At the end of my tether? Can I do something legally?

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ScattyBella

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Im asking all you doggy people for advice, not to start a big row :) :p

Bit of background, My house is detatched and backs on to a wood, we have 2 acres directly behind the house with 1/2 acre garden and the rest is a paddock for our miniature ponies. We have quite a long driveway which is hedged and cuts through two farm owned feilds. There is only one footpath near our property which is in the wood quite a way behind the house the other side of a long fenced paddock.

For the last months a lady has taken to walking her dog on the footpath, I use the term 'on' loosley, and allowing him to run the length of the paddock fence. It doesnt particularly bother the ponies so I'm easygoing enough to let it happen.
Well, then about 3 weeks ago I hear the ponies tearing about and see this dog in with them. he is quite large, and looks like he is a GSD cross, possibly with a lab or something, and was chasing the minis and jumping at them. I dont think he was being aggressive though, just playful.

I tore out and yelled at the dog, who stopped and came over to me at the gate. I let him out and looped a headcollar round his neck until his owner made an appearance. When she did I had some stern words with her and her response was along the lines of 'he is a rescue, im training him at the moment. he only wanted to play with something his own size'.
I asked her not to let him do it again and left it.

This ^^ has happened SEVEN times. I have even threatened to report her. I did call the police but they said there is nothing they could do?
not only this, but now she has taken to shortcutting past my house and down the lane. my husband has caught her almost every day this week as he gets home before me as I'm ususally doing horsey things. He asked her not to do it and now just drives past as she just ignores us.

Anyway last night I was coming down the drive particularly early last night and this dog ran out in front of the car and I very very nearly hit him, well I did, The car stopped and bumped him but he was fine though if we had gravel on the drive I would have killed him. I had to get out the car and was almost physically sick. The dog was stood by my door and was all waggy tailed. His owner ran over and was screaming at me, literally screaming everything under the sun at me. Lots of profanity and accusations. I still was so shocked I couldnt speak and was on the verge of tears so I let go of the dog and let him run back to his owner.

I got back in the car and burst into tears. Is there ANYTHING legally I could possibly do to prevent this?
The owner is a big lady who is quite formidable but cant run after the dog and is often way behind him huffing and puffing.

Hubby says next time it comes within grabbing distance and the owner is not in sight he wants to pick it up and take it to the surgery for a night in a cage and see if that teaches the owner but I dont think thats legal.

I do want to say that I dont think im being unfair. We have many dogs that approach the paddocks and as they are doing no harm I dont mind. I would even have agreed to let this woman shortcut past our house if she had asked to, as long as she put her dog on the lead. I have 3 dogs of my own.

Does anyone have any ideas of how to stop this??? We have both tried talking to her and then getting sterner but she just ignores us now.
 
Well she is illegally trespassing on our land, the woodland stops at our paddock fence and our land starts. And the driveway to our house is our access. There are no footpaths on either side of it.

Basically, the footpath does a big semicircle around 3 properties including ours which is the middle one, and comes out onto the main road. Its about a mile long.

At first she obviously didnt realise that you could cut through, but wethershe has google earthed it looking for shortcuts or just poked her way past the paddock when we werent in and noticed the driveway i dont know.
 
She sounds like a right royal pain!

I would contact the dog warden to report the dog being out of control on your land and the council access officer re her tresspassing. If neither of those works is there any way you can find out her name/address and get a friendly solicitor to write her a letter?
 
Can you take legal advice? It sounds as if she is just being bloody minded and thinks she can walk where she likes. You cant stop her walking on the footpath but the dog must be under control ie not chasing your animals. What about trying your local dog warden? they might be able to advise.
 
We pondered the thought of solicitors. But I dont have a clue who she is. None of our freinds recognise her and we are so far out in the sticks she could come from anywhere?

As for the dog warden, When I contacted the police they said they doubted anything would come of it other than a headache and unless the dog actually hurts one of the ponies there isnt really anything to do.
 
Im sure that if the dog is chasing your ponies then it is classed as being out of control and that is an offence. try speaking to someone more senior at your police station. have you thought about puttnig up a sign saying private property etc?
Also you could speak to the rights of way officer at your council.
 
I know this is off the wall but I often think people like this have mental health problems. There are very few people in my experience who go out their way to antagonise people in this way, especially as you have asked her not to let the dog near your ponies. Most people don't like confrontation and as she has continually dissed your requests it makes me wonder ?

In terms of advice as long as you are certain she has no right to stray into the areas you mention are private I would re-iterate where she can go, explain that in the safety of all animals hers and yours she needs to keep to the correct route. If she still doesn't ask why ?
As the dog is a rescue it may be worth trying to find out where she rescued him from as most rescues keep in touch initially to check the dog is well cared for. In this case she is putting him at risk and the charity may well intervene if she proves an unsuitable owner.

I have my first rescue dog and they have visited to make sure we are both happy.

Good luck as its a horrible situation.
 
Well my hubby and I paid through the nose for the land so yes, they are definitely private. I had explained this to her the first time.

