on the leash. I told them nicely that in the stairwell, the dogs should be on the leash. (Im Treppenhaus, die Hunde sollten immer an der Leine sein.) This cause him to respond, you should shut your mouth. (Sie sollten Ihre Maul halten.) I was in shock that someone would say something like that to me, so said “Excuse me?” (Bitteschoen?). He then said that my dog needs a muzzle. (Ihren Hund braucht ein Maulkorb.) Now, I quite possibly could have misunderstood his first statement and he could have actually said at first that Charlie needs a muzzle, but I cannot be 100% sure.
He then proceeded to tell me that Charlie barks all the time when we are not here. I must say that I am aware that he barks when we are not at home. However, he only barks when Mr. or Mrs. Polish Prick go down the stairs or when the doorbell rings. Those are really the only times that he barks. When we are there, he rarely barks. I must also say, Charlie is only with us in Weiden for part of the time. The rest of the time he is with my in-laws. He is registered with my in-laws in Hirschau and has all of his shots and certifications from a Veterinarian here in Weiden, Dr. Krinninger.
I then proceeded to tell Mr. Polish Prick that The reason that Charlie barks at him when he walks past our door is because when Charlie was a puppy he hit him with an umbrella and Charlie will never forget that. When I get nervous or feel threatened, I forget a bit of my German. I accidently forgot to use the “Sie” form with him. He then ran up to me, and keep in mind I am holding my 10 month old daughter, he proceeds to yell at me that how dare I use the “Du” form with him, that he is older than me and we are not friends. He is about 15 centimeters from my face and pointing his finger in my face, all while I am holding my baby. This is where I felt threatened.
Him verbally accosting me from far away was ok, but since he ran up to me and was so close to me and yelling at me, the whole time while holding my child, I began to feel threatened. He assaulted my dog once before, so why should I not think that he could do the same to me. And it is not just when I have Charlie that Mr. Polish Prick gives me these evil looks. When I am out playing in the rocks in front of our house with my daughter, he gives me these looks. One time, when I was coming home from the grocery store and my hands are full with groceries, Mr. Polish Prick was also walking to the house. I saw him and he saw me. He got in before me; I smiled at him in hopes that he would leave the door open. He saw me and shut the door as fast as he could.
Long story short, whenever I see Mr. Polish Prick, he always has this evil look in his eye, especially when I have Charlie with me. After today, I will never feel safe near him. Whenever I see him, I will try to go the other way. This will be hard since we live in the same house, but I just feel that the house management should be informed. It is hard to live in a house in which a neighbor is so outright mean to another neighbor. I have never experienced this. I hope that you will take appropriate measures to ensure that Mr. and Mrs. Polish Prick will comply with having their dog on the leash in the stairwell, because, after all, this is all I asked of them.
So, what would you do with your problem neighbors? Have you ever had any this bad?
