Imagine having a child who loves dogs but who is also extremely allergic to them. You’d definitely rule out getting a dog as a family pet, but what would you do if you had a neighbor who let their dog run around outside without a leash?

In this story, one woman is in this situation, and she has tried talking to the neighbor about her daughter’s allergy. It really is extreme to the point where her daughter almost ended up going to the hospital after coming into contact with the neighbor’s dog.

All she asks is that the neighbors keep the dog on a leash, but that seems too much to ask because they still keep taking the dog outside without a leash.

Now, she’s thinking about going to the HOA to report the neighbor, but is that too extreme? Let’s read the whole story to decide.

WIBTA if I report our neighbors to the HOA for off-leash dogs?

Normally my husband and I don’t have an issue with off-leash dogs, but we have a two-year-old with a severe allergy and a neighbor with a large dog that is not well-trained.

In order to purchase a home in our neighborhood, you must agree to CC&Rs that require residents to keep their dogs on leashes.

We’ve had multiple incidents with this dog in particular, the worst of which being a time it knocked my daughter over immediately after stepping out of our house and licked her face several times.

She ended up breaking out in hives all over her body, couldn’t stop sneezing, and nearly landed us in urgent care. It made for a really miserable day in our house.

The dog owner really needs to be more considerate and keep the dog on a leash.

I let one of the owners know in conversation that my daughter LOVES dogs, but that’s she’s highly allergic.

This didn’t seem to make any kind of impression, because weeks later, their dog ran into our house when my husband stepped outside to grill.

He asked the owner if she knows their dogs need to be leashed, to which she said, “oh yeah, sorry!”

He took some photos, which felt kind over-the-top to me, so I followed up with a text.

Here’s what she said in the text.

My text explained in very clear terms that we understand their desire to get their dogs out and give them freedom, but that they have put us in a rather uncomfortable situation where we have to choose between being easygoing neighbors and protecting our child, with the obvious priority being our toddler.

I also let her know what had happened the last time their dog had come in contact with my daughter.

I apologized for my husband being a little brash about it, and asked if we could just meet in the middle and have their dogs leashed while on our street, and we have no problem with them taking the leashes off at the big parks in our neighborhood.

She said it was no problem, and I’ve since seen her taking the dogs out with leashes.

But the problem still isn’t over.

I thought this had been resolved, but I just saw her husband out with their dogs off-leash, literally seconds after we came inside from getting our mail.

I just don’t feel it’s fair that we need to shoulder the burden of them not following the CC&Rs they agreed to. It sucks to feel nervous about having to deal with this dog every time I step out of my house to be on our own lawn.

On top of that, I don’t want them to have to deal with the liability should we have to take our daughter to receive medical care.

I don’t know what else to do other than report them to the HOA, at this point. We’ve tried making the risk to our kid as clear as possible, and they still don’t seem to care. I’m also sad because it’s been hard to make friends, and I had really wanted to befriend them. 🙁

This is so frustrating! At this point, I think she should definitely report them to the HOA.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a lifeguard who told one child they were too short for the slide, but struggled to convince them to follow the rules.

Let’s see if Reddit agrees.

This is a rare situation where the HOA rules are a good thing.

She definitely needs to prioritize her child’s safety.

Another person who hates HOAs thinks this is a time when they can be a good thing.

Everyone agrees that she needs to report the neighbor to the HOA.

I would never live in an HOA. I hate HOAs. I agree with the commenters that the HOA is a good thing in this case. The HOA’s rules are the perfect way for her to force the neighbor to keep the dog away from her child.

This isn’t just a situation or being annoyed at the neighbor; it’s life or death. Her child’s safety is more important than being neighborly.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about some renters who moved out and left their apartment in the same state of disarray they’d found it in when they moved in.