ULPT request: How to shut down neighbors “doggy day care”
Posted by HLBK17@reddit | UnethicalLifeProTips | View on Reddit | 80 comments
My neighbor is in her mid 60s and she runs an unlicensed doggy day care from her home as her main source of income. At any given time, she has between 3 and 6 dogs in her back yard. I believe 2 of them are hers and the rest are customers dogs. They bark constantly and she will be gone from her house for hours at a time and just leave them outside. I have a young child and the dogs barking wake him up from his naps.
My bedroom is on the fence line closest to her house, so the barking is very loud in my bedroom as well. They woke me up at 4:30am this morning and barked for 30+ minutes. The dogs have destroyed the fence and I’m having to foot the entire bill to get it replaced because she has no money and I’m tired of looking at the destroyed fence.
What can I do to end this problem? I’ve considered a lot of unethical things. The problem is some of the dogs are not hers, and I don’t want an innocent third party dog owner to suffer from my neighbors stupidity.
Wonderful_Shame_4986@reddit
Report it to local Humane Society as well.
prozacfish@reddit
Report the unlicensed business. There’s a reason zoning exists.
Scooter_McAwesome@reddit
This is the best answer- but is it unethical?
prozacfish@reddit
Ethics are always up for interpretation unless specified in some type of code. In this case, I think knowingly eliminating a persons only source of income, albeit doing so legally, falls into an “ethically questionable” category.
vanbul@reddit
It's literally in the first sentence.
prozacfish@reddit
Sometimes people need a little nudge
RedBadger444@reddit
There are also usually noise ordinances in residential areas, so you can measure db levels to bring to zoning. I think its usually like 40 or 50db during the day?
misspeoplewatcher@reddit
Then take her on Judge Judy for the fence.
briomio@reddit
Yes, she is running a kennel without a license
9Implements@reddit
Yeah. I saw someone selling 4 dogs recently. Looked it up and they said to have more than 5 dogs you have to have at least 2.5 acres, which is insane.
DeniseReades@reddit
If they had the dogs before that law was put into effect, a subpar lawyer can get them grandfathered in. If they moved there, with all the dogs, unaware it was a law, a decent lawyer can get them an exception.
DeniseReades@reddit
This is how I lost my dog sitter. The neighbors reported her for having an unlicensed kennel and she was shut down by the city. 10/10 method
We found a new sitter and she ended up officially retiring and, per her Facebook she now lives on a cruise ship so it worked out for everyone.
Freshouttapatience@reddit
You could also see if she’s on the pet sitting apps and report her there.
squirrelfriend3@reddit
Write a review saying that your dog caught canine flu or some other dog disease from being kenneled at her place. That would be a huge red flag for potential customers. A properly licensed boarding place requires that animals are up to date on all vaccinations.
vyrus2021@reddit
Or just a factual review about how the dogs are left alone in a yard with a broken fence
boferd@reddit
holy fuck i lived this situation OP. i went scorched earth and looked up every single city code i could think of that they may be breaking (too many animals on property, running an illegal business from their home, smell of feces from their yard) and i called code enforcement every single time i saw, smelt, or heard it. become the squeaky wheel to the people whose jobs it is to fix it. i honestly wish you luck, i was losing my mind from this so i know how it can be
Flux_My_Capacitor@reddit
Could report her to her homeowners insurance. They aren’t gonna like the fact that she’s taking in dogs that could be violent and are definitely destructive.
CruxCrush@reddit
Is she just going to call every possible homeowners insurance company with a generic report?
HRzNightmare@reddit
A possible way to get the info is for OP to tell her he's contacting his insurance company about the savage to the fence and so he'll need her insurance info. OP could fin and tell her OP needs the info so "it won't cost get a dime," lol.
joyce_emily@reddit
“I’m thinking of getting different homeowners insurance. Who do you use?”
ChemistRemote7182@reddit
Hey OP can report the fence damage too!
Witty_Candle_3448@reddit
Provide the city with pictures of the dogs when you report the unlicensed business to code compliance. In case she says they are all her dogs, does the city have a limit on the number of dogs you can own?
Adventure_Pancake@reddit
If you're on Facebook post it on a neighborhood page that the dogs are being neglected
cementfeatheredbird_@reddit
Yes, defamation is always the smartest choice
Adventure_Pancake@reddit
It's not defamation if it's true. But post anonymously anyway.
