I had a rude awakening, literally, this morning. Some jerk, and I’m pretty certain the jerk is the madman that lives next door to us, reported our dogs to animal control as a barking nuisance. It’s just a warning, but if there is a second complaint, corroborated by at least two other neighbors, it’s a $513 fine which could also result in the removal of our dogs from our home.
I am beyond pissed.
We’re in a dog neighborhood. At any hour of the day there is a dog whining or barking someplace. This jerk, I mention, doesn’t like dogs. He also refuses to speak to his neighbors to voice a complaint. He’d rather stand in the middle of his backyard and scream, SHUT UP, at the top of his lungs. He’s usually shouting in our direction, and almost always when our dogs are inside.
This complaint really bothers me because just recently there was a huge brouha when animal control removed four dogs from the home of a woman on the basis of a single complaint. They were in the process of putting the dogs to death BEFORE completely investigating the complaint. The homeowner had to get a lawyer to put a hold on the death sentence. It came out that a neighbor had a problem with the woman, not her dogs, and had lied about his complaint. The woman got her dogs back including every cent she paid to her lawyer.
I doubt animal control is going to find themself in such a predicament again and the animal control officer did try to make it clear that they won’t act on just the word of one neighbor.
Doesn’t mean I’m not still pissed off.
Tags: dogs
If your dogs are barking for longer than 30 minutes your neighbor really is entitled to file a formal complaint. However I’d agree that screaming in his backyard is sort of emotionally unhinged. And although he is certainly under no obligation – he should have voiced his complaints to you first, not only in the interests of being a good neighbor but because it is often recommended that this be the first step in documenting ANY complaints that one may have with a neighbor (or their dogs..) It could be that he has not had very positive reactions in the past from approaching a neighbor directly to complain about their dog(s). In any event, I can understand both sides (aside from the screaming that is). Although I am not a pet owner now, I grew up with great dogs. I now have two girls under the age of two (and that’s enough!) – and I am home with them full time. Over the past several days there have been barking dogs – I’m not sure which home they are coming from (we live in a row home, small development – but everything echoes in the narrow streets). This is the first I’ve heard barking dogs like this (about an hour straight, pretty loud) so I’m waiting to see if this is a temporary thing or if these are new dogs or new neighbors. But if it continues past a week, I’ll probably have to say something. I detest having to do it. But I don’t see that I have much of an option when the noise is disruptive and continuous. Believe me two kids are loud enough without the incessant barking, plus naptime is difficult to accomplish with their bedrooms in the front of the house where the barking is coming from. I think neighborhoods should work together to keep the peace for everyone, parents of pets and children alike as well as childfree folks. That includes picking up your kids’ poop (especially when you let them poop in front of my house, i’m not kidding) and keeping your kids on a leash. I can’t tell you how outraged I was when out at the park with my girls and someone allowed their UNLEASHED dog to run up to my toddler and knock her down!!! We were at a public park where at least 4 signs clearly stated that dogs must be leashed. Aside from the fact that she was on the sidewalk and could have been knocked unconscious, I feel it’s important to note that a lot of kids (not mine) have really bad allergies – and an interaction like that with a dog can send a child indoors and sitting next to the humidifier doped up on benedryl for the rest of the day. It’s not only inconsiderate – its completely negligent. But thankfully, instances like these are usually in the minority in my humble opinion. For every inconsiderate pet owner, there are 10 more that are the very epitome of good parents. And that’s my two cents.
“I wouldn’t expect my wood-burning neighbor to change his heating system, just because I have a sensitivity to wood smoke.”
Amazing that pet-less neighbors feel they have a right to demand our furkids be removed, disciplined, trained, etc. just for their comfort, yet if they annoy us, we don’t have a right to expect them to move away.
Sort of @ donna, in a really non-aggressive way:
I can’t speak to your specific situation, but my dog lives in my house. If he’s outside, I’m with him. Period. I’m a responsible dog owner, and yet, he still has his nightly barking fit, as mentioned above. And I’ve given up trying to stop it because 1) that’s how he communicates, and 2) nothing short of physically holding his mouth shut is going to quiet him when he’s excited. Not the calm approach. Not the frustrated approach. Not the distraction approach. Not bribery or sweet talk. Not even the Dog Whisperer stuff.
Besides which, part of living amongst other humans means putting up with other humans. It’s annoying as hell when car stereos rattle my windows, or when someone’s mower is so loud that I can’t hear the baseball game, or when one of my neighbors has the thump-thump going at 2 o’clock in the morning, or worse yet, when one neighbor starts burning wood for heat, and I end up with irritated airways from breathing the smoke. But if anyone’s annoyed by my dog, they haven’t said so, and I haven’t said anything about the stuff that annoys me, either. I wouldn’t expect my wood-burning neighbor to change his heating system, just because I have a sensitivity to wood smoke. And I’m pretty sure that he wouldn’t expect me to give up one of my furkids for being a loud-mouth. No harm, no foul. We tolerate each other, and we get along because of it.
