Cross Post from Golden Board.

[shais_mom]

I feel this person needs our advice too, if anyone can help, or has had a similiar situation and knows what to do, please post it here!! I am sure Logan and Terri and other Golden Retreiver board members can maybe give you more of a history on Susie:

Susie H (Original Message)
Sent: 10/22/2001 9:36 PM

It has suddenly come to our attention that a man who walks past our yard HATES
dogs and now I'm worried about Belle's safety. I wondered if anyone has any
suggestions on how to deal with this. We have a corner house, so the depth of
our backyard has a sidewalk beside it - our yard is fenced with a sturdy
ivy-covered chain link fence about 5 feet high. Belle likes to sit by the little gate at
the the "beginning" of the fence where she can see who's coming, and usually
barks when they get to be about 10 feet away, follows them the depth of the yard,
peeking through the ivy along the way. She never jumps on the fence - she's not a
jumper at all (too plump?). Some people she doesn't bark at, others she barks
alot at. Most people like her, barks and all.

A couple of months ago my family saw a man taking pictures of our fence - I
thought we were going to get complaints about the ivy over-growing the sidewalk
and didn't think about the fact that the dog was in the pictures. My husband
asked him what he was doing - he didn't answer so my hubby tried to draw him
into conversation and asked if he was taking pictures for a magazine or
something. The man snarled "None of your business" and went across the street
to the next house that has big dogs behind a fence and snapped a couple of
quick pictures there too. Again, that house has a lumpy sidewalk and I was
thinking he was photographing the dangerous walk. This last Friday the kids and
my husband were in the backyard with Belle when the same man came along. He
paused at the gate where Belle was barking at him and yelled "Shut up Stupid
Dog!" and then went a little farther along the ivy-covered fence, stopped in the
center of it and peered over the top at Belle, yelling at her some more - almost as
if he was daring her to jump up at him. At this point my husband saw his face - he
said the man looked as though he'd like to kill Belle - he seemed oblivious to the
fact that there were people in our yard too. He kept shouting as he went by and
finally was gone. My husband was too shocked to think of the right thing to say to
him - this guy is scarey! This man must have some problems beyond just a
dislike of dogs. We have no idea where he lives or where he walks to - the kids
reported that they'd heard him yelling at Belle before. Now I'm terribly worried that
he might poison Belle - it would be easy to toss something over the fence. The
only thing I can think of doing is trying to get a photo of him when he pauses by
the fence and yells at her so we would at least have record of what he looks like -
but he doesn't seem to pass by at a regular time. I've alerted the folks across the
street from the fence to keep an eye out for him and try to notice if he does
anything weird. I don't understand why this man insists on walking on our side of
the street - if he walks on the opposite side there are no dogs right beside the
sidewalk! If anyone has a bright idea on how to remedy this situation, I'm open to
suggestions! I love Belle - she's just like one of my human children to me. I'd be
devasted if she met foul play.

Worry-wart Susie H & Belle (who doesn't worry about anything - the fuzzy-wuzzy!

[3-greys-and-a-mutt]

This man sounds as if he has some mental/psychological problems. They should never ever leave their dog unsupervised in the yard, because if this guy comes along, who knows what he will do.
And frankly, IT IS THEIR BUSINESS if this guy is taking pictures of their property. I'd call the authorities on him the next time her does more than glance at that yard!!! Yes, he may be ill, but he is dangerous, too, and they need to look out for their safety and the safety of their dog.

[Dixieland Dancer]

I agree 100%! Never leave the dog out unsupervised. This is probably a headache but it is better than a heartache.

She may also want to train the dog to only accept food from her. That way if the dog does get some food from this nut, she will refuse to eat it.

[wolflady]

Yikes! It sounds like this guy has some issues. I agree, why wouldn't he be walking on the other side of the street if he didn't like barking dogs...or why even walk around in that area in the first place? Is this a resident on that street? It seems very odd to me that he would go up to the fence to yell at the dog. Of course the dog is going to bark if the man is on her property!! Taking pictures is also very suspicious, not to mention an invasion of privacy. I would definitly talk to the authorities, and mention that this man has been harassing the dog and taking pictures of the property as well as other people's property!! It definitely is the owner's business!!! The man was way out of line when he said that it wasn't. That way the authorities will be aware of the situation and could give some advice. The owners have tried confronting the man, but he wasn't responsive. The dog is properly enclosed in a backyard, so the man has no reason to be instigating anything from over the fence. That's really too wierd! Yes, I would definitely keep Belle under extra supervision, but I do recommend calling the authorities or a local animal rescue to see if they have any advice to give. The owners and the dog aren't doing anything wrong to instigate this man, so I would be really cautious about the situation. Please let us know what happens!!

[Daisy's Mom]

I agree with wolflady. Don't let the dog out alone and call the authorities. There is just no reason for the risk! This man sounds crazy.

[lizbud]

This guy sounds like Looney Tunes to me..
Would definately keep an eye out for the
dog whenever it is outside.If the man is
spotted again near their fence,I would
recommend going out in the yard with a camera & taking his picture.He could be planning
on stealing the dog or worse...

[carrie]

A lot can depend on police files - so get them to phone the police straight away with definte times, dates and a description of the man. They must demand a case or file number or identification code so that if this man comes back they have an immediate reference to the last time he was there.
The dog, children, or dog and children together should not be outside on their own. A supervising adult should always have a video camera at best, a tape recorder at least and a stills camera if no other option is available at hand at all times!!
You should tell everyone on the street that has dogs and/or children to do the same.
Every sighting, incident of harrassing or uninvited viewing should be reported using the incident number.
The more you have under the same number the more likely that the police will take you seriously.
I don't think this person is going to poison the dog but is more likely to go for a dangerous dog type court type battle.
Evidence is what is needed to prove him as the aggressor.

[delidog]

i agree...this makes my heart jump....call the police immediatly...give them all info...just print what you just wrote...donn' leave any detail out...ask them if they have an animal abuse officer on their staff and notify him also...please don't leave belle alone outside....i have seen this sort of thing before...do not wait for something to happen!!!!!!!!the deli dog

[crow_noir]

*heart pounding too bad, can't think straight enought to really reply* please keep us updated*

[Logan]

I thought it might help you to follow some of the valuable advice on the GR board. Here's the link:

http://communities.msn.com/GoldenRet...7&all_topics=1

[ownerof3dogs]

I think she shoukd call the police or somethng. My dogs Felice and Zeus were poisoned by someone about 4 years ago. They threw hambuger ove the fence... Bith my dogs almost died luckly we got home in time to take them to the emergency vets. Not only that but the bill wasn't pretty