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Redditor’s Two Rabbits Die After Neighbor Purposely Sprays Herbicide On Their Lawn

woman spraying yard with herbicide
Valeriy_G/Getty Images

It can be frustrating when our next-door neighbors don’t share our tastes when it comes to aesthetic or design.

As a result, we might often find ourselves frustrated by how they keep their front yard, by filling it with tacky decorations, or letting the grass and foliage simply get out of control.

Should this directly affect our own property in one way or another, it is certainly our right to put them in their place, ideally in a diplomatic manner.

However, as long as their messiness remains in their yard, then it’s best we simply leave them alone.

Redditor tdog945 kept their yard a certain way for a very specific purpose.

Nonetheless, the overall look of it bothered the original poster (OP)’s next-door neighbor so much that she took matters into her own hands.

Resulting in fatal consequences and a lawsuit from the OP.

Wondering if they overreacted, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where they asked fellow Redditors:

“AITA for suing my neighbor after she sprayed weedicide on my lawn?”

The OP explained the sad reason she felt they had no other choice but to sue their next-door neighbor.

“Caught my neighbor spraying weedicide on my lawn, in my fenced-in backyard, because she said ‘she was sick of all the weeds’ and thought she was doing me a solid.”

“I like dandelions they are good for the bees.”

“I have pet rabbits, dogs, cats, and a tortoise I like to roam the yard, and all of them eat or at least nibble and lick the grass so it’s literally poisoning my pets.”

“So anyway, I kick her the f*ck out and take all my pets inside.”

“Now 2 of my rabbits are dead and another is in critical condition.”

“I’ll never be able to let my pets outside again to eat the grass because weedicide takes forever to go away because it can sit in the soil for who knows how long and I’m worried that the dogs and cats might end up having a reaction too since they also nibble the grass.”

“Call me overprotective or over-cautious, I don’t care, I love my animals.”

“So I’m suing her for: damage to my property because it is now unusable for my animals, veterinary bills, and emotional damage due to the deaths of my two rabbits.”

“I’m also trying to get the cops to pursue a case of animal abuse or at minimum criminal damage because she did basically poison my animals but I doubt anything will come from it because I have to prove ill-intent but they are pursuing her for criminal trespass.”

“She’s a Karen.”

“I think she deserves it for thinking she had any right to be on my property at all; especially because it’s killed my pets and now Idk what to do about my lawn because I’m not risking another animal’s life by letting them out at least unsupervised for at least a year.”

“However my parents and my girlfriend think I’m being unnecessarily cruel because it ‘was an accident and she thought she was just being a good neighbor, and that I’m making it to be a bigger deal than it is’ and should just ask for her to pay my vet bills.”

“She has asked me about the weeds before.”

“I don’t remember it verbatim but basically the conversation was along the lines of:

“Her: ‘hey I see you have a lot of dandelions/ weeds have you noticed that too?'”

“Me: ‘yup, I enjoy the look of a natural lawn’.”

‘Her: ‘Something about my new car’.”

“The end.”

“Since she has a kid that she always asks can come over to play with my rabbits.”

“I assumed she knew they ate them if she was looking over my fence that often she’d notice the dandelions were only ever flowering in 1/4 of the lawn at a time because my rabbits got cycled in a way that most of the lawn was mostly weed free while the part they couldn’t get to that week would be sprouting.”

Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:

  • NTA – Not The A**hole
  • YTA – You’re The A**hole
  • NAH – No A**holes Here
  • ESH – Everyone Sucks Here

The Reddit community agreed that the OP was well within their rights to sue their neighbor, and was not the a**hole for doing so.

Everyone agreed that the OP’s neighbor had no right to spray their lawn, regardless of the pets, and doing so constituted trespassing, making legal action warranted.

“NTA.”

“My neighbor did this last year and got reported to the HOA because the yard she sprayed, under the cover of darkness, so she knew it was wrong, belongs to a family with very young children.

“I’m sorry about your rabbits and you need to know that it’s not your fault and you are a good owner.”- C0pper-an0de

“NTA.”

“Don’t trespass, don’t mess with people’s property.”

