Man Claims Neighbors Are In Violation Of Their HOA Because Their Dogs Bark When His 'Traumatized' Wife Walks By The House
Another case of HOA overreach.
Erik Mclean / Canva Pro Every dog parent knows that their dogs will bark when neighbors walk by outside. It’s inevitable.
When a neighbor comes knocking on your door to accuse your innocent dogs barking of violating your HOA rules, the best thing you can do is close the door and move on with your day.
A married couple took to TikTok to share their experience with an irritable neighbor complaining about their dogs’ barking.
The couple, Mr. and Mrs. Boline, filmed the man who approached their home to accuse them of violating their HOA rules because of their “aggressive” dogs. He claimed that his wife was bit by a dog in Sacramento, California, and was “traumatized,” and their dogs’ barking triggers her when she walks by.
Mrs. Boline pointed the camera to her three-pound Yorkie and 2-year-old Labrador, who were not barking, as the man stood in their driveway and bombarded them with complaints.
The man claimed their dogs should "be trained not to bark" when someone walked down the street, and insisted it was unfair for his traumatized wife to experience them barking and "bouncing against the fence, trying to get out."
Mrs. Boline even tried to reason with the man, showing compassion for his wife and understanding why she would be traumatized. Nonetheless, she stood her ground against his irrational request.
“It doesn't make it right for someone to come up to our house and say that our dog can't bark,” she said in the video.
It was unfair to make illogical demands about a neighbor’s dogs innocently barking, something every dog does.
It’s especially unreasonable to accuse that neighbor of violating the HOA rules for simply owning a dog. If that were the case, the man should knock on the door of every neighbor who owns a dog and demand they stop their dogs from barking, too.
It’s important to note that throughout the entire video, not once did the Bolines’ dogs bark as the neighbor stood in their driveway. Mrs. Boline emphasized how her dogs are innocent and have never shown aggressive behavior toward any of their neighbors.
Photo: sanjagrujic and Shllabadibum Bubidibam / Shutterstock
In an attempt to make peace with the neighbor, Mr. Boline assured him their gate was padlocked and the dogs could not run out from their backyard.
Mrs. Boline expressed how they have trained their dogs, but they were not responsible for the neighbor’s wife’s trauma.
As their conversation progressed, the neighbor’s wife walked out of her house to join their conversation. In the video, the man could be seen gesturing for his wife to stay away.
When the wife approached the Bolines, it appeared she had no problem with their dogs’ barking.
“You told them I am [traumatized]?” the wife asked her husband in confusion as he attempted to walk away.
Mrs. Boline approached the wife and profusely apologized for the inconvenience. As she explained how she didn't know what to do to resolve the situation, the man kept trying to pull his wife away.
Mrs. Boline asked the woman what they could do to ease the situation, and she kindly replied, saying “You’re fine, I don't walk this street at all.”
The woman appeared to have no trauma regarding the Bolines’ dogs, and she reassured them there was no issue and not to worry, leaving the couple confused.
It’s telling that this man had more of an issue with the barking dogs than his wife did, and for some reason decided to make up a story, blaming his wife, instead of his own discomfort with the dogs. He certainly outted himself as the neighborhood grinch!
Francesca Duarte is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team based in Orlando, FL. She covers lifestyle, human-interest, and spirituality topics.