Nasty Neighbors, Hurricane Ike, and Karma: A Guest Post

Ryan Scalf is a friend of mine that would like to get share his life lessons from turmoil that he and his family underwent recently.

Nasty Neighbors, Hurricane Ike, and Karma
By Ryan Scalf
A Guest Post

Hello all and special thanks to Dave and Mindy for the opportunity to attempt my first Blog Post in these modern times.

Those that know me and are reading this post are probably afraid to continue as my e-mails are famously despised by those unlucky enough to be on my e-mail list. These folks will be happy to know that the ideas I will try to portray are politically benign and are meant with the best possible intention.

Those that don't know me, I wish to say hello and that if you are friends of Dave and Mindy then you are by default a friend of mine. (Now to the meat and potatoes):

My wife and I have a large, inherently stupid Boxer/German-Shepard mix named Tonic. He is loving, loyal, clumsy, annoying and HUNGRY, but by no means vicious or aggressive to people or dogs. A few weeks ago Tonic damaged a neighbor's 20 year old privacy fence by knocking out a plank in the fence while jumping against the fence spurred on by the neighbors dogs barking and lunging. I was home at the time and stopped the behavior ASAP.

Later that afternoon, my neighbor came over accompanied by a Hamilton county Sheriff saying that while trying to separate the dogs through the small 4 inch opening that she was bitten by my dog. (The "bite" did not break the skin but, in the state of Ohio there is precedent on the books that a bite need not break the skin to be a bite.) I was obviously very concerned and offered to pay for damage and repairs to the fence and the neighbor was sweet as pie and did not want to cite me for the "bite". I thought the major issues were avoided and all was well. Boy, was I wrong...

The next Day I received a call from the neighbor cursing and threatening me and my family. She said that she had pictures of the damage to the fence, the “bite”, and had to get shots from her doctor and missed a week of work because the shot made her sick. She wanted my homeowner’s insurance contact info for the fence because she felt entitled to a brand new fence due to the one plank that fell off from both of our dogs jumping on it. She threatened that she would sue us for the fence and the “bite” so the dog could be taken from us and we would have a huge civil suit unless we cooperated with her fully. (I now know I should have let her sue (NEVER GIVE ANYONE LIKE THIS YOUR HOMEOWNERS INFO, MAKE THEM SUE YOU!!!)

My wife and I had never dealt with an issue like this before so we gave the neighbor the insurance contact info in hopes that the issue would be settled as amicably as possible. We installed an electric fence to fix the problem and hoped for the best. (Bad Mistake). In the two weeks following this issue, the woman called the police several times and it was always the same officer that responded. The last time he came over dressed in a bike cop outfit and he threatened me with arrest. I asked him for his business card and badge number and he refused only saying he was Officer Rusk. He asked me what time I worked in the morning and I told him 8:00AM, he said he would be over at 7:00AM to cite me which he never did, but it got me thinking. Why not cite me right then? Why wait until 7:00 AM the next day? Why was he in a bike cop uniform and not in every day patrol gear? After he left, I got angry at the realization that this officer may be a friend of the neighbor and was harassing me due to the relationship with her. (Her ex- Husband was a Hamilton county Sheriff and she watches his child in her home daycare business) I asked around and the other neighbors around me said she has sued 3 or 4 other families in the past few years. For me, this was the end of playing nice.

I wrote a letter to the Lieutenant in charge of my area explaining the issue and asking for help to resolve it. The next morning I got a call from Officer Rusk offering to “clarify the situation”. He clarified that just because he knew the neighbor that he was not giving her any special treatment. He also said he was off duty at the time and he was sorry if I felt anything was amiss when he threatened me with arrest. I think the officer got a lesson from the lieutenant as to what Police Collusion is and how illegal (and actionable) it is in the state of OH. Amazingly enough, the officer said that the neighbor just wants to pretend nothing ever happened and said he would mediate a meeting with us to solve the issue. (After she got a settlement for the fence from my homeowners insurance.)

I am sorry for the long post, but to make my point it felt necessary for those that read this know the whole story.

NOW TO THE POINT...

I have for a long time been a firm believer in Karma, or “What comes around goes around.” And I have really made an attempt to be as positive as possible in any given situation. I don’t always succeed but I do make a conscious effort everyday. This past Sunday during Ohio’s Hurricane Ike experience I saw Karma in action and I now truly am reinforced in my belief in this powerful and ancient force . I am still in awe of the coincidence on what happened so closely in time to the situation I was involved in above.

A tree fell down in this woman’s yard that must have been 90 feet tall. The root ball was unearthed when the tree fell and was sticking 15 feet out of the ground. Her entire back yard was demolished. It took 7 large trucks and 40 or so workers to remove the tree and the root ball. I have to say I was a little amused at the bad luck that had found this neighbor after our issues and I felt obliged to take some photographs through the hole in the neighbor’s fence to ensure no further lawsuits or claims could be concocted to my family’s detriment.

I guess one lesson here is to protect yourself from these predatory people by having the number of a lawyer handy just in case this kind of thing happens to you. Get your animals all their shots and licenses, a person has no better ammo in court then a dog that has not been kept up to date on shots or licenses(remember that the dog need not break the skin for it to be a bite in OH!!). Be a little protective and standoffish regarding the people who live around you. They may seem nice but they also might just be looking for a reason to attack you and your family by any means necessary for their own personal gain. I was unaware of these types of folks were around, and I am chalking up this whole experience to personal education and I harbor no hard feelings (or at least I am trying not too) regarding the actions of this neighbor.

The most amazing thing is that the Universe, or God, or whatever is more vindictive than a nasty neighbor could ever be regarding negative energy. I certainly had vindictive thoughts and a vengeful mindset because the emotional stress caused from this negative energy of this woman’s actions. I decided to remain positive and try to go about my business like normal and I am sure glad I did.

Be positive, loving and diligent about your family’s security and be rewarded richly. Self-centeredness, anger and negativity will net you far worse damage than you can inflict on a victim with the worst of intentions. Thanks for listening, and much love, peace and respect to all.