Nasty Neighborhood Squabble Includes Racial Slur & Dog Defecation

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – In a northwest Miami-Dade neighborhood near Miami Lakes, people decorate their homes for the holidays.

They like to be outside and they take pride in their community.

But amidst the good vibes is some bad blood between people who live in a trio of homes.

And it's all over dog poop.

"They big liars," said longtime resident Marie Martin.

"It's just a constant harassment," said next-door neighbor Roy Valdivia.

Marie Martin's daughter showed us some pictures of what they say shows what neighbors left behind on their property — piles of dog mess on their walkway and on their car tire.

That led to anger and animosity between the Martin's and their neighbors on either side.

"Every time I see it I call the police," Martin said.

In all, she estimates Miami-Dade Police have been called more than a dozen times over the past year or so.

Roy Valdivia lives on the north side of Martin with his pregnant wife, their 2-year-old son and dog.

He admits his dog got into the Martin's backyard once.

But he said his dog never defecates on their property and that he and all the other neighbors are afraid to walk on the sidewalk in front of the Martin home.

"She comes out and stares at you and starts screaming at you," he said, referencing video showing a woman on the sidewalk with a phone in hand and loud music playing.

Valdivia says the strange behavior has taken some unusual turns.

"She's following me in her car while I'm with the dog, the baby, the other dog in the basket, to see if I pick up the dog poop," he said. We asked if he always cleans up his dog's mess. He replied, "100 percent!" adding that animal service has been called in the past and has complemented him cleaning up the mess.

Then, about a week or two ago, the saga took an even stranger turn. The Martin's put up some homemade signs in their front yard.

They contain a racial slur so we won't print the entire phrase but it says "No N-word live here."

Marie Martin alleges the neighbors play music that references the n-word and she wanted to send them a message.

"Stop calling us (the n-word) cause no (n-word) live here," she told CBS4 News.

But Roy Valdivia and others in the neighborhood say the signs are absurd.

Valdivia and another neighbor we spoke with say they've never used racial words or slurs towards the family.

"There's no need for me to say that word whatsoever," Valdivia said.

Everyone seems resigned to this situation. The Martin's say they've lived here 32 years and aren't going anywhere.

"He don't want it to be solved," Marie Martin said. "His wife told me if you don't like it, why don't you move. I told her I'm not going nowhere."

Roy Valdivia says he and his wife are raising a family here and there's simply nothing they can do.

"We're pretty much helpless," he said.