Team Sophie

I continue to have problems with my upstairs neighbor and I really don't know what to do. He has made it very clear that he does not like dogs; especially Sophie. When we first moved in this neighbor was very nice and said that if he ever made too much noise to let him know. Well, within a couple of weeks he had complained to the manager and said Sophie was barking too much. I think I would understand if Sophie was a barker, but really she is not. She will bark occasionally at something that walks in front of our window, but I am always there to make her stop. When I go to work during the day I leave all the blinds shut so she can not see outside. Plus, this neighbor works during the day and isn't home during the day. After this neighbor complained the first time I wrote him a note apologizing and gave him my cell phone number and told him to call me if her barking ever bothered him. Since then he has been very nice to me and has shared a lot about himself to me. I know more about him then I know about most of my friends. Here are some of the things I know about him:

1) He is bipolar
2) I know all the medications he is on
3) I know that he has been in the hospital twice for his bipolar
4) I know that he feels that he will not live much longer (not too sure what that means..he said he is not suicidal because when he told me this I asked him)

And there are a lot of other things he has told me in regards to when the last time he slept with someone, etc. I always just talked to him because I was trying to smooth things over with him. I have always said hi to him and even found myself checking on him to make sure he is OK.

Well, on Sunday we pulled up at the same time and I said my usual "Hello" and he said, "Hey I have something for you." He then proceeded to hand me a copy of the city ordinance for Excessive Animal Noise. As I was trying to figure out what he had just handed to me he is telling me (in a very aggressive manner) how my dog has woke him up twice this weekend because of her barking. He said that I need to get a shock collar for her and that he has a lawyer because he has rights. I just stood there in shock. Not only at what he was saying to me, but how he was saying it to me. He looked kind of possessed. I told him that he didn't have to be so mean in what he was saying and his response was, "Well, you are not following through with getting your dog to stop barking." Oh, and he told me that I ruined his weekend.

I called the manager of my complex today and explained the situation. I told her that it's not fair to me to live in constant fear that every time my dog barks I am going to be evicted. I don't like it when Sophie barks and anytime she barks I make her stop. Dogs bark and my thought is if you don't like dogs then maybe you should move to a complex that does not allow dogs. I would think if Sophie was a dog that just sat in the apartment and barked all day then she would be barking at the many people, kids, dogs and cats we pass when we go on our walks.

The manager kind of agreed with me and said they would address this with him if he complained again.

I can totally understand this neighbor complaining if Sophie barked all the time, but you can ask any of my friends if Sophie is a barker. Yes she does bark occasionally, but overall she is a very good and calm dog. I am wondering if I should start hitting the ceiling every time he makes too much noise; and believe me he is not a neighbor that makes no noise. There have been several times that he has either dropped somthing or stomped his foot so hard on the floor that it startled me and the cats.

Would you guys do anything different or do you have any other suggestions.

And yes I did add the picture of Sophie to prove how sweet and completely innocent she is. And in case you had any doubt, I am on Team Sophie.