Too Nice
Nobody ever warns you about the cluster truck that might result after you have shared something with someone. All because humans are complicated creatures, and that's why people can't have nice things.
A couple decided to share their backyard with the kids in the neighborhood, but when this woman came knocking on their door furious, they had to put a stop to it.
Just Moved Into The Neighborhood
John and Allysa Hart had recently moved into a new neighborhood after acquiring a house. They were both in their mid-30s and had no children.
Everyone welcomed them into the area with their arms open. Still, when people asked the couple this question, they started to believe they had hidden interests. What were they going to do?
Saving For Years
The young couple was saving for years so they could afford to buy a house. When they finally had enough money for a deposit, they didn't wait any longer.
The family had found a lovely home in a quiet neighborhood, and they had decided to make an offer for it. When the couple bought the house, they had no idea the trouble it would cause them.
Dream Home
The house John and Allysa picked had everything they wished for. It was their dream home. It was big enough, had a yard, and the neighbors seemed nice. At least at first.
The house had a pretty sweet piece of land attached to it, and a very nice yard was built inside by the previous owner. That nice yard would end up bringing only trouble, though.
Odd Request
A few days after the couple moved into the new house, a woman showed up at their door with a seemingly weird request for them.
The woman said the last owners allowed kids in the neighborhood to play in the big backyard whenever they wanted and was wondering if it was ok to continue to do so. John and Allysa were stunned by the request but didn't want to upset their neighbors from the first week they moved in.
Previous Tradition
The previous owners were a childless old couple who would let the neighbors' kids play and enjoy life in their huge backyard. And once this new couple moved in and the neighbors approached them about this, they were fine with continuing this tradition.
They did, however, point out some guidelines to follow. If the kids ended up hurting themselves, it wouldn't be the couple's fault, and they wouldn't be at all expected to watch over them while they played. The neighbors were cool with that.
Two New Family Members
One day, John's parents decided to move to a retirement home, which meant they had now inherited two lovely pooches—an 11-year-old Belgian shepherd and a 12-year-old German shepherd and Belgian mix. The two dogs enjoyed the big backyard very much.
The couple was happy to get the two pooches, but not everyone shared their feelings and would find out the hard way.
Everyone Was Getting Along
As you might have guessed by now, the dogs became somewhat permanent inhabitants of the backyard. And as you probably might not have guessed, they were good dogs and, no, they had no problems with all the people coming to visit.
The local kids even took them on walks. All was well. But that didn't last long. Someone was about to ruin the previous arrangement.
Children's Games
Usually, the couple would see groups of kids running around or children with adults supervising them without any incidents. All was fine and dandy, and everyone was as happy as they could be.
Or so the couple thought. What would happen soon after they got the dogs made them question their decision and reevaluate the safety guidelines for using their backyard.
A Woman Came Knocking
As John and Allysa were chilling in their living room watching their favorite series, a terrible thing was about to happen. No one expected this.
It was the most unusual thing. A woman came one day shouting that the couple was creating an unsafe environment for her children. What did she mean? What was going on?
Weird Request
On that day, an unknown lady came up to the wife and just went ballistic, demanding they get rid of the dogs. Apparently, her 6-year-old and his friends, who frequented this little park, returned home with their hands smeared in dog mess.
Unfortunately, there was no official explanation as to why this happened. Still, the couple speculated that the kids were likely playing as faces were drawn on the tree using the dogs' mess.
The Dogs
Whatever the case, the woman started demanding they get rid of the dogs, or else her kids wouldn't come over anymore, and she would press charges for child endangerment.
Allysa told her off and pointed out that this wouldn't have happened if she had simply supervised her kids. She and John didn't have the responsibility to watch the children.
Shutting It Down
The woman stormed off angry, but she later returned with a petition with about 6 signatures demanding they get rid of the dogs. This was unbelievable.
The owners of the lovely property did the complete opposite—they simply closed off the area. They even had the courtesy to leave a sign explaining why. This couldn't go on.
Neighborhood Pleads
Some of the nicer neighbors came by after the incident, begging the couple to change their minds. Still, they simply didn't want to risk another conflict like this, and they weren't going to supervise the kids.
Sadly, they were now arguing with the remaining part of the neighborhood, who felt it was unfair that everyone was punished because of this one person.
No Turning Back
But the couple was not planning on changing their minds. They also realized they might risk legal action if a child got hurt on their property. And the most important thing, John and Allysa couldn't compromise their dogs' safety and well-being for the entertainment of children, no matter how nice they wanted to be to the neighbors.
In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.