If you own a dog, you are responsible for its actions. This includes compensating someone if your dog causes damage to their property.

What happens if your neighbor’s dog ruins some of your plants and they refuse to take your request for compensation seriously?

That’s what this landowner is dealing with, and he wants to know if he is being reasonable.

Check out the details and see what you think.

AITA for asking my neighbors for compensation for my plants and threatening to bring them to court?

I(30m) live on an about a 2 acre plot of land.

Nice! Growing these plants can be very rewarding.

On this land, I have berry bushes(strawberries, blueberries, and black raspberries), peach trees and cherry trees, and an apple tree.

The strawberry and blueberry plants are right near my chicken run, as well as my peach tree is near it as well.

All of these were put in the ground 3 to 7 years ago(my parents owned the property), and produce fruit.

My neighbors are a couple in their late 20’s early 30’s with a kid and a new puppy they got a month or so ago.

Yesterday I heard my chickens squawking over something and I ignored it, because they do that, basically every time they lay an egg.

A couple minutes later my dog starting barking so I went downstairs to make sure no one was dead lol.

The dog must have been running around for quite a while.

I stuck my head out the door and my neighbors puppy was running along the edge of the chicken run(on the outside).

I chased it out and told my neighbors, but it had damaged almost all of my blueberry plants, trampled some of my strawberry plants, and dug up the dirt around my peach tree.

The neighbors apologized, and said their kid must have left the gate open and the puppy got out, but no harm done.

I told them about my plants, and they shrugged it off, not seeming to realize that it was hard to grow them in the climate we’re in and that it took several years.

New plants aren’t that expensive.

I asked them for the cost of replacing my blueberry and strawberry bushes, and they laughed it off.

This annoyed me, and I asked again to show I actually was serious and they still laughed it off. I told them if they didn’t give me payment I would bring them to court for the cost of my plants.

They got upset at this and said that I should put them in a fence and that I shouldn’t put them near chickens where dogs get excited.

I have had plants destroyed by other things, however one or two, not my whole group.

They still are refusing to pay, is this an unreasonable request?

AITA?

If their dog ruined the plants, they should pay for them.

Take a look at some of the comments to see what they had to say.

Exactly, pretty simple really.

Good point, they may be his neighbors for years to come.

Yup, they are just trying to shift the blame.

Failing to secure a dog can be dangerous.

Unfortunately, this may be necessary.

If you have a dog, you are responsible for its actions.

You should be willing to pay for any damages.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.