She is very ignorant. neighbors dont know her. The only place she may have come from is a not so pleasant council estate in the next town. Hubby thinks she drives here and parks in a layby as he was sure he saw her sat in her car further down the road.

Im dreading going home tonight in case I hit that dog! He is a very sweet thing really.
 
'He's a rescue, I'm training him at the moment' - well no love, you're not really are you?:rolleyes:

I'd call the police if it happens again, in all seriousness, things do go wrong with dogs but she shouldn't be intimidating you on your own land (or anywhere else) in that way. Have you got a local constable - some rural areas do have them now to deal with this kind of low-level stuff? Maybe give them a call and explain the situation to them?
 
Sweetly ask her which rescue she got the dog from and then ring them.

Tell them the dog warden is involved in the situation (you should call, the police and your solicitor) and that they need to get hold of this woman pdq, and reclaim the dog.
 
Assuming she lives in the area and her dog is a rescue from the area. Why don't you take a photo of the dog and send it to all the rescue centres in the area, asking if they have rehomed him with anyone. Explain he is likely to get booted in the head by a pony (may not happen but need to drum the point across that the dog is in danger so they act) and that they need to have a word with the owner. They may have more of an affect. Just an idea. May be a rubbish one but just thinking who may be able to get the message across.
 
She is trespassing (civil matter) and harrassing you, IMO (legal, police matter). Two counts or more are harrassment, so her intimidating you and you 'fearing for your safety and that of your husband' will shake the cops into doing something. It is unacceptable for her to use your land. You may take pictures of her and the dog as evidence (by law, you can take pictures of anything unless the owner of the land denies permission). Taking pictures and telling her you will be using them in a court of law may be enough to convince her to get lost. Also try to get her car index so you can pass it to the police.

I would fricking kill her. :mad:
 
There are all sorts of options open to you, you could;

If you've been pleasant, and that hasn't worked, have you considered sticking nine yards of Fs into her? None of us actually enjoy being unpleasant, but on occasions, it's the only thing which works. ;)

Failing that, barbed wire, and enough of it so that the dozy bitch understands that you do actually mean it.

What else? Oh yes, ask her for her name and address, and whilst you're at it, ask her for the N&A of the sanctuary who permitted such a person, to have a dog. That should frighten the life out of her. :D

Alec.
 
you need to log the times and dates and get the camera out , video is even better . the more details and evidence of where she enters and leaves the land eg holes in the fence etc should all be logged . the police then have no choice to investigate and either give written warnings or prosecute
chris
we had these problems in england with our sheep and horses
 
We had similar problems to this when we first moved into our current home. Having researched trespassing and legal rights etc and completely worn myself down trying to rationalise why people were doing things like this, I realised one day that they are quite simply using access to our property as an opportunity to bully someone. Thats what they are, bullies. They probably have other problems in their life which they cannot fix and they are using the footpath situation as a means to vent their frustration and create conflict.

Over 15 years, we have had 2 people similar to your lady. One was a man going through a divorce and whose business was struggling, another was a lady whose husband was causing problems at home because he was unemployed. Both of them (not together!) were coming over our footpath everyday and making a nuisance of themselves purely to instill a reaction in me and my OH, it took me ages to work it out. I ended up confronting both of them and asking really awkward and blunt questions about what they were getting out of the situation by causing so much trouble. The man in particular was mortified and has been coy and very respectful of me since then. After confronting the woman with her weird behaviour she doesn't use our footpath anymore, she's off nosing and causing problems for someone else apparently.

They rely on the fact that you will try to be fair, and will exhaust yourself trying to work out the most equitable and lawful solution. But what they need is to be confronted with the truth so that they know you understand exactly what they are doing. If I was you, next time the woman presents any kind of nuisance to you again, I would calmly ask her if she has any problems which might be driving her behaviour and make it quite clear that you are not prepared to be bullied or harassed by her any longer. Tell her you know exactly what she is up to and you are prepared to go as far as necessary to make sure she doesn't cause any more problems to you again.

Good luck, I hope you sort it out soon. I know how upsetting and stressful this can be but stay confident and strong, and don't put up with anything from them which makes you feel uncomfortable in your own home.
 
We get this alot. its either do as you like-eys who have ''got lost'' (year right mate, sod off) or randoms that think if its a track or a road they have public right of way. I usually storm out of the house and question them immediately, quite rudely and tell them straight that this isnt a footpath and that they should buy a survey map and stick to designated footpaths!!!!!

*though I happened to catch someone walking past the house like he owned the place. i stormed out and said ''excuse me, but this is private property, the footpath is over there....

''Oh hello, im ****** ******''

(oh sh it its my landlord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

lots of oh, its nice to meet you, very sorry, we get alot of walkers nosing about, foot in mouth blah blah blah....... and very beetroot red cheeks!!!!!

I always find actually going out with an attitude and knowing what you are talking about usually baffles them enough. Weve had a huge amount of experience with escorting people from various estates and the nicey nice never seems to work.
 
If it's private property I would be inclined to put a sign up saying just that and that trespassers will be prosecuted. Next time she does it, take photos of her and inform her it is for evidence.

