Dog sh1te & angry letters.

steve610 · 24-02-2015 12:10am #1

Hi all,

I live on a street in Dublin 8, with an alleyway between our row and the row of houses behind us.

I've rented here for three years, and over the course of that time numerous houses have been renovated etc, and the alleyway is now full of old beds, mattresses, furniture etc.
I couldn't care less to be honest as I cannot see the alley from any of the rooms in my house, and I don't use it for access.

I received an unsigned letter in the door, that was entitled "Dear rubbish lover," it went on to tell me that if I didn't remove my rubbish from the alleyway by a certain date (a couple of weeks ago), this anonymous person would be calling the city council. I took no notice, none of it is mine.

Since that date has passed, there has been dog crap right outside my door and on the step every single day without fail. I've cleaned it up multiple times, and it keeps happening. I'm beyond the point of even considering if it's coincidence or not.

I'm not interested in calling the guards until I can at least get a suspicion of who it is, so I can send them in the right direction.

Any ideas on what I should do? Webcam in the window? Figure what time they are leaving it and try catch and confront them?

If I found out who it was I'd love to smear it across their door and car.... but hey. I guess it wouldn't be very adult like of me :P

What would you do?

ABajaninCork · 24-02-2015 12:16am

Jeeze - whoever's doing this obviously didn't do their research very well, and really has nothing better to do with their time. Webcam would be a good start. Then whoever you catch in the act, I'd be calling the Gards as that could be seen as harassment.

I really hate this kind of passive aggressive crap. Why the hell they didn't call the council in the first place as the rubbish is now a health and safety hazard, I have no clue...

K.Flyer · 24-02-2015 12:19am

If you don't do anything I imagine that they might get a bit more adventurous with their dastardly misguided deeds.
Certainly I would be inclined to find out who is doing it and try to record their actions followed by an ear bashing and preferably a kick in the hole.

steve610 · 24-02-2015 12:24am

K.Flyer wrote: »

If you don't do anything I imagine that they might get a bit more adventurous with their dastardly misguided deeds.
Certainly I would be inclined to find out who is doing it and try to record their actions followed by an ear bashing and preferably a kick in the hole.

Like I said I think I'd find it very hard to contain myself if I caught the scumbag. Bitta dog crap under their car door handle would probably send them the right message. But hey, last thing I want is some childish neighbour war. Unlike the person doing this, I DO have better things to be doing with my time haha.

zagmund · 24-02-2015 12:34am

Why not call the Gardai and get it over with? You saying you don't want to call them "yet" and not being bothered by the rubbish building up behind your house is along the same lines as the other person not calling the council "yet". Yes, they have gone the extra step and it's obviously a step too far, there's no doubt about that.

There should be a community liaison Garda for your area that you can contact and they can advise how to proceed. They may well just get in touch with the council and arrange for the rubbish to be cleaned up.

You could as suggested above stick in a cheap webcam recording activity on your door step and then stick a sign in your window saying something like "Activity has been recorded and details have been passed to the Gardai". And then of course pass it on to the Gardai.

z

steve610 · 24-02-2015 12:41am

zagmund wrote: »

Why not call the Gardai and get it over with? You saying you don't want to call them "yet" and not being bothered by the rubbish building up behind your house is along the same lines as the other person not calling the council "yet". Yes, they have gone the extra step and it's obviously a step too far, there's no doubt about that.

There should be a community liaison Garda for your area that you can contact and they can advise how to proceed. They may well just get in touch with the council and arrange for the rubbish to be cleaned up.

You could as suggested above stick in a cheap webcam recording activity on your door step and then stick a sign in your window saying something like "Activity has been recorded and details have been passed to the Gardai". And then of course pass it on to the Gardai.

z

I was going to wait until I get some idea who was doing it, I thought if I don't know then the gardai certainly won't.

Thinking about it now though you are right. No harm calling them anyway, and calling again with more info when I have it.

nxbyveromdwjpg · 24-02-2015 12:44am

steve610 wrote: »

I was going to wait until I get some idea who was doing it, I thought if I don't know then the gardai certainly won't.

Thinking about it now though you are right. No harm calling them anyway, and calling again with more info when I have it.

In all honesty are they really going to start an investigation over some dog sh*te?

Webcam I think is the way to go, and get onto the guards when you know who it is.

CatFromHue · 24-02-2015 3:12am

An unsigned letter is a letter from no one and carries no weight.....

You have a problem though.

You could just call around to all your neighbours and explain the situation i.e. Hi, how are you? I've a bit of a problem with dog **** being put on my door for no reason, have you seen anyone acting suspicious, I've called the Gardai.....