XOtentialAsthmatic@reddit
Easily can backfire. She'll give up all aninimity and get sued for defimation.
Adventure_Pancake@reddit
Facebook allows anonymous posts now. I guess I should have specified.
Tough_Tangerine7278@reddit
I would report her FIRST and not say anything to tip my hand before they bust her.
Stage 2 could be social media backlash
BugBugRoss@reddit
If she is relying on your fence to contain her noisy critters then take down a section of fence.
She can't leave the dogs outside if they are free to escape.
feralcatshit@reddit
“Well this section of the fence was damaged anyway, such an eyesore and no longer functional, so I decided to take it down. Unfortunately, like you, I’m not able to afford to replace it at the time.”
RuggedHangnail@reddit
And then open your gate to the street. You can leave your gate open anytime you like. You're not expecting or wanting to have strange dogs pooping in your yard.
OkeyDokey654@reddit
This is absolutely perfect. You take down the damaged fence but oops, can’t afford to replace it.
stabbingrabbit@reddit
Aircompressor powered train horn.
UL is find something that gives the dogs diarrhea but does not harm them.
justiancredible@reddit
Get that powder they use at fun runs and stuff. Throw it over and dye the dogs funny colours.
abbsolutely1@reddit
Release a skunk in her yard
poop_report@reddit
Fence destroyed? Sounds like soon there won't be a fence at all and the dogs will escape and just be at large in the neighbourhood!
NaveMalone@reddit
She’s has no money and you wanna take this from her?
MVHood@reddit
City/town phone call then IRS
Pedal2Medal2@reddit
You can report it to the town.
Reclining720@reddit
I find it hard to believe that you haven't already called police about this to report a supposedly unlicensed business. My guess is that she's fully licensed and you're the problem neighbor.
BraveCranberry9863@reddit
Report her to shut down the unlicensed doggy daycare. Make friends with the existing two dogs so they want to live with you. Adopt them. Make a piss disk from their pee and put it in her car.
ChristunaSandwich@reddit
Call animal control. They’re destroying your property for goodness sake.
ViciousSnatch@reddit
Take pics/video and blast it on your local facebook pages. Any whiff of animal abuse in my area and people lose their shit. Add details like weather conditions (if the dogs have shade), if they have proper water outside, etc. look up the zoning laws and add those too. It’s damn near impossible in my area to get animal control or the police to take barking dogs seriously (I’ve read that you need detailed logs and corroborating evidence to get anything done) so maybe exploiting people’s love of animals will fix the problem.
Dasrule@reddit
This is ULPT.
Meatballs full of exlax. Let the dogs constantly shit all over her house, the clients homes and cars, etc. she’ll be out of business faster than any citation from the city.
Realistic-Produce-28@reddit
Terrible. It’s not the dogs’ fault they’re there and don’t deserve to be harmed.
Tough_Tangerine7278@reddit
They’re being neglected 😞
Mean-Bumblebee661@reddit
my dad read meters when i was growing up and there was a dog that had bit him twice in the past and the owners wouldn't put him up or leash him. so my dad fed the dog rancid meat and went on his route, came back a few hours later to a dog with a very bad stomach ache laying in his dog house, and read the meter box then.
Rooted_Nut@reddit
This shit makes me so angry. Why can't people have common sense and basic responsibility. I'm sorry he had to resort to that, sucks when the animals pay but that's practically always the case for shitty owners. Everyone has a right to feel safe at work.
PixieStyx8@reddit
The cops will come for the prisoner harder than they will come after an unlicensed kennel. The owners are willingly taking their dogs there, whereas they will throw an absolute fit if their furbabies get sick
vintagecheesewhore@reddit
Animal cruelty is never the answer
cogburn@reddit
PeckingChicken@reddit
Ehhh I’d hesitate on this for many reasons. But in the spirit of this sub, I’d say just keep in mind that many many homes have security cameras (ring, nest etc) and you have a good chance of getting caught
regularforcesmedic@reddit
Take down the fence and put up one that won't keep dogs from jumping out (4ft chain link).
DankyCinnablunts@reddit
My grandma had a bunch of dogs of her own, at one point it was close to 20. They were mostly old dogs too. Anyways, a bunch of neighbors called the cops enough times for the noise and eventually animal control took all but two. This was in Texas like 15 years ago
sockpoptart@reddit
Isn't there a rule in Texas where you can't have more than like 4 or 6 dogs at a time without special permitting, too?
