Good Fences Make for Squabbles
I moved into my house in August 1997. There was a chain-link fence all the way around the back yard. In 1999, the back neighbour asked permission (readily granted) to pull up the back portion so he could put in a wooden fence. I gained 18″ of backyard along the length of the back property line in that deal. Since that time, I have wanted to replace the chain link along the sides, and I have finally saved enough money to do it.
When my original neighbor sold her house, I talked to the new owner, who was going to rent the house out, and explained that eventually we would put in a wooden fence and remove the old chain-link fence. He said “fine, do what you want.” That was about six years ago. I’ve asked the landlord several times in the past two years to call me, wanting to discuss the fence thing with him, but he refused to return my calls. I assumed that all was just as he had said five years ago.
The newest tenant has five dogs, two of which are pit bulls. So when I got all the lumber ordered and the fence contractor arranged for, I went over and told her what we would be doing, and asked if she could keep the dogs in for a few days. I even offered to put off the start of work to give her more time.
She came over last night and told me that her landlord didn’t want the old fence removed and that she could not keep five dogs in a 1000 sf house for a week, nor could she afford to board them somewhere, nor would she chain them up.
It also turns out that her landlord is NOT the same guy I talked to five years ago, but some other person. So I have to talk to this guy and try to convince him to let me take down the old fence and erect the new one.
I was told by my original neighbor that the chain-link fences were erected when the subdivision was built, and that they were placed ON the property lines to mark them. Her husband built the subdivision, so I figure she knows what she’s talking about. But the city does not have an individual lot plat, only a plat for the subdivision’s outer boundaries. We can’t find the marks on the kerbs that usually indicate property lines. So we don’t really know where the lines are.
So I have contacted a surveyor that my company does a lot of work with, and asked for an estimate on surveying the lot and establishing the lines. More $$$. I’ve also talked with my fence contrator about installing a temporary fence, but he’s concerned about that because it may not have time to set properly, and then he could be liable if her dogs get out. Not to mention that it would cost another $500 to $1000. Which I don’t have.
Anyway, I was so happy about finally having a fence, since I have been terrified about that pit bull since the new tenant moved in. (The fence between our yards is only 4 feet high, and her yard is 16 inches higher than mine, so the fence is really only about 2 feet high on her side. That pit bull goes nuts when the kids and I go in the back yard, and I have nightmares about it getting over the fence and attacking one of us.)
And now I am disappointed, mad, frustrated, and otherwise furious. 
I am struggling to stay kind, polite, civil, etc. What I really want to do is shoot every one of her dogs and dump the bodies on her front porch. And other evil things that do not reflect well on my claim to be a Christian.