“If you want to do something ‘nice’ ask permission.”

“Idk if removing your top layer and putting turf down would make it safe for pets again but if so she should pay for that.”- bamboozledvet

“NTA.”

“Spraying substances on other people’s property without their permission is not being a ‘good neighbor’ by any stretch of reason.”

“I’m so sorry about your rabbits.”- Rivka333

“NTA.”

“So sorry for your loss!”

“Losing a family member should be enough to convince any human with a heart to support you!”- 7thReddit

“Omg, NTA!”

“I am so sorry for your losses!”

“I would be out for blood.”- WineAndDogs2020

“NTA.”

“She should have asked and talked to you about it first.”

“Loosing pets is bad enough, knowing someone directly caused their death is worse.”

“She also trespassed on your property.”

“By a long shot NTA.”

“You need to add trespassing and gather all the proof you can.”

“Not to mention vet bills are expensive as F.”

“I hope you can sue her.”- Evilnear

“NTA at all.”

“She killed your pets.”

“Take her to the cleaners.”-xanif

“NTA.”

“She dug her own grave and now she has to face the consequences.”- bibliofiles

“NTA.”

“Her breaking into your lawn was not an accident.”

“Even if she could have never anticipated the results, she’s still liable for the results of her own bad choices, particularly when they’re so harmful.”

“I’m really sorry to hear about your rabbits.”

“I know it won’t make up for anything, but I hope you can get all the damages you’re suing for.”-nnothmann

“NTA.”

“‘It was an accident’ does not remove liability.”

“Doesn’t work that way with cars, businesses, and of course property+pets as well.”- EmilyAndCat

“NTA.”

“And honestly, your parents and girlfriend sound kind of cruel.”

“You are NOT making a big deal out of nothing.”

“Two of your pets are dead.”

“Two companions who you took care of and who brought you joy.”

“Your neighbor killed them.”

“No matter what her intent was, your animals are dead because of her.”

“Anyone who thinks that is acceptable lacks basic empathy.”- 2ii2ky

“Do you know what type of weed killer she used?”

“Some are meant to dissipate after a few hours.”

“There are even weed killers used in farming where the cattle can continue eating the grass without harm.”

“Since you lost your pets, I’m really sorry.”

“It’s a horrible thing to have happen, it is unlikely to be that, but it might be one that doesn’t render your lawn off-limits to your animals for too long.”

“NTA, by the way.”

“You don’t do crap to other people’s property without permission, especially if it involves dangerous chemicals.”- rivertam2985

The OP later returned with an update regarding one of her rabbits, as well as the current status of her lawsuit.

“I got a call from my vet Monday morning.”

“The necropsy is back, my rabbits died from corrosion to several internal organs and had corrosive burns lining their mouth and nose.”

“My 3rd rabbit can also come home today and only has minor injuries to his throat and a small injury resulting in superficial hair loss and mild irritation on his nose.”

“He’ll be on pain meds and just in case I have critical care ready.”

“For those without rabbits when rabbits are in pain and sometimes in mourning they sometimes refuse to eat so critical care is basically a mix powder you can syringe feed to keep their digestive system functioning because GI stasis can be life-threatening.”

“Also, I’ve contacted a lawyer to move forward with a lawsuit, but they haven’t responded, and probably won’t until later today because I contacted them yesterday through email.”

“The vet thinks the stuff the neighbor used wasn’t a commercial herbicide because of those chemical burns as well as because it killed my crabapple tree and the bit near my fence and pool are bare.”

One has little doubt that the OP’s neighbor in no way intended to harm, let alone kill, their pets, and that she did, indeed, believe she was helping them out.

Even so, she had no right to do so without the express permission of the OP.

Something she likely will be much more careful of in the future, mainly after the lawsuit is over.

Written by John Curtis

A novelist, picture book writer and native New Yorker, John is a graduate of Syracuse University and the children's media graduate program at Centennial College. When not staring at his computer monitor, you'll most likely find John sipping tea watching British comedies, or in the kitchen, taking a stab at the technical challenge on the most recent episode of 'The Great British Baking Show'.