Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU not to take in my neighbours' dog?

69 replies

PrincessFiorimonde · 21/08/2013 09:09

DP and I live in a flat with no outside space. It's part of a house that's been converted into 2 flats. The flat downstairs has a garden that we have no access to.

Three times when the downstairs neighbours have been out, their dog has escaped from their garden. The dog has an address tag on its collar, and people have brought it back here.

However, when they've rung the bell downstairs and no one's been in, they've then rung our bell and said 'Is this your dog?' Each time I've said no; it belongs to the flat downstairs - which has a separate entrance/door/doorbell, and indeed a different house number (think 12 and 12A Acacia Avenue).

I won't take the dog in because we have no outside space to put him in and I don't want him in our flat. Last time this happened (yesterday) the people who brought him back said I was horrible for not taking the dog in and effectively leaving him to roam the streets.

I just said we have no outside space and I don't want the dog in our flat. I suggested they take him home with them and leave a note for the neighbours saying where he is.

This earned me a volley of abuse.

AIBU over this?

OP posts:
LookingThroughTheFog · 21/08/2013 10:56

I would not take the dog in because a) I've got a cat, and have no idea how good the dog is with cats (but I know the cat hates dogs). b) I've got a daughter who's frightened of dogs, and while I'm working on reducing her dogs by slowly acclimatising her to them, having one suddenly in our house wouldn't help. There are a number of reasons why a neighbour might be unable to take a dog into their home, and to expect them to do so is unreasonable.

Even if something happens to the dog, it is not OPs fault. It is the fault of the owners who have left it in the garden unsecured. The dog has escaped three times. If they are not going to be in the house to keep an eye on the dog, the dog needs to be tied to something. It needn't be a short lead - we had a thing for our old dog where she could be clipped to the washing line, so she could run up and down the garden without a lengthy chain that might get tangled. She was only tied up if we couldn't be with her out there for whatever reason.

If you dog escapes one time, you can be excused for not knowing there was a weak spot in the garden. Three times is just negligent.

SilverApples · 21/08/2013 10:57

How long are they leaving the dog in the garden for?
Tying it up for hours at a time seems unkind to me, even if you leave it with water.

comingalongnicely · 21/08/2013 10:57

YANBU,

I'd suggest to the next finders that they ring the RSPCA as the owners are not around (or ring them yourself) - or suggest to your neighbours that they put their mobile number on it's collar so they can be contacted by finders & then come home to put the dog in their flat.

jerryfudd · 21/08/2013 10:59

Another for the "not your problem" camp here. Owners obviously aren't that concerned as it isn't the first time. If you choose not to have a dog why the heck should you be responsible for somebody else's! You don't know if it's house trained (why do they leave it out?), what it's nature is and how it will fair in confined space with stranger. For the dogooders knocking your door just say you have a small child so not willing to take risk of strange dog if that makes you feel better about telling them to do one with it

specialsubject · 21/08/2013 11:01

the selfish and cruel arses are the owners of the dog, not the OP. Who wants an unknown and possibly untrained dog in their house? Clearly the person who gave out all the abuse wasn't willing to take it in despite all their screeching.

the animal is being left for hours and is repeatedly escaping. It may well cause a car accident and be injured or killed, never mind whoever is driving the car also being at risk. It needs to be rehomed or put down if the owners won't change what they do.

OP -tell the neighbours that the dog is causing problems and must either be secured or rehomed. If this is met with blank faces, call 101 for advice.

Original poster
PrincessFiorimonde · 21/08/2013 11:09

pianodoodle 'Living in the same building doesn't make you any more responsible for the dog as someone in the next street!'

Yes, this is what I think. I'm pretty sure that if I lived across the road from the escaping dog, I wouldn't have had a ring on my doorbell, let alone someone telling me how horrible I am for not taking it in to my flat. So why am I somehow more liable for the dog because my doorbell is in close proximity to the owners' bell?

I did think about trying to tie the dog to neighbours' door/railings with a bowl of water within reach, but worried about that in case it strangled itself.

OP posts:
SaggyOldClothCatPuss · 21/08/2013 11:13

I'm with telling the next person to ring the RSPCA. If they take the dog, the owner will need to pay to get it back. This might be the wake up call they need to stop up the escape hole. I'm not usually mean about animals, but if this dog has escaped at least 5 times, they obviously don't give a shit.

SilverApples · 21/08/2013 11:16

What sort of dog is it? (idle curiosity)
Little yappy ratty dog or huge great crashing about sort?

rumpledtitskin · 21/08/2013 11:19

I would ring the dog warden as then the owners will get a fine before getting the dog back.

If it was me though, I would be securing the dog somehow so it can't escape before the dog warden gets there.

cathpip · 21/08/2013 11:22

I would be a bit annoyed with having to take the next door neighbours dog in again, you would of thought that the garden would be secure by now. I took in a neighbours dog once ( I have dogs and small children ) so kept it in the utility and it damaged the door, no apology or thank you from the neighbour. Maybe suggest to the neighbour that they might want to invest in a dog run for their garden. And no I don't think yabu.....