We had permits because our family ran a bird dog training kennel so we had anywhere from 3 to 10 dogs at once.
DankyCinnablunts@reddit
No idea, probably. My grandma just loves dogs
IDGAF53@reddit
Too bad for them. Call code enforcement.
Afraid-Stomach-4123@reddit
Start by contacting your local animal control to report an unlicensed kennel. They'll handle it from there.
SOMFdotMPEG@reddit
Throw treats over the fence that are laced with something that gives dogs diarrhea
the_duck17@reddit
Look up your city's code enforcement hotline and give them a call.
ExpressionNo2123@reddit
Also get one of ultra sonic dog bark stoppers with remote and put it outside aimed at her house and hit it every time someone barks . Hurts their ears, gets their attention and stops them barking. Works from across street. We used it on an old neighbor. It helped after a while. They are cheap on amazon.
belle88@reddit
Don't penalize the poor pups for your neighbor's horrible choices.
Allthemuffinswow@reddit
They're going to be penalized anyways unfortunately, with a lot of the suggestions on this thread.
If this doggy daycare is the woman's only form of income, once that gets reported and goes away, she won't have any money. Especially if she's already financially hurting and they fine her.
She might lose her home if she's still got a mortgage and no income, she won't be able to afford food for them, etc etc.
I'm not defending her. Just pointing out the consequences of her choices and the blowback that's coming. 😕
wh1temethchef@reddit
Brilliant idea
tokiedokie410@reddit
Maybe not totally unethical, but if you ever run into one of the owners, I would tell them that she’s leaving their dog outside, unattended for hours at a time. Show them a video. I’m sure if they had any idea that’s how she was “caring” for their dog, they’d stop using her immediately. You could even ask how they found her and then work on killing her business at the source. As someone who cares for dogs at my home, this not only destroys the credibility of responsible business owners, but it’s the absolute opposite of how a dog should be cared for. Having them stay at my house is a vacation for them, not a doggie dumping ground.
T-Wrox@reddit
Report her to the appropriate city department, and don't feel guilty about it. Her life choices should not be affecting the neighbours like this.
wh1temethchef@reddit
She's running this fucking ""'business"" but has no money? Is she boarding the dogs for free or what?
oyon4@reddit
Offer more money than she makes from her hustle to not do the hustle.
BusydaydreamerA137@reddit
Act friendly to get the name of the doggie day care (unless you can get it though a sign or know it). Give bad google reviews acting like an unhappy pet owner. Get other neibours and friends to do the same. (This is for the unethical part of the sub)
luigis_left_tit_25@reddit
You wanna ruin someone's income..?
Class_Act7@reddit
You didn’t mention it, but I would assume you’ve already tried talking to her?
PresidentialDiapers@reddit
This is ULPT, most these tips are practical and ethical. Get a remote controlled horn and place it by the fence hidden from view. When they quiet down during the day, blow it. Get them going again. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Ethical would be to buy a half dozen ultrasonic pest repellers and line the fence with them. Most are solar powered now, so an easy solution.
Youareaproperclown@reddit
Post the address on 4chan
RabicanShiver@reddit
I would have a talk with her first. If she can keep the noise down and do what she does without affecting your life then let it go... But otherwise let the police/ zoning handle it.
Dizzy_Yoghurt_2349@reddit
Move
Legitimate-Web-5540@reddit
Report her to the IRS. If she is owes money you may get a cut.
coralcoast21@reddit
Take video of her backyard that you can see from yours when the dogs are unsupervised. Post it to Rumble or another loosely regulated video share service. Get a big sign with a QR code and text of "view this sign to see that dangerous conditions dogs are left in next door". It's true and there's nothing she can do about it if you're in the US.
ze11ez@reddit
I probably sound ignorant, but what is Rumble? I just went on there, I see videos, is this like youtube 2.0? I never heard of it until you mentioned it here. A lot of the content seem to be "live" too, which is different. Thanks
coralcoast21@reddit
It's very similar to YouTube but with fewer rules. YouTube demonetizes you if you curse within the first few minutes of your video. They would also take down a video like this over privacy concerns. But of course, it's not private if your neighbor can see it. OP could also use other sites like photobucket too.
tetheredvoid@reddit
The only way to stop her is to make her business unavailable to her. Call the police - the clients will find other places for their dogs.