This is kind of a long story, but I am at my wits end with one of my neighbors...
On a late-summer afternoons a couple of years ago.
The grill was going, the big football game was blaring from the TV in our shop, and our backyard was full of laughter and the sound of kids tearing around in the grass.
Friends had come over, burgers were sizzling, and everything felt easy and normal.
Then Johnny Ringo’s bark cut through it all.
Not his usual “someone’s at the gate” bark.
This was deeper, sharper and urgent.
My husband and I both dropped what we were doing and headed to see what was going on.
There, halfway across our yard, was the guy from down the street. He was walking straight toward the cluster of kids, holding out candy and little treats.
No wave, no explanation, just casually offering sweets to children who weren’t his.
Johnny Ringo wasn’t having it.
Our dog planted himself right between the man and the kids, body low with a steady warning growl.
He didn’t lunge.
He didn’t bark nonstop.
He just stood there like a living barrier, making it crystal clear to the man not to come any closer.
The second my husband stepped out of our shop and said, “Hey, what can I help you with?” Johnny’s whole demeanor changed.
The growl stopped.
He looked at my husband, then back at the man, as if to say, Okay, backup’s here. I’ve got this covered.
The guy mumbled something about “just being friendly” and left, but the look on his face said everything.
That was the day he decided Johnny Ringo was his enemy.
Ever since, he’s been on a quiet crusade. He’s told multiple people that our dog bit him. It never happened.
Not once.
Ringo has never bitten anyone.
Then, just a couple of days ago, he showed up at our door again. This time the story was that Ringo had somehow made it all the way down to his house and bitten his dog.
He was furious, demanding something be done or he was reporting our dog.
We never leave Johnny outside unattended.
Never.
And even if we did, he wears a GPS collar that pings his location constantly.
I checked the data on my phone and it was clean, boring little dots that never leave our property line.
There’s no way he went anywhere.
So here we are, dealing with a neighbor who’s apparently decided our dog is public enemy number one… over an incident that never happened, in a yard he wasn’t invited into, while offering candy to other people’s kids.
I created a reenactment of what happened with Grok...
Johnny Ringo is actually not this large. 😁
What would you do if you were me?