It began with what seemed like a minor misunderstanding — a bark mistaken for a bite.

“It was just a little bark. My cameras caught it,” said Julia Hunt Alvarez, a resident of The Villages at Rancho El Dorado. “A lady that had been running down the street claimed my dog had bit her dog and she was threatening me as she was walking away.”

Maricopa Animal Control got involved. The neighbor, Shannon Ellis, tried to press charges, Alvarez said. Though Alvarez attempted to apologize several times, Ellis — a massage therapist who has operated Hands of Silk from her home for roughly 15 years — eventually filed an order of protection against her.

Ellis declined to detail her side of the story, but her perspective is documented in a series of emails obtained via public records request.

“Ms. Alv

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