Real-life MMD:Dogs destroyed neighbour's signed ball. Should we replace it?

lucyclare

MikeRotweiller wrote: »

THE DOG OWNER MUST PAY FOR A NEW SIGNED BALL
Its just typical of moron dog owners who don't take responsibility for the damage caused by their dogs. In this case the pack of wild dogs were allowed to roam around the house and garden while the owner was not at home. What if the young boy next door had got a chair or step ladder and climbed over the fence to get his ball and the pack of dogs had attacked him, would the dog owner still not be responsible? I'm amazed that on this day when I hear in the news about another fatality due to dangerous dogs, that nobody else blames the dog owner.

I honestly believe this is a hoax!!!!

It is perfectly legal to have your PET dogs loose in your private enclosed garden. It is NOT LEGAL to trespass on private enclosed property, regardless of trying to retrieve property whilst the occupier is out.

Dogs or not, you wait and ask politely for your item back. If it's damaged it's your own fault. As for a PACK OF WILD DOGS I think you probably had too much pixie dust on your cereal today.

And no. It would not be the dog owners fault.

Smacks of lousy parenting skills to me, lack of culpability for child behaving badly.

meher

Anonmouse wrote: »

Meher you are wrong, that is all

Unlike many populists on here who practically thrive :rotfl: on being right and cheerleading, i don't look foward to being right and couldn't care less about being wrong in someone's eyes. i need to be honest to myself about how i see things and how i understand justice.

It is so obvious that the neighbor relationship is not exactly fab. It is also a fact that someone's property has been destroyed. The truth is that the neighbor is trying to justify his decision not to pay simply because the neighbour was threatening. Why was he threatening - obviously because this disgraceful dog owner didn't want to pay up. They neighbour's are entitled to their anger; these dog owners are not entitled to their arrogant dismissive behavior. They should shut up and pay up. It is disgraceful to upset a young child.

As for parental responsibilities, they are doing marvelously well by supporting their yound one's cause to get the damages. It is about time the dog owners realise that they are kind of exhibiting their dog's ferocious behavior through their arrogance. imo.

Deb.G_2

Absolutely not!

This man is a bully, dont let him get away with it!

glad2bmad

a load of balls,
no way should you pay anything towards this incident,your dogs have a perfect right to play with anything in your garden, the ball should not have been there.

rachelolio

I bet Meher reads the Daily Mail.

Whether your neighbour's motivation was dishonesty (ball wasn't valuable) or stupidity (let his child kick around a valuable object), his request is ridiculous.

I'd deliver a nice new ball for the little boy that's suitable for playing with, with a courteous note to your neighbour to say that it's a goodwill gesture.

dvdrobs

Meher......oh to have to live in your world. So how about if a signed tennis ball had been thrown into the neighbours garden. One of the dogs manages to swallow it causing the death of the dog, would love to know your take on this. Have to wonder why it is disgraceful to upset the child. Who's probably been upsetting the neighbours by hammering the ball against their fence over and over again, with their parent taking no responsible action to stop the annoyance.

Notjustamum_2

My children have always had it made very clear to them that if a ball (or any other toy) goes over the fence then it is their fault and they will only get the item back if they are lucky and the neighbour spots the item before the dog gets it. They are not allowed to bother our lovely neighbour to get the item back except on one occasion when it was a small ball and I was worried that it could injure the dog. Our neighbour once offered to replace a ball that her dog punctured and I told her it was totally unnecessary.

So NO don't replace the ball in any shape or form, your neighbour needs to teach his child respect for his own and other people's property.

naughty_10382

meher wrote: »

trying to justify his decision not to pay simply because the neighbour was threatening. Why was he threatening - obviously because this disgraceful dog owner didn't want to pay up..

Actually, the wording in the dilemma reads...

"I'd happily pay for a replacement unsigned ball."

There is NO proof whatsoever (that we have been made aware of) that this ball was actually signed in the first place, and if it was, why on earth was the child allowed to play with it?

Meher, you also said in an earlier post

i cannot believe this logic - who are you and me to decide a value of an item, just because he was kicking it around in his own garden, does that mean that the value of the ball is reduced.

YES it does mean the value is reduced, of course it does. Kicking a signed football around, firstly it must be pretty worthless to you in the first place if you are willing to do so, and secondly as others have said it's likely that the signature would be scuffed or rubbed off completely, therefore it is no longer a signed item anyway.

I have a signed programme from a Broadway play I went to starring my favourite actor. If I dropped it into someone's garden and it got muddy and ruined, well that's my own fault for dropping it. Yes, it may have been an accident but I wouldn't expect the person to replace it for me, even if they offered I would refuse as I was the one at fault.

I would say it is the child's responsibility here, either they have lost out on their item, or if they have 'borrowed' Dad's ball to play with then they are responsible for paying for a replacement. If they are 'upset' by it, tough luck! I'm assuming they can't be a young child, to manage to kick a ball over a 6ft fence.

My advice to the OP would be - offer to pay for a new, unsigned football, as a one off. Make this clear - if another ball comes over and your dogs play with it, you will not provide another. I would also agree with whoever suggested you tell them this in writing, that way they cannot argue with you and interrupt.

magentalady

I'm always so fascinated by the assumptions that people will make on these MMDs and the conclusions they will jump to when presented with a specific set of facts. Nowhere in the original story does it say that

- The child is young (he could be 17 for all we know!)

- The child was/is upset (all we know is that Dad is angry because the ball was expensive)

- The ball even belonged to the child (maybe it was Dad's and the kid wasn't even supposed to be playing with it)

- The ball was torn to pieces by the dogs (it could simply have been punctured during normal doggy playtime, or used as a chew-toy)

And yet some people have woven this tragic story about a poor tiny tot who is inconsolable about having his most treasured possession brutally ravaged by a pack of out-of-control hellhounds next door! It's quite funny really.

I did a quick search and it looks like a replacement ball signed by Rooney would cost about £80. If my child had an £80 ball they would be expected to look after it, and if they lost it by kicking it into the neighbour's garden they would be saving up for a replacement with their pocket money! Otherwise surely you are teaching your kids that they don't need to look after their expensive things, because it'll be someone else's fault if they get broken.

gloriouslyhappy

Wow, this seems to be an emotive issue! As a responsible dog owner with a six foot fence in the back garden, we allow our dog to run free in the back garden in good weather, and throw balls and other toys for her in the garden to fetch or chew as she pleases. Should a ball come flying in from next door, she would think it a wonderful present and treat it as one of her own toys in her own garden. When out walking, she does not go after other dogs or children's toys but is content to play with her own, even when little children come over to stroke her waving their toys or food items in front of her, but her garden is definitely her territory.

If I were present when a ball came over our fence accidentally, I would retrieve it from her and throw it back. If I were too late or not at home at the time and made aware of the situation later by the neighbour, I would apologise and offer an ordinary replacement as a one-off, explaining that the fences were there for everyone's convenience and request they remind their child to try and play within their own garden area as my dog regards toys in her own garden as her own property.

However, if my offer were refused and they became threatening, or if they tried to insist it was a valuable toy that was destroyed, I would politely remind them I have high fences protecting my property and that it was their responsibility to keep themselves and their possessions off my property. Should they try to bully me, I would contact my Safer Neighbourhood team, explain the situation and seek their advice.

I think it's a very good idea to try to keep on friendly terms with the neighbours, but when reasonable precautions have been taken and a situation like this arises, seeking impartial advice from organisations like the SNT can help diffuse tension before things become impossible.

Lots of luck, it would be nice to know how it all turns out..