[MarieGrace]

I, like so many others, have a neighbor dispute. It started this time last year when my dog witnessed another dog bite my child. It was a small breed, and my daughter was not hurt, so I didn't do anything about it, in fact I maintained a friendship with the other dog's owner. So, my dog witnessed this incident, and had her black listed. A couple days later my daughter accidentally let my dog out the back door and when she approached that dog it provoked a fight with mine. The other women tried to pull the little dog away, breaking it's back. It was horrible. No action was taken against my dog, or me. Animal Control did their investigation and sided with me based on dog behaviors and previous situations. It was a horrific accident. The size difference was the deciding factor in how the interaction would end.

Another neighbor who was not home at that time heard about the incident. He confronted me in my front yard and made a variety of threats, such as 'taking matters into his own hands'. He told me he was concerned for my children because I was harboring a vicious animal. He called me many names and got in my face. I'm very tiny, he's a big dude, I was scared.

Over the following weeks my dog had been poisoned and nearly died, I witnessed him having talks with strange men on the other side of my privacy fence the day before she came up ill. He stopped everyone he could to warn them about me and my dog, and organized a neighborhood meeting to talk about me. I'm a stay at home mom of two little girls and I volunteer 50+ hrs./week for the largest dog rescue in MI, I'm hardly a threat to anyone! He spread a lot of lies and told people my dog bit the other 2 women that day, on and on and on.

Last Tuesday the cable guy let my dog out the front door. I take full responsibility because I should have crated her, but she's so good with people, and the cable guy thought she was beautiful and wanted to hang out with her while he installed our internet. Anyhow, she ran down to the bottom of my yard and had a VERY minor scuffle with another female dog. Neither dog was injured, not a scratch, it was over within 2 seconds. The owner was fine with it, I was upset, not him. He hugged me and we went on our way. One neighbor witnessed this and apparently told the guy I mentioned above. He's on another witch hunt. He's again stopping people, spreading more lies, and called animal control and filed a false complaint saying that it happened Friday (it actually happened Tuesday) and that he witnessed my dog attack another dog. He was not home when it happened and did not witness it. He said that to make it sound urgent so they would come. The owner of the dog did not call. Animal Control again did nothing, but he advised me to set up a security camera near my privacy fence because she got sick again, just like last year. My dog got violently ill again Wed. night (about 12 hours after Mr. Bully found out what happened). We almost lost her Thursday night. She had blood pouring out both ends, the vet found a large amount of bacteria in her system.

Sorry this is so long, but it's actually a very short summary of what happened. We are currently installing large baby gates, ultra sonic machines to keep her away from the front door, and we are going to install a 6' fence in the back. Because of her separation anxiety, re-homing her within my rescue would be inhumane, which leaves one other option besides securing the home better.

Is there anything I can do to get this guy to leave me alone? I'm physically ill because of the stress he has caused. I'm shaky, my heart won't stop racing, and I can't eat. I feel like I'm living in a fish bowl, and everyone wants to shoot me. It's unlike any stress I have ever felt. I also fear for the safety of my family. If he throws something over the fence and my little girls find it... I don't know how mentally stable he is. Anyone who devotes this much time to destroying someone else's reputation has a screw loose. I know my dog made mistakes, and I'm going to do what I have to do to make sure that never happens again. I can't risk my family's future financial security over my dog who I love with all my heart. The problem is, he doesn't just hate my dog, he hates me. Even if I do have to make a tough choice about my dog, I don't feel that he would stop the harassment. Has anyone had an experience like this, or have any advice for me? Thank you!