Prairielove: If you read my update to the situation this year, you will understand that I did take proactive action to keep this person from blowing his leaves into my yard by stacking logs about 3 feet high and 100 feet long along the one border of my property. And this person did still manage to blow his leaves into our yard. Even though he knew that we did not appreciate it. This neighbor is obviously unbalanced in that he has held a grudge about this fence for 7 years. I mean, how weird is that in the first place? I mean, it is our property, I can do whatever to it that I want under jurisdiction of the county I live in and no one else has anything to say about it. It is a nice looking fence. DH has done the "talking" in the past and it ends up that the neighbor ignores it. When we finally get fed up and confront him in a stern manner, it ends up with the person getting all "you are the bad guys" and ends in a shouting match. Or we get lying, or cocky replies. And this person continues to sneak around to access our property, to blow leaves into our yard, etc. You cannot have a "relationship" with a neighbor that is crazy. We just want this person to leave our property alone - totally - 100%. That is all... if I have to call in authorities to get that accomplished so be it. However, I really think that telling your animal to bark at someone on purpose is totally uncalled for. I mean, what is next, telling the dog to attack on command? I had no intention of calling the authorities back about the barking dog I just wanted to know if it is considered harassment which I think it is. So I am noting it in my log. Although to note, that the dog was out for about 4 hours yesterday afternoon and he likely barked for about 2 of those hours... he is a coonhound and that is what they do. And I am willing to accept some barking, all dogs bark, I own a dachsie I know, but to train the dog to bark on command at a specific person is just uncalled for. I am now looking at places to get cheap shrubbery until I can afford to put in a 6 foot fence. And I just bought some no trespassing signs. And I am going to get an ultrasonic bark control for when we are out in the yard to see if that works. Thanks all. I'll let you know how this situation unfolds!

Well this was an eventful weekend! Yesterday (Saturday) I found another loose Husky running around my fence. This one was a female and much more people-friendly. She kind of ran off when I first came out, but after a treat and a water bowl was put outside she came right up. I leashed her, she had a collar but no tags. She immediately rolled over and made the "I'm a good dog" face at me, then walked fine on the leash. No aggression whatsoever. She looked VERY similar to the male Husky seen previously. I took her through my backyard and put her in my laundry room with a bowl of water. On the way she lunged for my dogs, I wasn't sure if it was to play or to eat them, but either way I had planned on keeping her separated from them. I called AC and they came and picked her up. During this time I watched for anyone to walk by who might be looking for her. I let the AC officer know she looked like the Husky that was out before and they should check with that family. I never did find out where they lived - I'm regretting that now. The AC officer also mentioned that the dog matched reports of a Husky that was attacking local livestock. I'm in a neighborhood, but there is farmland 1-2 miles away. Again I feel bad about calling AC, but it is far outweighed by knowledge that she won't get hit by a car, go hungry and she has a real chance of finding either her owners, or better ones! I left for visiting friends that evening and was out until about midnight. When I came home there was a note on my door saying that my dogs were keeping the entire neighborhood awake all night and had been since I moved in. AC and the police had been called multiple times and they were considering legal action. And my dusk to dawn light was too bright and keeping people awake. It was signed "Residents of X lane". This greatly upset me as I try to be a good neighbor and considerate of people around. Any time I hear my dogs bark I bring them in or do the "hush" command. Since the note was pretty anonymous I went around to each house on my street this afternoon to talk with everyone - apologizing profusely for bothering anyone and letting them know that I would fix the problems by not letting my dogs out at all after dark (even though they are never out past 10pm and even then are supervised) and turning off the light. Not a single one said they had a problem with my dog barking or the light or admitted to writing any note or discussing it with other neighbors. One did admit the light came in through the edge of her bedroom window and I immediately agreed to unplug it/put it on a timer for early night hours only. She also said she had heard my dogs sometimes, but it didn't bother her, and denied writing any note. The pit bull in a pen in the house behind me was the only real problem anyone had - it barks constantly and I've only seen it out of the pen once in the 7 months I've lived here. There was only one person that wasn't home, but she had a dog herself so I can't imagine she'd complain about mine. I plan to follow up with her later. The thing that really bothered me was the note mentioned AC and the police had been called but I haven't heard anything from either them and I just had AC at my house the day before for the Husky! My mother suspects that it's retaliation from calling AC on the Husky. I'm scared to leave my dogs outside anymore (they have a dog door so they can come in at any time, but they have access to the outside while I'm at work too) and I'm scared to call AC if anything else happens again. I guess I just can't wait to get out of this neighborhood - which won't happen for several years. My plan is to lay low for a while and hope it blows over. I just can't believe that some people could be so petty, stupid, and just plain liers.

