A homeowner has told how they launched a "smear campaign" against their neighbour after his dog repeatedly used their lawn as its personal toilet.
The incident was shared on Reddit, where the homeowner explained they had recently bought their first home in an otherwise quiet neighbourhood. The trouble came from their next-door neighbour, Rick, who they described as the kind of person who "owns two grills but no shirt", drinks beer in his driveway at 10am and considers property boundaries more of a suggestion than a rule.
Rick owned a huge golden retriever called Duke. While the dog was friendly, he had one particularly unpleasant habit – regularly doing his business right in the middle of the homeowner's lawn.
Unusual revenge plan
At first, the homeowner assumed Rick simply hadn't realised what was happening. They approached him politely and asked if he could keep Duke on a lead or at least clean up after him. But according to the homeowner, Rick wasn't interested. They claimed he looked them straight in the eye and said: "It's all nature, bro. You don't own the Earth."
The response left the homeowner wondering what they were supposed to do about the growing collection of dog mess on their lawn. They tried several conventional solutions, including repairing the fence, installing a motion-activated sprinkler and using a citrus deterrent, but none of them worked.
According to the homeowner, Rick simply laughed when he saw the sprinkler and told them: "Nice try, but Duke's built different." That was when they decided to fight fire with fire. They began collecting Duke's droppings in a bucket lined with a bin bag. After around two weeks, they claimed they had enough to create what they described as a "cursed soup". Then, while Rick was out one Saturday morning, they took the bucket and sprinkled its contents around his garden.
Neighbourhood campaign
The homeowner said they focused particularly on the area around his deck and beloved fire pit. When Rick returned later that day, he apparently noticed the smell almost immediately. They recalled him asking: "What the hell is that smell?" The homeowner, meanwhile, was sitting on their porch drinking coffee and quickly shouted back: "Smells like nature, bro."
But the revenge didn't stop there. The neighbourhood had a Facebook group, so the homeowner began posting regular updates whenever Duke left another present on their property. One post read: "Found: steaming hot dog present near my mailbox. If this belongs to you, please collect your property before it fossilizes. Thanks!"
They also began putting tiny "Do Not Poop Here" signs around their lawn, complete with glitter and googly eyes. Some were even written as passive-aggressive haikus. One read: "Dear Duke the Pooper. This is not your golden throne. My grass feels betrayed."
Unexpected consequence
Eventually, the homeowner claims Rick stormed over and shouted: "Are you trying to make me look bad?!" But they simply replied: "Buddy, I don't need to try."
But the unusual campaign appeared to have an unexpected consequence. According to the homeowner, other people in the neighbourhood began coming forward and claimed Duke had also been leaving his mark in their gardens.
With several neighbours apparently experiencing the same problem, Rick eventually took action. The homeowner claimed he built a proper fenced-in area for Duke and started taking him out on a lead - meaning the daily lawn deposits finally came to an end.
