A houseguest
Aug. 9th, 2010 12:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urocyonI am beginning to think that we've got a second dog, looking for one or not.
Our little houseguest. Complete with bone shards and a dish towel he managed to get hold of. ;)
Saturday evening, New Upstairs Neighbor (whose name I never even caught) asked us if we'd mind puppysitting overnight so he could go to his girlfriend's. No, not a problem at all. He said he'd be back in the afternoon yesterday; there's still no sign of him.
Pup is a nice pup, and has really been enjoying having an older dog to play with and more human attention. Max has been remarkably tolerant of Hyper Pup. My problem? Totally with his human. Somehow I doubt the guy got hit by a bus over the weekend, and is lying in the hospital somewhere.
Especially since it was hard not to notice that he's been dissatisfied lately, with the way he's been standing out on his deck and loudly complaining at friends on the phone. (Sometimes on speakerphone.) Apparently, it's to the point that he felt a need to tell Ingvar about it when he brought back a tool he'd borrowed and asked us to dogsit. He's been living up there not much over a month now, and his wife and toddler have left. Pup was apparently intended for the kid (new puppies and toddlers? not the best combo), and I can't help but suspect that he was expecting his wife to take care of Pup. He was saying that he wasn't well set up to look after a dog, and from what I've seen he hasn't been doing a great job of it lately. And losing his temper easily, apparently doing some displacement, and yelling at the poor thing. Yeah, I was paying close attention that it didn't tip over into kicking and the like. :-| Guy named a Staffie puppy "Rage", not the greatest sign ever. He was also telling Ingvar that he wanted to move back in closer to London, very soon. And New Girlfriend's dogs don't get along with Pup.
In retrospect, I'm not surprised he took off for a longer period of time. :-|
Oh yeah, and he didn't mention that pup, who looks to be about four months old, isn't house-trained. When he's outside, he'll go outside, but if he's in the house he'll just stop and squat so quickly it's really hard to get to him in time to move him outside. I'd had some suspicions about why pup has been spending so much time tied up outside on their deck, and yep. I have washed three loads with towels so far. And am not about to start in earnest into the process of teaching him to go out if he's going back upstairs. (I was hoping he'd get the idea reinforced by watching Max do so, but not so far.)
So, my overall impression? When he eventually comes back, to get his stuff if nothing else, Neighbor Guy may well want Pup to stay here. It would no doubt be a better setup for Pup, if not very considerate to us. At all. And the way he's been dealing with Pup lately, I would rather Pup not go back up there, rather inconvenient or no.
At this point, I have absolutely no idea what to say to the guy whenever he shows back up. Without losing it and yelling, myself--or being stiffly polite to keep from doing so--that is. I mean, really. How do you respond to that kind of behavior, without getting into a fight or coming across as a doormat?!
I'm trying not to worry about this, and focus on keeping both Max (lots of extra attention!) and Pup happy for now. Not much has changed for the cats, at least.
Update: Color me shocked. Unless the white van in his parking space belongs to somebody else, he's been back to collect it.
Our little houseguest. Complete with bone shards and a dish towel he managed to get hold of. ;)
Saturday evening, New Upstairs Neighbor (whose name I never even caught) asked us if we'd mind puppysitting overnight so he could go to his girlfriend's. No, not a problem at all. He said he'd be back in the afternoon yesterday; there's still no sign of him.
Pup is a nice pup, and has really been enjoying having an older dog to play with and more human attention. Max has been remarkably tolerant of Hyper Pup. My problem? Totally with his human. Somehow I doubt the guy got hit by a bus over the weekend, and is lying in the hospital somewhere.
Especially since it was hard not to notice that he's been dissatisfied lately, with the way he's been standing out on his deck and loudly complaining at friends on the phone. (Sometimes on speakerphone.) Apparently, it's to the point that he felt a need to tell Ingvar about it when he brought back a tool he'd borrowed and asked us to dogsit. He's been living up there not much over a month now, and his wife and toddler have left. Pup was apparently intended for the kid (new puppies and toddlers? not the best combo), and I can't help but suspect that he was expecting his wife to take care of Pup. He was saying that he wasn't well set up to look after a dog, and from what I've seen he hasn't been doing a great job of it lately. And losing his temper easily, apparently doing some displacement, and yelling at the poor thing. Yeah, I was paying close attention that it didn't tip over into kicking and the like. :-| Guy named a Staffie puppy "Rage", not the greatest sign ever. He was also telling Ingvar that he wanted to move back in closer to London, very soon. And New Girlfriend's dogs don't get along with Pup.
In retrospect, I'm not surprised he took off for a longer period of time. :-|
Oh yeah, and he didn't mention that pup, who looks to be about four months old, isn't house-trained. When he's outside, he'll go outside, but if he's in the house he'll just stop and squat so quickly it's really hard to get to him in time to move him outside. I'd had some suspicions about why pup has been spending so much time tied up outside on their deck, and yep. I have washed three loads with towels so far. And am not about to start in earnest into the process of teaching him to go out if he's going back upstairs. (I was hoping he'd get the idea reinforced by watching Max do so, but not so far.)
So, my overall impression? When he eventually comes back, to get his stuff if nothing else, Neighbor Guy may well want Pup to stay here. It would no doubt be a better setup for Pup, if not very considerate to us. At all. And the way he's been dealing with Pup lately, I would rather Pup not go back up there, rather inconvenient or no.
At this point, I have absolutely no idea what to say to the guy whenever he shows back up. Without losing it and yelling, myself--or being stiffly polite to keep from doing so--that is. I mean, really. How do you respond to that kind of behavior, without getting into a fight or coming across as a doormat?!
I'm trying not to worry about this, and focus on keeping both Max (lots of extra attention!) and Pup happy for now. Not much has changed for the cats, at least.
Update: Color me shocked. Unless the white van in his parking space belongs to somebody else, he's been back to collect it.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-09 01:34 pm (UTC)If you want, I can take the discussion with upstairs when I get home, if he's home. I don't, necessarily, mind Pup staying indefinitely (although we'd probably need his breed papers to ease the next move), but I will not be paying Upstairs for the privilege of doing the right thing (or at least closer to the right thing).
no subject
Date: 2010-08-09 01:42 pm (UTC)Exactly my thoughts on the paying for the privilege; I'd thought of that, too. (And doubted my ability not to get all yelly and insulty in response.) I'm disinclined to chase Neighbor Dude down. It's just not our responsibility--I think it's on him to come to us. Then I'll be happy to let you deal with him. ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-08-09 01:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-09 02:33 pm (UTC)Exactly. Not surprisingly, that's one of the major reasons I don't trust myself to stay civil dealing with this guy. Treating someone that way when they're totally dependent on you? Not on.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-09 01:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-09 01:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-09 02:19 pm (UTC)We just keep getting the best neighbors up there. At the risk of sounding all classist*, at last check that flat was owned by the council--the only one nearby, AFAICT--and they've installed an interesting series of tenants. The best to get along with, in the 6 years I've lived here? A family that I suspected the man was dealing, from the number and variety of people coming and going. And the cops came looking for him a while after they left suddenly. They showed some basic respect for the neighbors.
* I grew up kinda Fourth World myself. And am trying to avoid using the word "trashy" (and setting up "undeserving" categories), even when it really does seem to fit some behavior.