The subtitle in this particular forum ("general") say's that "you can discuss anything you like". I would like to do that right now as our entire neighborhood has a major problem on it's hands and it has gotten to the point of being urgent. I know I've posted a lot lately but I don't know who else I can discuss this with and time is of the essence because things have really gotten out of hand so I guess I'll go ahead and throw it out there and hope for the best. Perhaps someone else here has gone through this and can advise me/us.

Anyway, we had some really nasty neighbors move in next door to us a few years ago. These neighbors were what I would describe as "neighbors from hell". They had a huge dog which barked all day and night and was constantly getting lose. Neither animal control nor the police ever did anything about it during the year and a half they lived there and these people would call the police on us and make stuff up every other day and get thier friends and relatives to lie on us as well.

They stalked us, they set us up, they filed false police reports, had us investigated for "poisoning thier dog" (which was totally untrue), used a dog whistle to get thier dog to bark and then claimed to the police that WE were using a dog whistle to "harrass thier dog and make it bark", they slit our tires, put nails in our driveway...on and on it went endlessly.

They would also do things to us and then immediately call the police and claim that we did these same things to them. They taunted, teased and harrassed us and made us prisoners in our own home and it was one of the most stressful things I have ever been through in my entire life. It was also the ONLY time I have ever had neighbors like this.

They also doctor shopped and were constantly popping pills (and selling them). One of thier favorite things to do was to claim we were harrassing them (even though we were not even around at the time!) and then by the time the police arrived, they would have thier canes, walkers, oxygen tanks, etc out and put on a HUGE act like they were sickly old people.They would put on the performance of a lifetime, bawling, crying, etc. It was unbelievable and inevitably, the police would always feel sorry for them and then come over here and give us hell, threaten us with arrest and so on.

There's a LOT more to the story and all the evil things they did to us but it would take weeks to write about it all here. In the end, they were evicted and continued to harrass us even though they moved about 8 miles away. Oh, they also faked a "slip and fall" sued the landlord for 35G's and then sued him again for something else (I can't remember).

Anyway, we later found out that they had caused all kinds of trouble in the last place they lived and had been evicted from there also. It was great not having them around anymore and to have peace finally restored to the neighborhood. Everything went smooth as silk for a long time but about 2 weeks ago we had new neighbors move in. Let me describe them to you...

* They are right out of a scene from the Beverly Hillbillies
* They have numerous (unsupervised) kids running amock
* They have 6 pit bulls in a flimsy "kennel" (one is just tied)
* Thier dogs are constantly "getting loose"
* They fight, argue and slam doors all night
* Thier dogs bark all day and night
* They are rude, nasty and threatening when approached.
* Cars and trucks in and out all hours of the day and night

Ok, so once again - neighbors from hell. Fine, I could live with that. Anything to avoid conflict and keep the peace. But tonight the line was crossed when one of thier pitbulls got lose (for the third time) and charged me. I ran into the house terrified but then realized that my room mate was out with his dog so I quickly opened the door. Too late. I could see that the dog was now growling and charging him so I screamed for him to get inside QUICK and he made a bee-line for the door and got inside and just barely avoided being attacked.

We called animal control and got the usual run-a-round. Then we called the sheriff. Same thing. The entire neighborhood has been "up in arms" for a week or more and I could tell you all kinds of stories about various run-ins and conflicts that have occurred between these new neighbors and other people who live here. These neighbors are also the vindictive kind who like to "get even" and cause even more problems when people complain about them. There are a LOT of young children and elderly people here so obviously, we are all concenred. I have always believed in "living and letting live" but when a person becomes a hostage in thier own home because of an irresponsible dog owner, what is one to do?.

The other thing is that NOONE wants to go over and confront this guy directly because he weighs about 450 pounds and is as mean as a snake. Others in the family are also very mean and nasty. I am terrified to call animal control on these people tommorow but I feel that I have no choice because I am literally in fear for my safety (and life). These people seem like the tough-guy, brawling, gangster, drug-dealing type that would do a hit on you in a second if you dared to complain and I'm sure thier dogs are either a source of income for them or they are like thier "children" so I'm sure they will be ready to kill someone if they have to lose thier dogs. I just don't know what to do.

The homeowners association president (and others here) have been consulting lawyers, putting afadavits together, sending out notices, holding meetings, making phone calls and do all kinds of other things to try and get these people's attention but nothing is working and after tommorow (when we call animal control) it looks like the fued will be on and I'm not at all interested in getting into a protracted (and potentially dangerous) battle with them.

I'm sure this is a scene that has played itself out countless times across the country day in and day out (the old Hatfield and McCoy deal). What exactly is a person to do in an extremely tough situation like this?. Anybody know?.