What would you do in this situation?

[Mergath]

Sorry, but the bolded sounds rather silly in light of the situation. This tenant has no regard for the stipulations of the lease, no regard for your dd's health regarding second-hand smoke, no regard for your family's safety and comfortable shared-use of the property regarding the dog, and you are still worried about "sparing them trouble"? :confused:

 

You have to do what is best for your family, which is keeping a dog off the property while preserving a civil relationship with your neighbor. IMO, this means waiting until the dog actually arrives (and if their dd is imagining the whole thing, you won't have opened a can of worms for nothing), and then finding a way for the landlord to "find out".

 

Best of luck. What a nightmare.

 

I guess part of it is that I'm worried for the dog, though I'm sure that seems strange. I don't want my dd to be hurt by it, obviously, but I also don't want the poor dog dropped off in the middle of nowhere in January in Minnesota because the landlord told her to get rid of it and she couldn't find a new home quick enough, you know? But you're right, of course, and I do need to put my dd first.

 

Ack. I wish the landlord could find someone for the downstairs unit that has just the tiniest drop of common sense. Maybe a nice, quiet homeschooling family for us to play with. :D

[BigMamaBird]

can you ask the landlord to come over Saturday for some completely random thing, and let him 'run into' them with a dog?

 

That's what I was thinking. One day while the dog is barking, call the landlord for some rinky dink repair. That way, you're not the bad guy "narc-ing" on someone.

[Mergath]

That's what I was thinking. One day while the dog is barking, call the landlord for some rinky dink repair. That way, you're not the bad guy "narc-ing" on someone.

 

We have been having issues with the water heater. And he's been meaning to fix part of my stove for some time now...

[JessicaLady]

I would absolutely tell the landlord if someone in the building had ANY dog. The types absolutely does not matter to me.

 

I wouldn't wait for the barking to become an issue either. The owner would probably know it was you who complained so may as well take care of it while the dog is young yet and could still be adopted by someone w/ more time to give a new dog.

[Lara in Colo]

I guess I would notify the landlord ASAP and strongly emphasise the fear of retaliation by having her smoke in the unit.

Also discuss how ill your daughter becomes and this is why you have a non smoking unit.

 

This becomes two violations of the contract and there are probably more.

If she is blatantly breaking these rules, what else is going on the unit, unseen? He may just want to cut his losses and remove her altogether.

 

Tell him/her to keep you out of the discussion, and tell him to find a way of "discovering" the dog on his own. You could let him know when the dog actually appears, since there is nothing he can do until the dog is actually there (discussing a dog is not breaking the contract, having one is).

[Denisemomof4]

I'm pretty sure she was telling the truth. She's 8, but she's not the type to make things up like that. She pretty much raises her younger sister, so she's fairly mature for a kid her age. When they do come over to play, she usually spends her time sitting and talking to me instead of playing.

 

when my oldest was a young boy, he used to tell some wild stories. I remember speaking to the pediatrician about it, because I was so concerned that my son would outright lie to other people. I don't remember the details clearly as I believe ds was 6 at the time, he's almost 20 now. But I do remember the pediatrician telling me ds had a wonderful imagination, and that he wasn't lying, he was telling stories. I remember once my ds told my aunt and her neighbor avery long story about the time our house caught fire, the firemen coming out, etc. My aunt was surprised I never told her about it. Well, I was just as surprised to hear the story.:lol::lol::lol:

 

I just don't know that I would trust a story like that coming from an 8 year old. I can totally see my an 8 year old making up a tall tale, especially if it was something she wanted to be true.

[venusmom]

Not to be a chicken...but I have a rule breaking neighbor who never watches her kids (they stay at my house ALL day until I make them go home). If there is a touchy situation and I try to resolve it with her - she blows up so badly that I just avoid the confrontation - she'll start dropping by over and over to give me a piece of her mind, txting, on and on. It is hard to get her over it (though she's never mad enough at me to keep her kids at her house instead of mine)!! I would probably just drop an anonymous note asking landlord to do a pet check in that home if the pit really does take up residence. Sorry if that seems like a copout response - but I get so tired of this woman always dropping in to rationalize silly things with me that I just have learned creative ways to handle problems. The best one is just not allowing her kids in to play for awhile - that is very effective since she has seemed to draw a connection between her being over analytical over everything and the loss of her free childcare! She is the type to sit in her room for hours and txt, txt, txt & facebook, etc. All the while her kids are at my home and I am wondering if she realizes I'm to busy to analyze all the idiosyncrysies of life!! Obviously - the difference in my neighbor and yours is mine doesn't work and yours does. No idea - but usually moms who neglect their kids are pretty defensive about their choices (in my personal experience).

[Jennifer3141]

Mergath, what did you decide to do??

[MariannNOVA]

They'll smoke in their unit. It's a non-smoking building, and they are aware that dd gets violently sick if we get any smoke in our unit. (Last time someone smoked down there and it came up the vents, dd ended up in the ER with an irregular heartbeat.) The mom is a smoker, and I had to beg to get her to smoke outside initially (even though it's in the lease not to). If I do this, I can pretty much guarantee she'll start lighting up inside when she is home to get back at us.

 

There are a lot of great things about renting, and we love our unit, but sometimes it is a huge pain in the @ss. :glare:

 

Wow! If I didn't see that you live in MN, I would be convinced that you are sharing a rental with my dd31 and her dh as their difficulties sound so similar to yours. I'm so sorry - :grouphug:

[ktgrok]

i'd talk to the mom. Say something about how before they moved in someone tried to sneak in a dog, but got busted really quick. That some of the neighbors told the landlord and they lost their security deposit, etc. Yes, it's a lie, but it will save a dog a horrid life it sounds like. BTW, I'm not worried about the dog hurting you, I'm worried about the poor dog left alone all the time.

[Catwoman]

i'd talk to the mom. Say something about how before they moved in someone tried to sneak in a dog, but got busted really quick. That some of the neighbors told the landlord and they lost their security deposit, etc. Yes, it's a lie, but it will save a dog a horrid life it sounds like. BTW, I'm not worried about the dog hurting you, I'm worried about the poor dog left alone all the time.

 

:iagree:

 

I think that's an excellent way to handle this, because you're "helping" the mom, so she would have no reason to be angry with you or try to retaliate. Ever since her dd mentioned the new dog, you've been worried sick that she could get into trouble and end up getting evicted. So you're doing her a big favor by telling her what happened to one of the previous tenants. (As long as you don't think your landlord would object to your fibbing...)