Digging Under Fence?

**areias** · 07-31-2006, 10:42 PM

Not my dogs, but my neighbors dog. He has an outside only amstaff, that constantly gets under our fence. Along side our fence, looks like a battle zone with concrete blocks and wood and branches covering holes. He is a very bored and very determined dog, and can pick up 10 lb concrete blocks and move them to get under the fence. We put heavy PVC type pipe in the ground along the fence, but it got moved and dug under. The guy is always really sorry about it, but never does anything about it, and I'm not sure that he's finacially stable (the house is his grandmothers). I know he dosen't have time for the dog, he works nights, sleeps during the day, and is with his girlfriend when he has free time. It's been happening for a couple months now, and my whole family (including myself) is tired of it.

The dog himself scares me (not the fact that he's pit), especially now that I have the Rott puppy, her being so small. He plays VERY VERY rough, and seems that something clicks in his head sometimes, and he runs after zoie, who is smaller than him, in a prey drive fashion, grabbing her fur and limbs if he can. It dosen't break skin, and hasn't hurt her yet, but I worry that it will only take one time. She does not seem to enjoy it at all, and one time when I was trying to seperate them she jumped in my arms...and he tried to pull her down by one of her legs, and it was sore for a couple of days after. I am so worried that if he gets over when Dallas is outside, he will kill her. And if he tries messing with Sam, Sam will fight with him (his dog is an intact male, and Sam is dog aggressive towards dogs he dosen't live with).

I have seriously thought about calling animal control on him, but I'm afraid of #1, the dogs fate if the owner can't pay to get him out, and #2 really bad relations between neighbors, who are otherwise very pleasant. We have tried talking to them about it, and they put him on a chain in the backyard, but if he is chained he howls all day and all night (which gets annoying real quick), so he is not on it all the time. And it is of course grandmas house, so he is not allowed inside. The other factor is that sometimes when creates holes under the fence, they are not big enough for him, but they are for Zoie, and she goes over there. That is not often, he is usually over here, but it has happened. I'm really at a loss on what to do.

Any suggestions would be great.

Also, if he can not find a suitable place to dig, he is strong enough to tear off fence pieces.

**K9karen** · 07-31-2006, 11:52 PM

Okeedokey..listen carefully, please.
You may not know this, as others on PT do, but on April 5, my back neighbors' 2 (out of 3) dogs dug under his back fence to attack me and a pittie puppy I was dogsitting, In a nutshell, I now have no working left wrist, with shattered bones, need 2-3 more surgeries, but am lucky to have working fingers.
This neighbor knew his fence was in disrepair, as he had wood planks and cinder blocks covering holes one one side. They quickly and adeptly dug under the other end of the fence. Thankfully, the puppy was not seriously injured because I grabbed it back after the first bite, and my dear Logan decided to keep out of it, thankfully.
I had spoken to the new neighbor on various occassions. He is being sued in civil and criminal cases. I don't care. I will not be afraid in my own yard. He still has them until he complies to State Animal rules. If any dog gets into your property, regardless of the reason, your neighbor is libel for any injury to you or your dog. Do yourself a favor, call animal control. Take pictures. His financial situation is not your concern. You will think differently when one of your dogs or you are injured.
I guarantee that if one of your dogs injured someone, or left their property, you'd face a nice lawsuit. Protect yourself. You can't live in fear. Listen, my life is ruined forever because an idiot didn't maintain his property. He has a lot of cars, sit down mowers, a huge house. He's not hurting, He had to know about the fence. Plus, some of the boards are raised again and I see a hole. So we took more pictures and called animal control. Forget about his friendship, whatever, protect your dogs' lives and your own. You can PM me for further details but I can't reiterate enough..call animal control and take photos of that fence with the holes!!!

**mruffruff** · 08-01-2006, 08:00 AM

I have to agree. His financial and personal problems are not important. If he is going to keep the dog, he HAS to keep him confined safely.

DO call animal control or the police. They will warn him before taking the dog. From what you are saying, the dog needs a new home where he can get the attention and discipline he needs. Maybe this is the wake up call the guy needs to rehome the dog.

Don't wait! Call now before the unthinkable happens.

**areias** · 08-01-2006, 02:21 PM

Oh, I am so sorry Karen, I did not know that happened. At least you and the puppy are alive. I suppose it would be best to call animal control. I'll take some pictures of the fence. Should I wait until he comes back over to call them?

**K9karen** · 08-02-2006, 12:27 AM

No. Take those photos immediately. When you call animal control and show them the pictures and tell them what's happening, they will issue him a citation. He will need to fix the problem with a certain period of time or be fined. They may also ask to see a dog license and medical records. Maybe. Tell them you're calling before anything more serious happens. I know it's tough to live next to someone you're reporting, but, he'd do the same to you. Believe me. Safety is the key. His dog doesn't have permission to be on your property.
Not everyone is a good dog owner and you shouldn't be the one to pay the consequences.

**sanford8916** · 08-02-2006, 06:07 AM

I agree with everyone else. In Michigan dog owner's can get in trouble for the dog damaging anything on your property. Call every single time, AC has to have records before doing anything. I hope everything works out for you!