At least that will get your neighbours alerted to the problem.

zagmund · 24-02-2015 8:40am

nm wrote: »

In all honesty are they really going to start an investigation over some dog sh*te?

Webcam I think is the way to go, and get onto the guards when you know who it is.

No, they are unlikely to set up an incident room and a dedicated phone number, but they can at least advise about what can be done.

z

deandean · 24-02-2015 9:58am

get a laptop, a webcam, probably a USB extension lead, and download a free program called Yawcam.
It'll be someone with a dog.

hardCopy · 24-02-2015 10:25am

deandean wrote: »

get a laptop, a webcam, probably a USB extension lead, and download a free program called Yawcam.
It'll be someone with a dog.

Hopefully it'll be someone with a dog. :eek:

the_syco · 24-02-2015 12:05pm

steve610 wrote: »

I received an unsigned letter in the door, that was entitled "Dear rubbish lover," it went on to tell me that if I didn't remove my rubbish from the alleyway by a certain date (a couple of weeks ago), this anonymous person would be calling the city council. I took no notice, none of it is mine.

Since that date has passed, there has been dog crap right outside my door and on the step every single day without fail. I've cleaned it up multiple times, and it keeps happening. I'm beyond the point of even considering if it's coincidence or not.

I say the person will escalate beyond poo unless their demands are met.

Talk to the Gardai, as this sort of person is usually known to the Gardai, or harassing other people.

P. Breathnach · 24-02-2015 12:32pm

I go along with the thinking that you should try to get video evidence and contact the guards.

And now can we discuss the lane? Who owns it? If it is part of the property you occupy, it is the act of a good neighbour to try to keep it clean. Perhaps you should contact the local authority to report the dumping.

Peig Sayers · 24-02-2015 1:18pm

fixmyarea.com. Take a pic of the rubbish and upload it to the website and it will be cleaned up.

moc moc a moc · 24-02-2015 1:29pm

Peig Sayers wrote: »

fixmyarea.com. Take a pic of the rubbish and upload it to the website and it will be cleaned up.

Doing that first would be giving in to the terrorist's demands.

Step 1 should be: webcam, guards, stern warning from aforementioned guards.
Step 2: Now take a pic of the rubbish and upload it to fixmyarea.com.

P. Breathnach · 24-02-2015 1:53pm

moc moc a moc wrote: »

Doing that first would be giving in to the terrorist's demands.

Step 1 should be: webcam, guards, stern warning from aforementioned guards.
Step 2: Now take a pic of the rubbish and upload it to fixmyarea.com.

I agree.

But it's tricky to keep a fair balance between demands that might be reasonable and a method of pursuing them that is quite unreasonable.

steve610 · 24-02-2015 3:11pm

P. Breathnach wrote: »

And now can we discuss the lane? Who owns it? If it is part of the property you occupy, it is the act of a good neighbour to try to keep it clean. Perhaps you should contact the local authority to report the dumping.

Im not sure how ownership works on these lanes, there are probably 10 houses either side, it provides access to the back gardens (pedestrian access that is)

It is accessed from a locked gate that other houses have a key for. I never asked my landlord about a key, I have no need for it.

Not to sound bad but I have no interest in cleaning it up or helping to do so. I regularly pick up rubbish i see in front of my house, I keep the outside of the house clean and respectable, cleaning the windows etc. Im also one of the few people who actually buys bin tags instead of throwing the bags on the Street.

I am rarely in the house, I work shift work and travel a lot. This is why Im so suprised at this, I would have thought its barely noticeable I live there.

The more I talk about this area, the more I think I need to just move somewhere nice haha.

TheChizler · 24-02-2015 3:52pm

Is it possible that every house got a letter?

Ging Ging · 24-02-2015 3:57pm

TheChizler wrote:

Is it possible that every house got a letter?

That would require a lot of dogs or a lot of dog food.

TheChizler · 24-02-2015 4:00pm

Ging Ging wrote: »

That would require a lot of dogs or a lot of dog food.

You sure it's dog sh1te OP?

P. Breathnach · 24-02-2015 4:36pm

steve610 wrote: »

Im not sure how ownership works on these lanes, there are probably 10 houses either side, it provides access to the back gardens (pedestrian access that is)

It is accessed from a locked gate that other houses have a key for. I never asked my landlord about a key, I have no need for it....

It looks to me as if it is a shared right of way and the owners have clubbed together to restrict access for security and privacy. Your landlord should have a key, and has probably not bothered to pass it on to you.