MummytoMog · 21/08/2013 11:26

I wouldn't take the dog in. I loathe dogs anyway, but it really isn't your problem and if you start taking it in, then before you know it, you'll have the dog there all the time. Call the RSPCA and report them anonymously, that might give them a kick up the pants.

CleverWittyUsername · 21/08/2013 11:31

I wouldn't take it in. I don't think there's anything wrong with 'looking after number one' and I don't see it as being selfish or not being neighbourly. What if you took the dog in and it attacked you/shat all over/wrecked your flat or garden? Why should you have to be put in that position in the first place? You are under no obligation and the owners are being neglectful. Call the RSPCA or dog warden, that might get the owners to sort their garden out a bit better.

gobbledegook1 · 21/08/2013 11:34

There are a few people on here being a bit harsh to the OP. I am a dog lover and as a one off I personally would gladly take the dog in, however the thing to take note of here is that this was not a one off, it is a repeated occurrence which leads me to believe the owners are not very responsible, they clearly know it is escaping yet have done obviously nothing to resolve the issue and it is not the responsibility of other people to keep it safe from harm.

Next time it happens I suggest you take the dog and call the warden, it is not cheap to retrieve a dog from council kennels and would maybe make them think twice about not sorting the issue. Where is the dog left if the weather is crap, if its out in bad weather and doesn't have any shelter then maybe a call to the RSPCA?

EldritchCleavage · 21/08/2013 11:39

If the dog finder has decided to take responsibility for securing and returning the dog, why do they get to offload that responsibility onto the OP, just on the basis of her proximity to its home?

OP, if you do this you run the risk of being saddled with the dog frequently. I would refuse to take it in.

Runningchick123 · 21/08/2013 11:45

I don't understand why people are saying the OP was mean for not taking the dog in. It isn't her dog, if she wanted a dog in her flat then no doubt she would get her own dog which she can housetrain.
If the dog gets run over then that is the fault of the dogs owner, not the OP. the owners shold make sure that their dog is left safe and secure.
Wha if the OP took in the dog and it bit her child? Or got frightened and left dog mess all over her carpets? Or chewed her carpets?
Dog owners should take responsibility for the welfare of their own dogs.
I wouldn't take in any dog because I don't like dogs and you hear too many stories about dogs biting people when they have become frightened or anxious, because some dogs don't know how else to cope with their fears.
I'm firmly in the 'not my dog so not my problem camp'.
The most the OP should do is phone the dog warden so he can pop round to the dog owner and have a stern chat with them about their responsibilities.

Chattymummyhere · 21/08/2013 11:49

I wouldn't want to take in a random dog, but if the only option was I did or the dog roamed the streets (not this case) I would stick it in my dogs run and being my girls inside, ring the dog warden and have the dog collected

SilverApples · 21/08/2013 11:52

I think the majority are backing the OP's decision TBF.

ratspeaker · 21/08/2013 11:53

Why should the OP HAVE to take the dog in just because she happens to live nearby? Its not running in the street if someone has brought it round.

The OP will not have leads, dog food or water bowls, if she doesn't own a dog so why should she be responsible for someone elses pet that regularly escapes.

She may have young children or other pets

I would not take in my neighbours that side dog, its untrained, seldom walked and has already gone for my cat, other neighbours dog and nipped another neighbours daughter.

theoriginalandbestrookie · 21/08/2013 11:59

YANBU. Just tell them you have a cat and/or gerbils so you can't take the dog in and call RSPCA or dog warden.

Original poster
PrincessFiorimonde · 21/08/2013 12:03

SilverApples
Yes they are, aren't they? A wonder to behold ... I really was expecting a right royal telling off.

Btw, it's a 'little yappy ratty dog', aka a Jack Russell mongrel hybrid sort of thing.

OP posts:
Original poster
PrincessFiorimonde · 21/08/2013 12:05
OP posts:
Runningchick123 · 21/08/2013 12:08

Silver apples - I did get that most people were supporting the OPs decision not to take in the dog, but I was surprised that anybody would say she was in the wrong.

theoriginalandbestrookie · 21/08/2013 12:20

Gerbils are cute - except when they escape and you spend hours looking for them . The people on the buzzer aren't going to know one way or the other - they are hardly going to barge into your flat demanding to see evidential proof of your reasonable excuse. If they do that's a whole new AIBU !

Tallalime · 21/08/2013 12:23

I am not a dog lover, they're alright but I prefer cats, but I would have taken the dog. That said I would have taken it the first time and then had a chat with the neighbours about securing their garden. If it then happened again I would have reported it.

The last thing I would want is for the dog to be hit by a car or something. I have found a dog running lose in the road before, stuck it in my car, taken it to work and called round til I found the owner. It was a farmers dog, delivery man had accidently let it out, dog and farmer reunited, dog not dead on road, farmer more careful when taking deliveries.

Are the people finding your neighbours dog just putting it back in the garden, if they are then your neighbours might not even know it is escaping.

whatsagoodusername · 21/08/2013 12:41

For those who are saying the owners are negligent or don't care, they may just have an escape artist dog and are trying to contain it. We had one once who learned to climb a tree to get out of our (very large) back garden. The place looked like a prison by the time we got it secure for her.

Or they may not care. And the OP isn't BU if she's not comfortable having the dog in her home for any reason.