My Neighbour. >:-(

[Shortpotato]

My neighbour, who I will call Bob, is a waste of space.

Hes racist, and horrible.

Yesterday, I was getting the groceries from the trunk of my car, and he came over and said:

"Hey, you seen any snakes around?"

(I live in florida so, duh, theres snakes eveerywhere)

I said "yeah, why?"

"If you find any corn snakes or coral snakes, let me know so I can catch them"

"Why?" I ask

"I sell them on Ebay."

I wasnt really shocked, because all he does is make money. By hook or by crook.

I said "Well, I wont be giving them to you then"

He said "Why? They sell like crazy! I buy those little fish tanks from yard sales, put in a cap of water and some grass, BAM, sold! Then I just stuff them in a box and ship them."

I kinda stood there for a second and said

"Bob, thats not right is it?"

"I dont care, its money"

"Ohh, well, for one its illegal, and two, its morally wrong."

And I just walked off.

This morning, I walk out my side door from my garage to put something in the garbage, and there is a dead snake hanging off my fence, right in front of my door. It obviously didnt die there naturally.

Comments? Opinions? :wall:

[gillibean]

The only thing I can think to do is to report him to whatever agency investigates animal abuse. Hold onto the snake, if it's clear it didn't die by natural causes maybe they will investigate him.

[Shortpotato]

Ive taken pics of the snake on the fence. So I have evidence. I mean, it may not sound like a big deal, but i can see this escalating to something really stupid, because stupid people do that lol

[gillibean]

Ive taken pics of the snake on the fence. So I have evidence. I mean, it may not sound like a big deal, but i can see this escalating to something really stupid, because stupid people do that lol

Killing a snake to be a jackass is a big deal! Not to mention the ebay stuff. This guy needs to be stopped before he does more than kill a snake to annoy you.

[Amy SF]

This guy is totally unhinged and I'd be scared of him if he was MY neighbor. He seems like he'd be the kind of guy who'd kill a pet to get even with someone. I would definitely do something, like tell the police, perhaps. Who knows what he could do next?

[gillibean]

Honestly I don't see them doing much right now but at the least they will be aware and the more people you tell the more likely it is that someone will take it seriously and keep an eye on him.

[Shortpotato]

Killing a snake to be a jackass is a big deal! Not to mention the ebay stuff. This guy needs to be stopped before he does more than kill a snake to annoy you.

I do agree. I wasnt sure if I was just like BSing, having a therapy session, or perhaps my fear and anger were justified, if you know what I mean.

Yes I do believe he would kill stuff to make a point, no questions asked.

Ive left the snake where it is tho.

Thanks for the advice as well. Im considering having a word with the police, even though Im not sure they will do anything, but it cant hurt can it? :-)

[gillibean]

I do agree. I wasnt sure if I was just like BSing, having a therapy session, or perhaps my fear and anger were justified, if you know what I mean.

Yes I do believe he would kill stuff to make a point, no questions asked.

Ive left the snake where it is tho.

Thanks for the advice as well. Im considering having a word with the police, even though Im not sure they will do anything, but it cant hurt can it? :-)

Definitely talk to them even though they probably won't do anything at this point.

[hoodedclawjen]

i'd let the police know, and ask them to record it, but not to do anything. that way, if something happens further down the line and it escalates, or you need to go back to them about the guy, then they've got a reported history or pattern of behaviour to link it back to, and you'll be hopefully be taken a bit more seriously and get things rolling faster.

[bigdufstuff]

Yeah, if what this guy is doing is illegal definitely report him. Capturing snakes for profit is :down::no:.

[eggplant]

This is very upsetting to me since my corn snake, Adam, was stolen in a home robbery several months ago. It really pains me to think of what the thieves did with him.

Anyhow, regarding your neighbor, I'd report him to:

1) The police. They probably won't do anything, but at least they'll have his behavior on record should this guy do anything else illegal.
2) The local humane society. Again, I'm not sure they'd do anything, but at leat there's a record.
3) The postal service. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to just put a snake in a box and send it somewhere. At least I hope it is.

Sorry you have to deal with living near this loser.

[Shortpotato]

This is very upsetting to me since my corn snake, Adam, was stolen in a home robbery several months ago. It really pains me to think of what the thieves did with him.

Anyhow, regarding your neighbor, I'd report him to:

1) The police. They probably won't do anything, but at least they'll have his behavior on record should this guy do anything else illegal.
2) The local humane society. Again, I'm not sure they'd do anything, but at leat there's a record.
3) The postal service. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to just put a snake in a box and send it somewhere. At least I hope it is.

Sorry you have to deal with living near this loser.

Im really sorry about your snake. Some people are heartless...:wall:

[rainsong]

You have to make sure you report the guy, like everyone else is saying. He needs to go on record with this but it is unlikely anything will be done about it. Maybe you shouldn't have said anything to him in the first place. You could already tell he was some dumb redneck type that wouldn't 'get it' anyway.:(

[gillibean]

You have to make sure you report the guy, like everyone else is saying. He needs to go on record with this but it is unlikely anything will be done about it. Maybe you shouldn't have said anything to him in the first place. You could already tell he was some dumb redneck type that wouldn't 'get it' anyway.:(

So you'd rather shortpotato had just not objected to the selling of snakes on ebay and imply support through silence?