Perhaps you should forward the letter and the subsequent messages to the landlord.

kingtut · 24-02-2015 5:58pm

Definitely put a webcam or something up!
In my estate 2 couches were dumped beside the communal bins in the space of about 3 weeks so I got a camera with a motion sensor to find out who it is.

When I catch them I'll be having a word to them (if I recognize them) otherwise I'll report them to the council / guards.

By not signing it it shows they are cowards!

zagmund · 24-02-2015 6:08pm

P. Breathnach wrote: »

It looks to me as if it is a shared right of way and the owners have clubbed together to restrict access for security and privacy. Your landlord should have a key, and has probably not bothered to pass it on to you.

Perhaps you should forward the letter and the subsequent messages to the landlord.

That's a good point - make sure your landlord is aware. It's their problem as well as yours.

z

gaius c · 24-02-2015 6:18pm

I'm subscribing to this thread and awaiting updates!

Sarn · 24-02-2015 8:26pm

Whoever is doing this is very foolish as they don't know what type of person you are. As someone who is not tied to the area you could move away while making their life hell for as long as you feel like (not that I am advocating that!).

steve610 · 24-02-2015 8:48pm

Thanks for all the responses guys.

More crap there again when I got home from work - Just cleaned it up and threw a bucket of bleach over it. I feel bad for the kids and their parents walking by to the school and Montessori on the road. If I had kids I'd be losing the plot right now.

Anyway, got a webcam, I found a better vantage point than the window, gonna park my car outside with the camera and laptop hidden as much as I can. Not sure of the logistics yet, I'll think it over tomorrow.

Had a walk down the lane to see who has dogs. Narrowed it down to three that I could see, I guess there are probably more that aren't kept outdoors.

Gonna have a chat to the lady next door too, get along well with her and she has lived here for a long time - she probably knows who would be the "type" of neighbour who would do this.

As annoying as this is.... I'm rather enjoying my moonlighting as a detective.

the_syco · 24-02-2015 9:14pm

steve610 wrote: »

Anyway, got a webcam, I found a better vantage point than the window, gonna park my car outside with the camera and laptop hidden as much as I can. Not sure of the logistics yet, I'll think it over tomorrow.

Just ensure it doesn't become a target for a thief / the sh|t smearer; scumbags tend to do scummy things. Also, ensure you put black tape on any red LED's that the camera may have to show that it's "on".

But when you do find out who it is, get the Gardai involved, so you can show this continued case of harassment against you.

Alanstrainor · 24-02-2015 9:50pm

Yeah be very careful of the laptop sitting in the car. There's bound to be a better way of rigging this up...

ABajaninCork · 24-02-2015 9:52pm

Dashcam?

d9oiu2wk07blr5 · 24-02-2015 9:53pm

steve610 wrote: »

Thanks for all the responses guys.

More crap there again when I got home from work - Just cleaned it up and threw a bucket of bleach over it. I feel bad for the kids and their parents walking by to the school and Montessori on the road. If I had kids I'd be losing the plot right now.

Anyway, got a webcam, I found a better vantage point than the window, gonna park my car outside with the camera and laptop hidden as much as I can. Not sure of the logistics yet, I'll think it over tomorrow.

Had a walk down the lane to see who has dogs. Narrowed it down to three that I could see, I guess there are probably more that aren't kept outdoors.

Gonna have a chat to the lady next door too, get along well with her and she has lived here for a long time - she probably knows who would be the "type" of neighbour who would do this.

As annoying as this is.... I'm rather enjoying my moonlighting as a detective.

OP, do you live on a street where the door opens directly on to the street? Personally I would tend not to clean up the dog poo from your doorway....let it pile up....and step over or around it if needs be....that way the person who's dumping it will be forced to come face to face with their handy work on a daily basis. The person who's dumping the dog poo obviously has a huge problem with rubbish being illegally dumped, so turn the situation back on them. Until you know who's doing the dumping on your doorstep, if it were me, I wouldn't talk to the neighbour next door. No matter how good you may think that you get on with her, you don't know if it's her or not. People can easily point the finger in order to deflect attention away from themselves. If you don't ordinarily park your car directly outside your house, I'd park it there for a couple of days before even thinking about sticking a camera in it.

zagmund · 24-02-2015 9:56pm

I would say do talk to the neighbour. What's there to lose? If it isn't her, you have found yourself an ally. If it is her you can let her know that "some scummy neighbour is dumping poo on my door . . . some people are so stupid and miserable, but I'm going to catch them and report them to the Gardai". If it is her she will get the message.

z

Dog sh1te & angry letters.

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