Not the dogs fault she's an idiot but if your ponies or dogs injured it her attitude would be different I bet!
 
The thug in me says I'd take a spade and use it on her:D...Adult reaction would be to initially approach her and being over over nice ask her :

Why do you feel its appropriate for your dog to chase our horses? Do you not like little horses or are you confused and think they are dogs?
Do you know you are trespassing on private property and if so why do you feel you are above the rules of land ownership?
Are you jealous of our land and our home and that's why you feel the need to act in such a manner?
Is there a medical reason why you cannot behave like a responsible considerate human being?

I would print out the attached relevant document, photocopy it and post it on every available place around your land!! http://archive.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/dangerous/#8

Tell her you will be recording future intrusions(sp) onto your property and the authorities have been informed (okay she doesn't need to know they don't care) and further action will be taken if she continues in her behaviour.
 
Notices can be bought from agriculteral merchants that state in big letters that any dog found amongst stock is liable to be legally shot.Most of the fields around here have them up,and you never see any trespassers.
 
The dog is worrying your livestock.A large dog can do serious damage to a miniature horse playing or not :(

Inform the owner that her dog is not allowed on your land again.
Tell her that playing or not he could do serious damage to your horse and that you are under the law entitled to shoot it next time you see it in the field harassing your stock.

If you can get her name and the rescue the dog came from then contact the rescue.
Tell them one of their rescue dogs is worrying livestock and owner is not taking you seriously.

Take pictures videos of the dog out of control of the handler make a log of all the times ye meet the dog off lead and unsupervised, when you warned the owner to keep it under control etc.

Don't actually shoot the poor creature unless you have to, to protect your horses.Not the dogs fault his owner is a fool.

Also contact the Dog warden.
Explain situation.Ask that the remind the owner what responsible dog ownership is.Add that your worried about him harming your livestock and that he has chased already and the owner has not done anything to stop it happening again and continues to let him loose in spite of requests not to do so.

Police may not be all that helpful as they like to pull out the its a civil matter line.
However get her car number and the evidence of the dog on your land.Mention you may have to shoot the dog but obviously dont want to end up doing do and they might take you more seriously as a firearm is involved.
 
Either get hold of the dog and take it to your local RSPCA..... or get electric fence and put it on.....


harsh but idiots like that need teaching...

id be mortified if my dog went on someone elses land - but then again - my dog has a crap recall so shes always on a lead round places like this!
 
The Police sound as thought they can't be bothered, complain again.
Are you in the NFU/CLA - they could give advice.
I was thinking along the lines of a letter from a solicitor, but you have got to know where she lives first - can you follow her home? Walking your dog?
 
Contact a solicitor. Make a log of dates / times. Take the name / number of each police officer you report every instance to, make a nuisance of yourself to them otherwise they will never listen. Video / photograph every single minute you can of her / and / or dog on your property. As everyone has said this is trespass.

Next time the dog is lose on your land if it comes to you, grab it and call the dog warden immediately, stray dog, even if it has a collar tag (and I assume it does not otherwise as you have got hold of it before you could have taken down owner contact details). Insist the warden comes out there and then - if the dog has no collar ID that in itself if an offence and the woman will need to provide proof of ownership to the warden. I did this with 2 obnoxious NT's one time and we never had any trouble with them here again.
 
if its on your land again & you can catch it and contact dog warden as others have said then if they wont come out take to nearest vets as a stray found worrying horses on your land. as its from a centre presumably it will be microchipped and therefore traceable.

good luck, where abouts are you based? do you have any local farmers with a nice "playful" bullock your ponies could graze with for a few days?
 
More BAD Dog owners than BAD Dogs, Politly explain that if it is caught chasing your ponies again it will be shot which is legally within your rights but it sounds like the B**** is the one who should be shot.
 
EAST KENT said:
Notices can be bought from agriculteral merchants that state in big letters that any dog found amongst stock is liable to be legally shot.Most of the fields around here have them up,and you never see any trespassers.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry E_K, but that's not so. Dogs may only be shot, and with two provisos, firstly that the owner is not present, and secondly that there was no other alternative. I accept that the second proviso is a rather moot point, because if the owner's not there, then who's there to argue with? :D

FAC and SGC holders, should be very careful. Threats of illegal firearm use, are all that the authorities need. It may not be right, but it's the way that it is!! :eek:

Alec.
 
OP - do you have a Community Support Officer within your local force or a Neighbourhood Police Constable? They are the latest rage within the police force. If so, approach them, their role is to deal with neighbourhood/anti social problems and within in a rural area this counts as being so.

There was a guy in a similar situation to you but involving sheep rather than horses and he caught the dog and shut it in his van overnight. The police took a dim view of this and made him give the dog back but he dog never came on his land again!

You can also ask your Dog Warden (inconjuntion with the CSO) to ask the owner to sign an undertaking to keep her dog under control at all times, afterwhich further steps will be taken.

Do be a bit careful though because she may become revengeful and start leaving gates open :(

Do your own dogs not chase this dog off your fields?
 
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