Gotcha

I'm not sure exactly when it started (the details are fuzzy at this point), but since November or so I have regularly been finding small dog poop all over my yard. On my driveway, all over the part by the street, around the tree that is in the middle of my yard... you name it. It seemed irregular at first, but with the advent of snow it became obvious that it was a daily -- sometimes twice-daily -- occurrence. It has been incredibly frustrating.

Since it started I've been suspicious of my new-ish neighbors. Why? They're the only ones that I've seen with a small dog in my immediate vicinity and this started after they moved in. Talking to them was obviously the "good neighbor" thing to do -- except that they're home at odd hours that rarely coincide with when I am home, which makes it extremely difficult to do so.

I have managed to catch them twice. The first time I had just walked home to find more poop in my yard and heard them outside -- so out I went. The conversation basically went "I've been finding poop in my yard. I'm not sure if you have a dog or let it out unattended, but if you do I'd appreciate if you'd pick up after your dog should it poop in my yard." They said that she had "gotten out" that morning, so it may have been her, and that they'd be sure to pick up after her.

The second time I was halfway under my trailer (checking if the pipe we'd fixed under my kitchen was still not leaking) on the side adjacent to theirs when they walked out with their dog (who was on a leash). They mentioned that they'd seen a black dog running around off leash, and wondered it was the source of the mysterious poop. Seems feasible enough, right?

And now for the kicker.

At about 10:30 this evening, I had just opened the door to go out with Van (who is always leashed, by the way, since Ames has this nifty thing called a leash law) when he bolted halfway down the steps after what I assumed was a rabbit. I was able to lock the leash and keep him from flinging me down the stairs when I saw...

... my neighbors' dog staring at us from the grass.

Choices: Go back in, even though Van obviously needed to poop, or let Van poop. He didn't seem too perturbed by Neighbor Dog so I nudged him to the other side of the steps and made him to into the yard. So of course ND started barking and followed us. I told her to go home; she ran back a bit, then came back. Absolutely no sign of her owners. I stepped around the tree and nearly walked into a small pile of very fresh poop. Frustration. More barking. Then I finally heard their door open and they whistled for her. She didn't go. They whistled again, and then she went. The door shut. No further sign of neighbors.

I'm calling the managers tomorrow. I don't really want to be a jerk about it but it's gone on long enough... maybe I should've gone over there tonight, but given our previous interactions I seriously doubt it would change anything.