My Neighbor Is So Brazen That I Had to Put a Camera in My Yard – Story of the Day

My neighbor constantly does disgusting things in my yard, but does not admit it. I taught her a lesson she won't forget.

I'm very proud of my garden so I was upset when I started finding dog droppings all over my front lawn, and my azaleas all burned with dog urine. At first, I thought it was some wandering homeless dog, so I called animal control.

They came around and told me that as far as they knew there were no stray dogs in our area. Was I sure it wasn't a neighbor's dog? I was indignant. My neighbors all had gardens, and no one would do something like this, or would they?

I started keeping a sharp eye out for any suspicious canine activity, but I never saw a thing. My closest neighbor with a dog was next door, and she had one of those pesky tiny dogs who bark all the time.

To be honest, I hated the thing's strident yapping, but I never said anything -- good fences make good neighbors. So who was coming into my garden with their dog?

Then my husband suggested we install security cameras. I wasn't keen on the extra expense, but I agreed it WAS a good idea, and I contacted a security company for the job.

A week later, the cameras were installed and the man explained that they were motion-activated, and would provide the date and time of whatever was filmed. We were so excited, we hardly slept.

Early the next morning, my husband and I sat drinking our coffee and watching the tape. Some of it was of a cat wandering around the house and jumping the fence, and then we saw the culprit.

Don't do to others what you don't want to be done to you.

There she was on camera, my next-door neighbor walking her pesky pet on MY lawn, pooing and peeing in my garden! But why? Why would she do it? "I don't understand," I said to my husband. "Why would she do that?"

My husband just shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Who knows why women do anything?" he asked. "It's a mystery to me!" Well I was determined that it wasn't going to be a mystery to me.

I marched next door and rang the doorbell. My neighbor's husband answered the door. "May I speak to your wife, George?" I asked briskly.

"Sure, I'll call her!" George is a nice enough man, but a bit brow-beaten, I'd always thought. Within minutes Mavis was at the door, with that disgusting rat-dog tipping at her heels.

"Mavis," I started, "I'd be grateful if you'd stop walking your dog in my garden, and letting him do his business all over my lawn."

Mavis' mouth hung open in fake horror and she started fanning her heart with one hand. "What? I'd never do that! NEVER!"

"Really? Well, I have a witness," I said.

"Liars! LIARS! You know I'd never..." she screeched.

And that was when I whipped out my phone and showed her the 2:00 am footage from my camera. "So who is this?" I asked sweetly, "'cause it sure looks like you!"

Mavis was gasping and opening and closing her mouth like a fish. "That's not me! And you can't prove it is!"

"Well, Mavis," I told her, "if it happens again, I'm going to the police!" I walked away and I could hear her wailing and screaming behind me, and her husband trying to calm her down.

At first, I thought the problem was solved, but a few days later, there were the little piles of poo all over my front lawn again, but when we checked the cameras there was nothing there.

"She must have found a way to disable the cameras, that sly hag!" I cried angrily. I called the camera guy and he admitted that it was possible and could be done.

I sat down and thought it all through and that was when I decided that turnabout is fair play. Did she want war? She'd have it. But I was bringing out the big guns!

I phoned my brother Jim and asked him if I could borrow his dog Tiny for a few days. "Listen, Sue, are you sure? You know how much Tiny eats..."

"That's OK, Jim, I want him to eat a lot!"

And so Jim dropped Tiny off, and I immediately took him to my fenced back yard, out of sight of the neighbors. Later that night, Tiny and I took a long walk.

Tiny, a Great Dane who weighs 76 kg and is the size of a pony ended up taking a giant poop on Mavis' porch. I admit I was dancing with glee as I led Tiny back to my house. I couldn't wait to see what happened next!

The next morning, I heard Mavis screaming, then she was knocking on my door. "Was it you?" she asked.

"Excuse me?" I asked innocently. "Was I what?"

"There's a ton of dog poo on my porch!" she cried.

"Don't look at me, Mavis," I said, "I don't even have a dog!"

She went off muttering and I heard her knocking on other doors. From that day onwards, Mavis kept her dog in her own yard. Good fences make good neighbors, I always say!

What can we learn from this story?

1. Own up when you get caught in a lie.

2. Don't do to others what you don't want to be done to you.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who discovers his youngest son isn't his and keeps the secret his whole life.

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