Our Story...
   5 years ago we moved into a house that was perfect, backed to the woods, no small kids and located in the northern suburbs of Detroit, MI. We thought we had found paradise.

The spring after we moved in, we built our first pond in the backyard and by the end of the summer we had added onto the first pond and made a second closer to the house. It was like a tropical paradise with all the plants and the waterfalls. As we added onto the pond we had new neighbors move in next door. They seemed like the nicest people, they had one small poodle.

Then they got THE DOG! It was a puppy at first, a rottweiler/German Shepherd mix. They soon put a dog run cage along side their garage, furthest from their house and about 10 feet from our Family Room. It stopped at the back of their garage and this is where the back of our house ends.

We then decided to put up an 8 foot privacy fence. We had asked if they would like to go in half for a safety precaution for their baby and our ponds. They said no. She wanted to grow rose bushes up the chain link fence. So we paid for it and put it up and even gave them the nice side out. Once the fence was up they added onto the dog pen and ran it down the side of our privacy fence so it came further into the backyard, basically running along the side of the pond and swing area. Right where we sit.

BUT WE DEALT WITH IT! I work out of my home in the family room about 15 feet away from the dog cage separated by a wall with a fireplace. We dealt with this situation for about 1 year and as the puppy turned into a dog, it became the loudest and most obnoxious barking dog you could ever imagine.

Winter, 2001 -
One miraculous day they got the dog a bark collar. It was the best thing EVER! We didn't hear from that dog except for about once a month, whenever the batteries would start to die. If the dog started barking, I just gave them a call and they fixed the problem.

May, 2002 --
Then one day I called and she says, "My dog can bark until 10:00pm at night". I told her to shut the dog up, she did.

See, we don't have a problem with the dog in the backyard barking, it's when the only place it has to bark is at our next to our house.

This continued on and on, they would put the dog in the cage and then leave. The dog would bark all day! If we walked in the backyard, it could peak through the fence and if it saw us or heard us it would start barking. Couldn't even enjoy our ponds.

Then my other neighbor (who the dog is always barking at because he lives directly across from the dog) told me to get an airhorn and blow it when the dog barked. This would not only scare the dog and hopefully shut it up, but it would also let the neighbors know how annoying a loud noise can be.

June 21st, 2002 (1st day of summer) --
Well it worked, the cage is also right next to our kitchen window, so one day when the dog started barking I blew the air horn. The neighbors called within a minute, told us we were being childish. My husband explained we couldn't even sit in the family room when the dog was outside, they said there was nothing they could do. The dog had a bloody neck because not only did they have the bark collar they were changing it with an electric fence collar so it wouldn't get into their gardens when it wasn't in the cage. After about 15 minutes of trying to give them solutions; from moving the cage, to chaining the dog in the backyard away from our house, to keeping the dog in the house with them (it is their dog, they should spend time with it). They did not want to do anything, in the end there wasn't a solution.

June 22nd, 2002 --
The next morning I wrote them a letter explaining how bad the situation really was and I included information on 3 different devices I found on the Internet to stop a dog from barking without the use of a bark collar. We later found out from our other neighbor they did not appreciate the letter.

Thursday, July 25th, 2002 --
Well things were great for about a month and it went right back to the dog in the cage barking. So I blew the airhorn again, well this time she was in the backyard with her 2 year old son and when I blew it she got mad and yelled over the fence "asshole!", and went to coddle her dog and remove it from the cage. Can you believe it, they called the cops on us! Police said we could get a ticket for disorderly conduct, but he let us off with a warning. The next morning I went to the police station to see what I could do. They said I could call them and file a complaint if the dog continued to bark. (Did I mention they keep the dog in the garage when its not in the cage?)

Sunday, August 18th, 2002 --
Came home from up north today, the woods in the back are about gone(condos going up) AND... the neighbors got ANOTHER DOG!!! Can you believe it!!! What are they thinking?

Thursday, August 29th, 2002 --
Well once again it lasted about a month and the other day I called the cops. She puts the dog in the cage and leaves. The dog barked at least 15 minutes before I called. Officer came out and I filed a complaint. The next complaint, we will have to go to court. They could lose the dog. Should be over right?

Friday, August 30th, 2002 --
The NEXT DAY! Can you believe the dog is back in the cage and barking up a storm. Their home and just don't care. Let The GAMES BEGIN!!!

Saturday, August 31st, 2002 --
Registered www.TheNeighborsFromHell.com and started this web site:-) This site will help me document everything in case I go to court and it also will allow other people to post their stories and receive help from people who have had a similar situation.

Monday, September 9, 2002 --
It's been quite until today. 6:45pm, dog went in the cage. They were home. I did get some good "LIVE" footage of the dog barking. Updated the site, now on-line "LIVE" Barking Dog Webcam(not online any longer).

Friday, September 20, 2002 --
6:00pm - Dog is in the cage AGAIN! Barked occasionally for about an hour. Once again, interrupted my work and made it impossible to sit in the Family Room.

Sunday, September 22, 2002 --
11:00am: Once again, The Neighbors From Hell have made our lives HELL! Dog was in the cage, we cannot even relax on a Sunday morning, we eventually left the house.

Tuesday, September 24, 2002 -- 6:00pm
ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE! They put the dog in cage again, about 6:00pm. I put up with it till about 7:00pm and I called the neighbors directly. I said, "Want to do something about your dog?" He said, I don't have to. I said, "Can you hear it barking?" He said yes, but I don't have to do anything, my dog can bark. Then we exchanged a few more words, he said CALL THE COPS, and hung up on me. Gee lets be a tad bit more childish shall we. We then went over there and the guy wouldn't even come to the door, his wife did (gee wonder who wears the pants:-) After trying to talk with them face to face, no resolution, we called the police.

