Dog's Business on Yard Leads to Strong Words Between Neighbors

A dispute between Hoschton neighbors about a dog pooping in yards led to an argument and later a scolding from a Barrow County Sheriff’s Office deputy.

At one point, the neighbor threatened the dog’s owner, according to a Barrow Sheriff’s Office incident report. “If I did not have respect for my mother, I would pop you in the face,” he allegedly told her.

A deputy responded to Lexington Road after the woman dialed 9-1-1.

She said while walking her dog past the man’s house, he called out and “yelled at her about her dog using the restroom in other people’s lawns,” the incident report stated.

She said she always picks up after her dog, but the man said he didn’t care; the dog shouldn’t be doing its business on people’s yards in the first place.

The man followed the woman and her dog for a short distance to tell her he had his eye on her.

She walked her dog again later in the day, and when they passed the man’s house, she said he confronted her again. This was when she said he threatened her. She told the deputy she feared he would hit her.

Later, the woman’s husband went to speak with the man and the two exchanged words, but no physical contact was made. During that confrontation, the man's son apologized for his father's actions

The man told the deputy he argued with the woman, but did not threaten her. He said the woman frequently allows the dog to do its business in his and his neighbors’ yards. He said he told her it didn’t matter if she picked up after the dog’s messes or not.

The man also said the woman “told him to go back to where he came from,” according to the incident report.

The deputy told the woman the man did not want to see the dog in his yard again.

The deputy, who told the woman  wrote in the report, “I advised both parties not to speak to one another, but if they did, try and be civil with one another.”