'AITA for spraying paint on my neighbor’s dog’s winter coat? I keep almost hitting him.'

"AITA for 'vandalizing' my neighbor’s dog’s winter coat?"

My neighbor (87F) and I (28M) live in a rural area and access our driveways through a wooded back road shared with two other houses. We live up north, and in the mornings it can stay dark until almost 8AM. My neighbor is older, nearly blind, and very stubborn.

She has a “support dog” (~4M) that helps her see, although he is not registered by any means. He is a friendly black lab and she has dressed him in a dog coat for warmth for as long as I can remember. The problem is, she lets the dog out in the morning to defecate and he has freedom to roam the shared road.

Being a black dog and wearing a DARK BLACK COAT, he is almost impossible to see in the winter months. Between my neighbors and I, we have nearly hit this dog over 8 times in the past two months.

I have talked to the neighbor about getting him a new coat or fixing bells to his collar or something, but she is attached to his coat for some reason and refuses to go with bells as they are too noisy and would be difficult for her to remove in her condition.

Eventually, I took matters into my own hands after nearly smoking this poor pup when backing onto the shared road in my truck. I took the coat off of the dog and doused it in reflective spray paint. He sticks out like a sore thumb in the woods now, and my neighbors agreed it is much easier to see him.

My neighbor had no idea for a few weeks until her step-nephew visited to help her with a plumbing issue and commented on the coat. She asked me about it, I owned up to it, and now she’s furious - talking about vandalism and lawsuits. I admit I could’ve got a separate reflective coat for him or used reflective tape or something, but I really think I helped more than I hurt the situation. AITA?

The internet had a lot to say in response.

Dangerous_End9472 wrote:

NTA, but she is. Have you told her how many times her dog has almost been k--led... also, if she didn't know for over a week, it really doesn't affect her it just protects HER dog.

OP responded:

So many times…it’s frustrating.

Harmonia_Pass wrote:

Next time the dog is on your property unleashed, take it to the shelter. Keep repeating until she starts being responsible for the dog. The shelter will call her and charge a fee to bail the dog out, after a while she’ll get tired of it.

OP responded:

I feel like that would’ve ruined our relationship much worse…

Tasty_Association353 wrote:

NTA. You saved that dog's life. She's an irresponsible owner for letting it get into danger repeatedly.

OP responded:

She had a cat a few years back that was outside most of the time. Some of us worried if it could get back in. The thing was bad ass though my other neighbor caught it on trail cam fighting off a coyote and I saw her walking around with what I believe was a full grown muskrat she caught.

We asked neighbor about it after a few years and get this - she literally had no idea what we were talking about. I think she truly forgot she had the cat, despite introducing her to the neighbors when she first got it. Eventually another neighbor picked her up and rejoined her with a friend. She’s still an outdoor cat but comes home to their place every night to sleep inside.

Bluepopple wrote:

I know I’ll likely be downvoted, but NTA. The owner is valuing a coat over the life of their dog. They couldn’t see or feel the difference. This precious coat would have been ruined when her dog was crushed by a car. What if someone unfamiliar with the situation came down the road and didn’t know to be vigilant of the dog?

Likely, the only reason it hasn’t been killed so far is because you and the other neighbors know to be careful. While it wasn’t your coat, what you did was done to protect the animal when its owner was being negligent. What would people say if this was a child routinely being left to run free?

Music_withRocksIn wrote:

I'll probably get down voted for this, but sometimes lying is the best policy. I would have said 'Oh, I thought YOU did that to protect your dog from getting hit by a car. It's been so much easier to see him lately, I was really happy he was safer. Huh'.

NTA.

THISistheBadPlace wrote:

NTA. People saying YTA are delusional. What’s worse - a functional jacket a different color or dog endangerment cause she lets him run around in the woods?

OP responded:

I worried every day I’d find that dog dead on the road. At the very least I got rid of that concern for now.

ProfessorShameless wrote:

NTA the dog doesn't notice the change in the coat. The owner didn't even notice the change in the coat until it was pointed out. Yeah, you could have done something different, but something needed to be done for the safety of this dog, and that's exactly what you did.

Something. Anything. Let her complain. Ignore it. If she tries to sue (emphasis on tries) do the bare minimum to defend yourself until it's clear that the suit will go nowhere.

Fourletterflower wrote:

NTA. You saved the dog. She should be kissing your feet. She can bitch all she wants about her dogs coats paint job, but at least the ppl who need to see it CAN, unlike her. Someone mentioned you could’ve got the dog a collar, but why tf would you spend your OWN money when reflective spray paint works just as well and you had some handy. Good on you, OP.