It's Always Somethin'

We've been having real problems with the neighbors that live behind us.

The problem is that these neighbors, with whom I am not acquainted -though they are the same neighbors whose doorbell I rang in 2006 when we bought this house, after Kansas, chasing a squirrel, managed to burst through a loose fence board and end up in their backyard, much to her surprise and the bewilderment of the white, Spitz-type dog on the other side of the pool spanning the lawn- have bunnies.

Bunnies.

For about 10 weeks now, we have endured the daily Battle of the Bunnies.

I'm not sure if they always had bunnies, or if they came on scene recently, but these bunnies are not in their pen. They DO have a pen, DH has peered through the gaps in the fence and seen it. They just are not in it. They're allowed to roam freely about the backyard (and, I suppose, swim in the pool, since they haven't yet drowned in it as I have been hoping they would). It seems the bunnies and the neighbors' own dogs ignore each other quite nicely. The neighbors have a dachshund and a cocker spaniel mix of some sort. The bunnies don't get any better care than the dogs do. The dogs are left outdoors 24/7, year round and in all manner of weather conditions. They often yap their heads off in the middle of the night, waking us up or keeping us awake. During the time we had rented our home out to that dreadful Tenant, these dogs even tunneled under the fence and frequented our backyard as if it were their own. The hole is still there. I had to cover it up with spare fence boards I found lying about, as all of the dirt is on the neighbors' side of the fence. The neighbors don't care because their side of the fence is screened by tall maiden grass, to help give their pool the illusion of some tropical beach.

I wish the damn grasses better blocked the sounds of their willful daughter's incessant shrieking.

Thus, the bunnies prefer to make a den out of the Pile of Crap the neighbors have lying between their rusted old shed and the fence. This means their burrow is right next to the back fence and Kansas is always trying to dig under it to get to them. The bunnies are curious, and seem to think all dogs are their friends. Well, Leo and Airlie aren't interested, except maybe as playmates, but I'm confident Death By Kansas would happen in an instant and before I could intervene if she ever gets one of them.

Why can't people just be responsible pet owners?

I've had to step up my own vigilance because of my idiot neighbors' thoughtless laziness. Not only can my own dogs not enjoy their own yard the way dogs should, I've spent many of my days attempting to block off, and otherwise refill the same hole. At this point, I'm almost grateful for the Pile of Crap on the other side. It serves a purpose. Twice Kansas has managed to pull boards loose from the fence, but the Pile of Crap prevents her from getting even her head through to the other side.

Two weeks ago, Kansas narrowly missed poking her eye with a rusty nail from one of the fence boards. This week, she has sustained a lovely gash to the gum above one of her canine teeth, courtesy of the wire fence DH recently installed in an attempt to keep Kansas away from the property line privacy fence.

Yes, that's right. My dogs have had access to several feet of their own yard restricted thanks to my careless, inconsiderate neighbors.

I'm still wishing one of the feral cats would make a meal out of a bunny or two. I've seen my own cats (indoor/outdoor cats in the past who are indoors-only at present thanks to living in a neighborhood where folks prefer to set plastic bags of household garbage out at the curb on trash day, rather than purchasing lidded garbage cans) catch and kill squirrels -and bring them to my doorstep- and a friend has a cat that killed a rabbit belonging to a neighbor or hers, so I know it can be done.

Now the problem is that the wire fence isn't tall enough and Kansas has figured out how to jump it. Nevermind that she has arthritis and hip dysplasia- she seems completely cured of it if the bunnies are near enough to attempt catching. She actually gets a running start, jumps, pushes off the wood fence and uses the momentum to vault over and land on the other side of the wire fence.

It's a disc dogger's dream, but she has never been interested enough in Frisbee, because of her constant discomfort.

The only comfort is that this wire fence at least keeps Leo and Airlie from racing back and forth at the privacy fence with the neighbors' dogs. Sometimes the neighbors are conscientious enough to call their dogs in and cease this annoying practice. It only happens when Kansas decides to chase after the squirrel crossing the power line that spans our yard. Airlie then gives chase to Kansas, the neighbors' dogs hear the noise and decide to come defend "their" fence, then Leo starts running after and barking at them, then Airlie tries to herd Leo...

It never ends.