We told the officer all that had been going on and she went over to talk with them. When she returned, all she could say is they don't think they are doing anything wrong. So she had to write them a ticket and have us sign it. Now it's off to court. We will now be wasting another day of our lives on these ignorant people that don't even seem to realize that when you receive a ticket from the police it means you are doing something wrong. The people have the mentality of a peanut! We are having discussions about selling the house.

Tuesday, October 1st, 2002(one week later)
HOUSE FOR SALE!!! Yes, we are selling the house. I cannot live like this anymore. House went on the market today, would have been sooner but we had to pack up and make it ready for the sale. To bad, we loved this house. But with neighbors like this, I cannot even go outside without my blood pressure shooting up, just wondering when its all going to start again. We've been looking at houses way north and will take no less than a couple of acres and we will not have neighbors!

Tuesday, October 29th, 2002 - GAME OVER!!!!!!
Lots of banging coming from the neighbors, looked out today and found the cage being taken apart! Found out its due to a city ordinance and not to be nice to us.

Monday, November 4th, 2003
We just found out why the cage was removed... The Township has just notified us that we installed our privacy fence without a permit, which means the Township inspector was in his backyard and had him take it down. We went to the Township Offices to apply for a permit, however an Ordinance had just been put in place and we cannot put up a fence that is within 3 feet of another parallel fence. Well our fence is butted up right next to our Neighbors From Hell, do you think they will remove the chain link fence, HELL NO!!! Remember they wanted to GROW ROSE BUSHES! I went to the city and filed a request for a Variance. Which will allow us the right to leave the fence were it is. If we lose we will have to either remove the fence or move it in 3ft. Which means the ponds may have to go. Our meeting date is scheduled for May 1st, 2003.

Thursday, May 1st, 2003
We went to the meeting and guess who was there? Yes, The Neighbors From Hell. Understand that when applying for a Request for Variance, everyone on the street gets the notice, in case they want to speak on the issue. In this case, all my neighbors chuckled and pitched it. Who cares that our fence is next to chain link fence. Well the NFH did, because they were there. I sent the board a Letter of Intent and Photos of the two fences and our ponds, so they were already up to speed. . We had to plead our case to the 7 Board members and wait for their verdict. The Chairman chuckles when he heard my story and asked if this was a learning experience, I laughed, said yes and thought.. "You can only imagine":-) Then he asked if anyone would like to speak on this matter... NFH gets up and walk down to the podium... "Yes, I would like to see the fence be removed. Its in violation and it also will not allow me to work on my chain link fence. The board asks, "What kind of maintenance sir?" He said "Rust protector or paint" The board asked if it had ever been done or how old is the fence? He said, "No the fence has never been touched and he does not know how old the fence is." Someone on the Board says it is pretty rusty, they can see the rust in the pictures. It was wonderful. The Board tears him apart. At one point they almost had him remove his chain link, because it's a safety hazard and his kid could use his fence to climb over ours and get in the ponds. But this did not happen, she spoke a bit and sounded like a lost kitten, she kept repeating "Please just up hold the ordinance, it was put in place for a reason." What a load of BULL! This woman could kick the crap out of most men I know and she definitely has the temper to do it. There is nothing soft about her, so this pathetic voice coming from her just made her look like a complete loser. Yes, the NFH did tell the board we were not on speaking terms. No details, but enough to let the board know they were there to get revenge. They looked and acted like class-A white trash. In the end we WON,the fence can stay:-) We really thought it was over.... Not even close.

March, 2003 - House off market
Well we decided not to sell.Over the winter we bought a business in the area and it would not be a wise idea to move. So we have invested in a Bark Free Device. Seems to be working even though the cage is gone the dog still stands on the other side of the fence.

April, 2003
Let the building begin. Seems this guy is on a building kick. We personally think he doesn't want to be in the house because she's there. The majority of the time he is actually home is spent outside building something, But, on a good note... They divided the yard and now the kids play area is on the other side of the fence from us. The dog is now only able to go on the other side of the yard. YEAH!!! Its OVER! (hahahah so we thought)

May, 2003
He's still building and putting up a privacy fence.

June, 2003
Privacy fence is complete and running down the fence line where the dog cage had been. Its now enclosed and I am afraid what might happen next.

July, 2003
Well it happened. The dog cage is back together AND they shortened it and put their garbage cans directly next to our family room. They make sure and bang the lids closed every time they put something in it. But at this, point no dog yet.

Monday, July 14th, 2003
I was contacted by People Magazine today via e-mail. They are writing an article about Nuisance Neighbors. If you have a story and would like to talk about it, contact us here and I will forward along your information. Thanks everyone for all your support!!!!

Not Sure of date (I give up.)
House is up for sale!!!
The dog cage is back up and now there are 2 dogs. The bark device seems to work a bit, but not totally. If we walk into the backyard we have to hold our breath, because if the dogs hear us they bark. This is truly hell on earth. I hope the house sells soon.

Sept. 1st, 2004 -> We have finally sold our house and moved, I feel we are getting our sanity back. We now have 3 acres with NO neighbors, backing to a metro park for added privacy, we even have a dog:-) Everyone out there going through a neighbor from hell experience, keep the positive energies and things will eventually change:-)