Thanks for all the support. I've wanted to write back but have been busy with 'life.' Annz, thanks for the info. I went to a small pet shop nearby and asked about the collar. She had them but they were $35.00. I couldn't pay that as I know he wouldn't go for that. I found a similar collar for $8.00 and bought it. Same problem, I couldn't control her pulling. I went to Petco and bought a small chain collar. I seem to have better control but I haven't walked her in the street yet. I've been trying to do some leash training, but she's very distractable and difficult to walk. She is literally bouncing off the walls. I decided to work on just establishing a relationship with her at this point. The training can wait. The owner went away for a week and hired a girl to walk and feed the dogs. He asked if I could fill in as the girl had to go out of town for the last 3 days. I did. I spent the time bringing her to my yard and letting her in my house. I did little training as I want her to settle down and get a feel for me. I bought her toys and treats and she kept herself busy. My observation is a very high-energy dog. Not focused and difficult to get her attention. She is also quite spooky, things scare her easily. I run into this on the street but I saw it in my house and yard. I realize she has been isolated and feel she is getting a bit better in that regard. She buries and digs. Digs, digs. If I give her a treat, she runs out to the yard and buries it immediately. Same with toys. Digs a hole and buries it. She's a carrier. She picks things up and refuses to let them go. Walks around with various things in her mouth. Its cute unless its something you don't want her to have. Seems to not know the most basic words, such as NO! No clue. Her activity level is very high. Its hard to settle her down. Anna, you mention not playing with balls, etc. What do I play with? If I don't throw something there's nothing to do? I bought a Frisbee and she likes chasing that and carrying it around (that took a week before she'd go near it). Now she chases it. I bought a beach ball and try to play soccer with her, (my old dogs used to love playing that). She chases the ball but hasn't learned to knock it back. Anyway, that's the update. The owner is back and I can't find a way to talk with him. He says little and I don't know where he's at. Doesn't answer questions, just shakes his head or says something like, 'I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.' Meantime, she's coming into heat. I know the signs and the old dog has been flirting with her all week. What a nightmare! But he doesn't say anything when I bring that up. Just shakes his head. So, shes been locked in her pen all day, she is very quiet (surprised), as she would cry for me all week when she saw me. Now that he's back, she's quiet. I told him I'd be over later to walk her. He said, 'great.' Jane

Using the car in the driveway next door as a measure, it looks like the frontage is slightly less than two car lengths. An excellent experiment -- it clearly proves what we all suspected; that front line may be mistakenly labeled as 85'. Yes to the idea of a professional survey ... but not before I've made a preliminary decision about whether we are really interested in the property. we have found that being friendly with the neighbors trumps 2 square feet of property. Yeah, I'm definitely inclined that way. IF this comes to pass, I'll definitely address things in a civil manner. I'm not "that neighbor". The most important question is what is the buildable envelope for a house in the mid-section area of the property, outside the flood plain line? The location of the two adjacent houses suggests a significant front yard setback line. Setbacks: So the envelope is something like this -- again, this is without any help from a pro, just having "walked it" once and internet-snooped it over the weekend. The front setback does seem quite large to me, but it suits this piece of property since the front is sloped (the high point being marked with the star ... whereas the middle portion is nice and flat, perfect for building. Please check my math! I received the flood plain information from the listing agent this morning in my email, and it isn't an issue: Apparently the land continues to slope downward towards the lots on the other side of the creek, so they're the ones who must deal with flood issues -- the 40 feet required at the back of the lot seems to be enough for safety ... regardless, the house we're going to build won't come close to that point. We're looking at a house roughly 40-ish feet deep, so we could have 100' or more between us and the creek. I'm thinking the house itself will fit easily; a monster like the 4000 sf house next door would be a challenge. I'm thinking that the driveway is the most challenging part of the project. I'm anticipating it'd be set where I placed the arrow. Such a large growth of trees, however, also means filtered sunlight at best, and a challenge for the growth of exterior landscaping and for useful interior natural light. I think the mature trees are one of the best features of the property. Some would have to go, of course, but it would remain a heavily shaded property, and that would affect landscaping choices. I would definitely look elsewhere. You are not desperate, are you? No, nowhere near desperate. I would also like to see the plats, and possible speak to the (Hoa? city?) about the neighbors encroachment before I was sold on it. No HOA to speak to, not in a city. I am going to call the developer -- I don't know how much good that'll do, but I have a few other Qs for him anyway. The neighbor with the long driveway has her house for sale, so not much point in getting chummy with her. The one advantage of a pie shaped lot is more privacy out back. Yes, and with the trees and slope in front, this would be quite a private spot. Remember, like any real estate the cardinal rules are location, location, location and that grows even more important as we age, Really, really think hard about location for a retirement home. Proximity to services, for seniors. medical, your church if that is important to youmany, groceries and shopping. I'm from this area, so I know the services well -- no shortage of shopping, churches, etc. What we don't have is fast food and chain restaurants; yeah, we're a quirky place. I'm not unusual in that my family has lived in this area since before the Revolutionary War, and this county has the highest savings per capita of any county in NC -- but you wouldn't know it to look at us. But I digress ... as for medical, a new emergency room satellite has just been built 10 minutes down the road. We have a small hospital (which I don't like) 20 minutes to the east, a regional medical center 30 minutes to the north, and the biggest hospital in the state (where my daughter is a nurse) an hour to the west. Excellent services for the elderly, which my grandmother used: home health, Meals on Wheels, two senior centers, transportation for the disabled. No, I think the real estate agent hit the nail on the head when she said that this neighborhood is beyond the point that "the city folks" consider an acceptable commute, and that's why they aren't buying. The town to the west (the one to which "city folk" are attracted because it's literally the first spot over the county line) is experiencing an absolute onslaught of quick-houses-on .2 acre lots, and they're selling like hotcakes. This neighborhood is "between towns", kind of in no-man's land ... but it's on the major thoroughfare that connects the big city and a medium-sized town. I wouldn't like to be on the front edge of the neighborhood /on a four-land highway, but this lot is literally at the very back of the neighborhood. I also think some of the neighborhood covenants are unappealing to the local folks: No livestock, for example; that knocks out all the people who are devoted to 4H and want their kids to raise chickens or a goat. No trailers knocks out a bunch of people too. This would increase our commute to about 30 minutes, and it'd mean my husband couldn't come home for lunch anymore (he would definitely miss that); however, if we could own the land this afternoon and moved fast on scheduling a builder, we wouldn't be able to move in for a year ... and we don't want to move until our youngest finishes at the community college and goes on to university. And that puts us at retirement -- we will be retiring young; it's possible that we'd make this commute for a year. Being properly placed for retirement outweighs a short-term commute increase. I appreciate that y'all're making me think of topics I should consider. At this point, I'd say I'm interested enough to pursue more information -- and I think the driveway is the biggest issue of concern.