Dogfrontation!
Got that title from Springer (he had a show called Klanfrontation!).
RANT ON
So this morning, M went out in the backyard to do something, and little goldie next door started barking his fool head off. I was pissed, and I yelled, "SHUT UP!" Suddenly, my neighbor appeared in the doorway and said, "Christine, he's a dog, and he's going to bark. You don't need to yell at him." Flabbergasted, I said, "Yeah, I understand." M was like, what was that all about? I told him what she said and said I was pissed, because the dog barks all the time, and neighbor lady overheard and yelled, "He doesn't bark all the time! Come here, boy. He's just a puppy." Jesus fucking Christ, those are the kind of people whose kid could piss on your head, and they'd say, "He's just being a kid."And this is the little shite that BIT ME. So M said in an Irish whisper, "I know you people are frustrated, but you don't need to take it out on us." Then we went in the house and I started ranting. (Hey, I'm Italian, and I have a temper.)
So I came up with the idea that we should talk to her. So I called her on the way in and said, look, I'm sorry if I was too much, but the dog is starting to become a nuisance. She started yelling that I didn't think he was such a PITA when I liked to play with him. I was fucking flabbergasted that someone would talk to me like that and mouthed to M, "She's yelling at me." He grabbed the phone out of my hand and said, "Excuse me, but you don't need to yell at my wife." She claimed she wasn't yelling. M said she kept making three points OVER AND OVER: 1) No one else has complained, 2) I wasn't yelling at him when he was my buddy that I used to pat, and 3) They take care of their dog, dammit! And Christine didn't get really hurt, AND she gave our dog a bone WITHOUT PERMISSION. (Bullshit. I called over there and asked one time, and she said he was feeling sick that day but to throw a bone over the fence anytime.) M tried to be conciliatory, but she wasn't meeting him halfway. So M said in the future, if the dog becomes a problem, we'll call over there, etc. rather then yell. He said, "Let's try to be quieter on both sides of the fence." She said fine and hung up. Can we say defensive? M says it's 50-50 that the husband will call tonight and be more cordial, but we ain't holding our breath.
Yes, I was wrong to yell at the dog -- he's a dog, and obviously he isn't gonna understand. But 7 in the morning barking? Jesus. Yeah, we aren't gonna win Neighbor of the Year with these people, but we had no relationship with them anyway. Our neighborhood isn't too friendly. I'm hoping they keep shit under control over there. That dog is a nuisance.
And as pissed as I am that the neighbor lady handled it so piss-poorly, I'm pissed also at myself for not being able to stand up to her and having to hand the phone off to M. Granted, he's a lawyer and he's trained in confrontation, but jeez. I don't want bad relations with these people -- they don't have to like us, but they do have to respect us. All I gotta say is, that lady had no right to go off on us like that, considering her dog attacked me, and we could have gone to the police, dog officer, sued them, hit them with the ER copay, etc. They got off scot-free. Some people just have no class or brains. This is why people call the cops on people rather than confront them directly.
RANT OFF
OK, so to calm my agitated ass down, I went over to Walgreens and picked up some good stuff cheap. Yay for sales. Made a rough morning better.
RANT ON
So this morning, M went out in the backyard to do something, and little goldie next door started barking his fool head off. I was pissed, and I yelled, "SHUT UP!" Suddenly, my neighbor appeared in the doorway and said, "Christine, he's a dog, and he's going to bark. You don't need to yell at him." Flabbergasted, I said, "Yeah, I understand." M was like, what was that all about? I told him what she said and said I was pissed, because the dog barks all the time, and neighbor lady overheard and yelled, "He doesn't bark all the time! Come here, boy. He's just a puppy." Jesus fucking Christ, those are the kind of people whose kid could piss on your head, and they'd say, "He's just being a kid."And this is the little shite that BIT ME. So M said in an Irish whisper, "I know you people are frustrated, but you don't need to take it out on us." Then we went in the house and I started ranting. (Hey, I'm Italian, and I have a temper.)
So I came up with the idea that we should talk to her. So I called her on the way in and said, look, I'm sorry if I was too much, but the dog is starting to become a nuisance. She started yelling that I didn't think he was such a PITA when I liked to play with him. I was fucking flabbergasted that someone would talk to me like that and mouthed to M, "She's yelling at me." He grabbed the phone out of my hand and said, "Excuse me, but you don't need to yell at my wife." She claimed she wasn't yelling. M said she kept making three points OVER AND OVER: 1) No one else has complained, 2) I wasn't yelling at him when he was my buddy that I used to pat, and 3) They take care of their dog, dammit! And Christine didn't get really hurt, AND she gave our dog a bone WITHOUT PERMISSION. (Bullshit. I called over there and asked one time, and she said he was feeling sick that day but to throw a bone over the fence anytime.) M tried to be conciliatory, but she wasn't meeting him halfway. So M said in the future, if the dog becomes a problem, we'll call over there, etc. rather then yell. He said, "Let's try to be quieter on both sides of the fence." She said fine and hung up. Can we say defensive? M says it's 50-50 that the husband will call tonight and be more cordial, but we ain't holding our breath.
Yes, I was wrong to yell at the dog -- he's a dog, and obviously he isn't gonna understand. But 7 in the morning barking? Jesus. Yeah, we aren't gonna win Neighbor of the Year with these people, but we had no relationship with them anyway. Our neighborhood isn't too friendly. I'm hoping they keep shit under control over there. That dog is a nuisance.
And as pissed as I am that the neighbor lady handled it so piss-poorly, I'm pissed also at myself for not being able to stand up to her and having to hand the phone off to M. Granted, he's a lawyer and he's trained in confrontation, but jeez. I don't want bad relations with these people -- they don't have to like us, but they do have to respect us. All I gotta say is, that lady had no right to go off on us like that, considering her dog attacked me, and we could have gone to the police, dog officer, sued them, hit them with the ER copay, etc. They got off scot-free. Some people just have no class or brains. This is why people call the cops on people rather than confront them directly.
RANT OFF
OK, so to calm my agitated ass down, I went over to Walgreens and picked up some good stuff cheap. Yay for sales. Made a rough morning better.
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