[hoodedclawjen]

So you'd rather shortpotato had just not objected to the selling of snakes on ebay and imply support through silence?

you know, i probably personally wouldn't have got right into it with my redneck neighbour and objected then and there, cos i doubt it would have gotten me anywhere (like he'd suddenly come to his senses, profess a desire to change his ways and make up for his mistakes? i think not) and reckon it would have set me up for more trouble (eg: dead snake on fence).

that wouldn't mean i didn't care, or supported him. i would have been very non commital because by expressing my feelings so freely, i'd have drawn a lot of unhelpful attention to myself.

if the op now reports said neighbour to various agencies, he's gonna have her right at the top of his list of 'who did this to me' suspects, and could well aim any potential backlash right in her direction. if she'd of kept schtoom, weirdo neighbour might have had less of a clue about who reported him, and have less of a reason to hold a grudge/start a little vendetta of stress against her personally.

i'm all about the self preservation, and being sneaky and telling fibs if needs be to fulfil my agenda/ensure my safety/sanity. i've done it that way before, and will again.

i totally understand why the op spoke up, and this statement is in no way a critisicm of her choice- i'm just explaining why it might be ok for someone else to make a different choice.

eta: shortpotato, my apologies if you're a bloke and i gave you boobs when talking about you up there, and my apologies if you're a girl and i implied i might think you're a boy. ps: what if any sex do you prefer to identify most with/as? :p

[gillibean]

you know, i probably personally wouldn't have got right into it with my redneck neighbour and objected then and there, cos i doubt it would have gotten me anywhere (like he'd suddenly come to his senses, profess a desire to change his ways and make up for his mistakes? i think not) and reckon it would have set me up for more trouble (eg: dead snake on fence).

that wouldn't mean i didn't care, or supported him. i would have been very non commital because by expressing my feelings so freely, i'd have drawn a lot of unhelpful attention to myself.

if the op now reports said neighbour to various agencies, he's gonna have her right at the top of his list of 'who did this to me' suspects, and could well aim any potential backlash right in her direction. if she'd of kept schtoom, weirdo neighbour might have had less of a clue about who reported him, and have less of a reason to hold a grudge/start a little vendetta of stress against her personally.

i'm all about the self preservation, and being sneaky and telling fibs if needs be to fulfil my agenda/ensure my safety/sanity. i've done it that way before, and will again.

i totally understand why the op spoke up, and this statement is in no way a critisicm of her choice- i'm just explaining why it might be ok for someone else to make a different choice.

I would have said something sarcastic probably. Nothing near as outspoken as the op though. It seemed like rainsong was saying to just agree with him, though reading it again I don't know why i thought that.

[hoodedclawjen]

I would have said something sarcastic probably. Nothing near as outspoken as the op though. It seemed like rainsong was saying to just agree with him, though reading it again I don't know why i thought that.

i'd have been tempted too, but i've caused myself trouble with misplaced and misconstrued humour before. i tend to keep my head down when dealing with potential whackos these days- if you wind them up (easily done) it can be erm.. interesting. :lol:

i might well have gone as far as to appear on his side myself. i've sworn blind to my neighbour that no, we didn't see where their cat went (despite having taken it to the vet that morning in a horrible horrible state) because i knew full well they claimed ownership of several more semi feral neglected cats who were wandering around our gardens, that also desperately needed medical care, and that if i caused any uproar, it just wouldn't happen, and they'd smash all our windows and arrange for our car to get torched.

sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. :)

[rainsong]

No, I didn't imply to agree with the neighbor. Not at all.

Being silent isn't really indicative of agreement. Not to me.

I have been in those situations before. Not this one, but similar and like Jen is saying is that this guy is probably beyond hope. Period. I am sure he is some overgrown child with dirty knees and a fat face.

Ugh. People like that!:wall:

[hoodedclawjen]

No, I didn't imply to agree with the neighbor. Not at all.

Being silent isn't really indicative of agreement. Not to me.

I have been in those situations before. Not this one, but similar and like Jen is saying is that this guy is probably beyond hope. Period. I am sure he is some overgrown child with dirty knees and a fat face.

Ugh. People like that!:wall:

hey.. i resemble that remark! :p

[rainsong]

:cool:

[Shortpotato]

Wow, thanks everyone for their responses and opinions! :-)

Ive had time to think about it, (Im actually losing some sleep over this) and had a chat to my husband about it as well. Hes incredibly disgusted.

I have to agree that my neighbour is beyond hope. He is truly one of those people who are so stone set in their ways, that they will never change. Ever. So I have given up on the idea of "teaching him a lesson."

I have to be careful, because I have a 5yr old little boy, some cats, and a home to protect. And I have to live next to this person until they bugger off, cuz we arent going anywhere. So even tho I want to storm over there and call him out, I dont think I should in the interest of my loved ones and my home.

I am, however, going to bury mr. snake, because he was an innocent victim of someones callous stupidity. I will have a word with the police, and the post office. Like many of you said, just to get it documented that Ive had problems with this person, in case of future incidences. I have taken photos, and made a note of what day this happened on.

It sucks that we have to share the same air with people like these. When I first met him, he said he was a "Good christian man". I mean, regardless of religion, hes not a "good man" either.

Thanks again for your support. I really do love this forum, and glad I can share my love of animals with everyone. :-) :cool:

[gillibean]

Please be careful, especially with a young son!!!

[Bof]

From the ebay (au) site:

'eBay urges its sellers and buyers to comply with all governmental laws and regulations. Since the sale of live animals and wildlife products is in some cases prohibited, highly regulated, or may cause harm to eBay or its members, sellers are restricted in their listing of them on eBay.'

[Shortpotato]

From the ebay (au) site:

'eBay urges its sellers and buyers to comply with all governmental laws and regulations. Since the sale of live animals and wildlife products is in some cases prohibited, highly regulated, or may cause harm to eBay or its members, sellers are restricted in their listing of them on eBay.'

I'm not exactly sure how hes getting away with it, unless hes talking out his ass...which is entirely possible

[rainsong]

He will get his in some way or another. Security is your number one priority. What a waste of a life form. Poor snake.:cry: