It doesn't matter whether they've walked the same streets once or a thousand times, dogs are always happy to be outside. But one woman has been left outraged after her neighbour tried to ban her from walking her new puppy outside her apartment because his "grandchildren play there and he doesn't want it getting dirty".
Taking to Reddit, the woman explained how she recently adopted a puppy and has been exercising him around her apartment complex because he's too young to be taken on longer walks. She said: "My neighbour saw me a couple times with my puppy and gave me looks, which I ignored because I always say 'hi' and' how's your day' and stuff and I get no answer so I kind of just learned to ignore them.
"Today, they approached me, telling me that I can't walk my puppy around the apartment and the grass area at the front because that's where his grandchildren play and he doesn't want it dirty."
In an attempt to reassure her neighbour, she told him that she always cleans up after her dog so it shouldn't be a problem.
However, he wasn't at all satisfied with this, saying "there will be residuals of the poop which is unacceptable".
"I asked him, how about he takes his grandchildren somewhere else so they don't dirty the place my dog poops," she added.
Feeling bad about how she handled the situation, she asked Reddit users whether she was in the wrong for refusing to appease the elderly man by agreeing to walk her puppy elsewhere.
One user said: "It's a grassy area outside. It's going to be 'dirty'.
"Does your neighbour not realise that some wild animal has most likely peed or pooped in the same general area?"
Another user added: "I love your response. You have as much right to the grass as he does.
"My guess is the grandchildren are only visiting, whereas your dog lives in the building."
A third user said: "I'm so tired of these people who are worried about molecules of poop on grass.
"We are exposed to bacteria and viruses all the time. Do the kids wash their hands when they eat?
"If humans wash their hands before they eat, the chance of illness is negligible."
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
