Woman fuming as neighbour refuses ‘unhinged’ reason to use her garden

Getting on with the neighbours contributes towards a stress-free home life but unfortunately, rows and fall-outs do happen – especially when a neighbour makes an “unhinged” demand

A woman was left stunned after her neighbour demanded to use her garden for an “unhinged” reason, then stormed off in a rage when hearing her response.

Maintaining friendly relationships with neighbours is often an essential ingredient to a happy, peaceful home life. It can be a deeply unpleasant experience to endure difficult or awkward situations with a neighbour, and many people want to live easy, stress-free lives with very little conflict or confrontation. One woman admits she is struggling with her neighbour after she popped round to demand she let her use her pretty garden for her dog’s birthday party.

The woman lives in a “townhouse complex where each unit has a small private backyard”. Each little garden is “fenced off” and “clearly designated”.

On Reddit’s popular Entitled People forum, the woman explained her garden is “nothing fancy” but she has kitted it out with “some patio furniture, a grill”, and “a bit of garden space” that she’s “been working on”.

A few weeks ago, her neighbour knocked on her door and made the request to use her garden to celebrate her dog, Muffin, getting one year older.

When the woman asked her neighbour why she couldn’t just use her own garden, she “rolled her eyes” and replied: “Well, yours is nicer. You actually have grass. Ours is all patchy and ugly, and the pictures won’t come out cute.”

The woman said she “politely” told her neighbour “no” but despite the niceties, being refused didn’t go down well with the neighbour.

The woman explained: “She responds with, ‘Wow. It’s not even a big deal. It’s just a couple hours. Don’t you want to help make a dog happy?’

“She got super huffy, muttered something about “some [people] are not just kind to pets” and stormed off.

“And the best part? That Saturday, she actually had the party in the shared front lawn area with balloons, dog party hats, music, and all. I’m just waiting for the HOA fallout now.”

In the comments section, fellow Reddit users were keen to share their thoughts. One person said: “Liability issue if you let her. Always go with legal terms when saying no”.

The woman replied: “Oh I thought as much, thank you.”

Another person pointed out: “Not to mention the mess you’d have to clean up.” To which someone else replied: And THAT’S why your neighbour wants her dog’s party at your place!

“She’ll be ‘too tired’ to clean up and she KNOWS how you are about your garden. She’s flycasting with guilt-trip bait and hoping you’ll snap at the hook.”

One person suggested she tell her neighbour: “Well, the fee for using my yard is £X. You’ll also have to sign a waiver that I will not be held responsible if anyone gets hurt. You’ll also have to clean up any mess made by humans and dogs.”

Someone replied to this comment and added: “[Better] yet, ‘you also have to show proof of event insurance.’ That way if anything did happen, you’d be covered.”

Another Redditor added: “What an unhinged demand!!!!”

Other people questioned the validity of the woman’s story, claiming it was fabricated for Reddit karma and upvotes.