I want to be considerate of my neighbors. And, generally, I am. But someone screaming at my dog, threatening my dog, or trying to have him hauled off to the pound would be an extremely effective civility-removal machine. Being a responsible pet-owner means that it’s my job to protect my dog, and if it came down to it, yes, that responsibility would supercede my desire to not annoy my neighbors.
Jayne’s been a lot less confrontational with her screaming neighbor than I would’ve been.
Donna – we’re NOT rude and inconsiderate. We are dog owners, but that does NOT automatically mean that we let our dogs go wild or that we don’t give a damn about our neighbors. We do and we make a great effort to keep our dogs quiet so they won’t be a nuisance. Others in our neighborhood are not so considerate.
On top of that, the neighbor that made this complaint is a nut. He will think nothing of standing out on his deck and SCREAMING at the top of his lungs that he will kill any dog that is barking. He has threatened another neighbor by telling her that if her cat showed up in her yard, he’d poison it.
If a neighbor has a problem with my dog, I expect that neighbor to at least make the effort to contact me and discuss the problem, IF there is one. In this case, there wasn’t. It was a dog, a puppy that lived behind us.
Since this happened, I have reported that neighbor for shouting, again, in his backyard, and I have also spoken to the people that leave their puppy out in the backyard, in the cold, for hours on end. They chose to give their dog away.
So I understand your point about how your neighborhood has been ruined, but please, don’t call me “rude and inconsiderate” since you don’t live here and don’t know me.
Er, I’m on the other side of this issue. Two years ago my quiet neighborhood was ruined when my neighbor from hell moved in with two barking dogs – a little yapper and a pitbull. They bark nearly all day long and into the night – anytime really, at anything that moves. When I complained my neighbor said that I was bothering him. It has ruined this neighborhood for me – where I have lived for over 30 years. You people are really rude and inconsiderate.
I love dogs and have always had one until recent years. We quieted our dogs, when they barked, by letting them in or simply telling those good dogs to be quiet. It’s called being considerate. Do any of you know what that word means?
BTW, how do the dogs know whether someone belongs there or not?
It’s really sad when someone has to take out their own sorry lives on dogs and the owners. It’s been my experience that the police and AC workers quickly identify the complainers and pay little attention to them.
jan’s last blog post..Because humans can’t smell the news—
I’m annoyed as well and at the same time absolutely sympathetic to your situation. Someone needs a barking collar, but it ain’t your dog or any other dog in the neighborhood. It’s your uncivilized neighbor that needs a good jolt every time he opens his stupid ‘yap’. Didn’t mean to get so nasty but I’m with you all the way on this one.
Meanwhile I bow my head in utter gratefulness. “Blessed be my neighbors for being so congenial in every respect when it comes to my dogs.”
Hope this situation moves on or your neighbor does, one or the other…
Roberta S’s last blog post..Pets and Peeves
We used to raise Coonhounds here back in the 80′s and we had the neighbor from hell, the only time our dogs EVER barked at night was when someone or something was around that did not belong here. But like you, our neighbors from hell called the township cops because of the dogs barking. And they would also stand on their back porch and scream at the dogs to shut up, which of course just made them bark all that much worse. Fortunately for us, they moved away.
We no longer have outside dogs, but we have raise chickens now and we have around 25 Roosters…..now lets talk about noise…lol
Breezie’s last blog post..Amelia Island Lodging Special
How do you get gravitars to show up? Is it a wordpress plugin?
Lavender’s last blog post..Blackberry Circle & Keepers of the Roses
I agree with Sam about a unified front! That is probably better than getting into a fued with the angry anti dog guy who needs to get a life! Maybe you and your neighbors with pets could meet and get a strategy together.
Plus, with so many dogs, its hard to prove it was yours. As a last resort, there is always a bark collar, but you still need to train the poor babies anyway!
Lavender’s last blog post..Blackberry Circle & Keepers of the Roses
I’d be pissed, too. And the story about the woman whose dogs were actually removed makes me glad for things like small towns, where everyone knows the cops and city workers, and the city workers know them, too.
My dog has a holy fit every night when his grandma heads off to bed. But I can’t see the same city workers who helped me get him in from the car after his surgery coming here to haul him off to the pound.
My personal philosophy is that it ain’t happenin’.
But Eric could be right. Filing a complaint about the shouting might be a good idea (although the term “malicious prosecution” keeps tripping through my non-lawyer brain), but I think I’d get together with some of the other dog owners in the neighborhood, first. A unified front could be a very good thing.
Sam’s last blog post..Aw, Hell No! Why Would I Be Cranky?
Ditto, Eric Fry. Gee, is there still people like this?
Greetings and lotta loves from Malaysia.
ArahMan7′s last blog post..PQ DVD – PQ Computing Inc
I can’t stand people like you described here. Next time he’s out in his yard screaming, you should file a police complaint on him for disturbing the peace.
Eric Fry’s last blog post..Photography Supplies?