Neighborly Dispute Goes Public With Front Yard Middle-Finger Salute

CHINO HILLS (CBSLA.com) — When a Chino Hills homeowner was asked by a neighbor to move her koi pond off of his property years ago, she fumed silently and then decided to make her feelings known – in the form of a giant statue of a raised middle finger.

Yes, the nearly universal symbol for "up yours" is now the centerpiece of Tina Rose's front yard.

Rose said she put it there in a moment of rage after Rose's neighbor informed her that her koi pond – now a planter box – infringed on his property and asked Rose to move it. (Rose was unaware when she built the pond that it infringed on her neighbor's land).

"I was furious," Rose said. "I was really angry."

It was an unusual public airing of a grievance. Even now, the lawn ornament continues to raise eyebrows.

"They're just shocked," neighbor Jennifer Firestone Castle said of passersby. "They're just really shocked."

But for Rose and her neighbor, the feud is long over.

"We've became very, very good friends," she said. "His wife is really sick and my mom is really sick and we're both kind of going through the very same thing. All of the sudden it just really wasn't important anymore. … I can't stay angry at somebody forever."

Rose plans to move in the near future. The future of the landmark middle-finger statue is unknown.