Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Dog Barking Complaints Submitted to Animal Control
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
April 9, 2013 at 10:36 pm #787972
karenParticipantWe have a dog in the ‘hood that whines and barks for hours on end. And I do means hours, 6 or seven during the day in the summers. We know which dog it is because we’ve walked the block to find it. We have had run ins with the owner, have had workers threatened by the owner and have neighbors with similar complaints. Thanks, but I’ll continue to file a complaint rather than be threatened.
April 9, 2013 at 10:59 pm #787973
GoGoParticipantI’m with you, Marshallo. My dogs bark occasionally in the back yard, if it gets excessive I go out and tell them to knock it off or call them inside. I always thought if anyone complained to me about a little barking I would tell them their children have to be totally quiet when outside, too. I’m not talking about excessive barking here, just dogs being dogs. I don’t like that cats crap in my yard, but I realize I can’t do anything about that and certainly wouldn’t call Animal Control about it.
April 9, 2013 at 11:11 pm #787974
ElizagraceParticipantThe curious case of the cat crap…. has anyone who has an outside cat ever stepped in cat crap?
Our cat has a litter box – which she never uses, instead she is a wilderness girl and head outside. I have yet (in over 10 years) ever seen cat crap anywhere in my yard… where does it go?
April 9, 2013 at 11:24 pm #787975
GoGoParticipantI’ve never seen it, but my dogs find it and roll in it. Yuck. And someone’s little darling walks all over my car at night and leaves little kitty prints everywhere.
April 9, 2013 at 11:29 pm #787976
ElizagraceParticipantI have never seen it either. It really baffles me, I wasn’t trying to be snotty in any way :). It really is a mystery to me. The paw prints do make me crazy though.
April 10, 2013 at 12:43 am #787977
kayoParticipantElizagrace. The cat poop is in my yard. My neighbor’s cats poop all over my flower bed. Apparently, her kitties don’t believe in burying their poo. On the other hand, my neighbor’s had to put up with the scent of stinky dog poop wafting over the fence from my yard for years, so we are pretty much even. :). Oh the price we pay for our fur family members. The poop. The barking. The paw prints. Wouldn’t trade it though. Love my dog and my neighbor’s kitties are pretty cute, too.
April 10, 2013 at 3:23 am #787978
DBPMemberHi, Marshallo.
I don’t know you personally, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that your dogs are just occasional barkers and aren’t keeping someone up all night. Hope so anyway.
I do want to clarify something you said. To wit:
Under the Freedom of Information Act you are entitled to receive a copy of the complaint. I recently received an “excessive barking” complaint on my dog. I requested the report and was able to identify the complainer.
The first part of what you say is true. You CAN get a copy of the complaint with a FOIA request.
The second part could also be true, but only under one the following conditions:
1) The complainant expressly declined to file the complaint anonymously, so his or personal info was left in there.
2) You were able to deduce the complainant’s name from other details of the complaint.
* * * * * * * * *
I believe that Animal Control is supposed to ask complainants: “Do you want to remain anonymous?”
If the complainant says “Yes” then there shouldn’t be ANY identifying info in the record of complaint. And note that identifying info would include not just name and/address but also dead giveaways like “House to the immediate north.”
So, if a complainant requested anonymity and you could still figure out who they were from filing a FOIA request, then Animal Control did not fill out the form correctly, and they would be legally liable if the complainant felt threatened as a result.
* * * * * * * *
Now, some folks might be wondering: How can an anonymous complaint be used against me in court? Doesn’t that deny my Constitutional right to confront my accuser?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confrontation_Clause
And the answer is: Yes, it does. So, no, an anonymous complaint CAN’T be used against you in court or even to levy a fine.
Animal Control knows this, so they generally won’t even try to fine you based on an anonymous complaint alone. (And that’s why there are so few fines given out for this. Because so many complaints ARE anonymous.)
In order to fine you based on an anonymous complaint, an Animal Control officer would have to hear your dogs barking at the time he/she showed up at the door. In that case, the officer would be acting as the accuser, not the original complainant.
Just an FYI.
April 10, 2013 at 4:18 am #787979
JanSParticipantI once had an anonymous complaint filed with the DPD against the way I listed my address on my website.I never knew who it was, although I had an idea. I was told by the DPD in no uncertain terms that corrections had to be made or I would be fined $150.00. And there was a deadline.
It was petty, it was personal, it was against how I make a living. And anonymous…and I was threatened with a fine. It may be different with Animal Control, though.
April 10, 2013 at 5:41 am #787980
singularnameParticipantGood one, Kayo. A neighbor and I once shared our backyards. My husband would have nothing to do with my dog, so would let him out every morning and leave him in the back, and every morning my dog would do a big ol’ passive aggressive dump right on their porch. Their beagle (whose yowl, yes, I came to love) could open our backdoor because it was one of those lever handles. I of course was constantly apologizing because I rarely could wake up before my neighbors to clean up, and they were constantly apologizing because their beagle just came on in the house every night. They’d always say, “Why don’t you just lock the door?” Well … DUH! Gotta keep it even steven. lol
Jan … And just what kind of massage therapist are you, anyway? ;->
April 10, 2013 at 2:54 pm #787981
JoBParticipant“Jan … And just what kind of massage therapist are you, anyway? ;-> “
Jan.. take a deep breath and walk away from the computer before you post
singularname was making a joke.
April 10, 2013 at 4:37 pm #787982
JanSParticipantlol…JoB…I was going to say “seasoned” :)
April 10, 2013 at 5:03 pm #787983
JoBParticipantJanS.. i am thinking someone got a good night’s sleep last night :))))
April 10, 2013 at 5:08 pm #787984
dee kalaniParticipantIf a dog owner leaves a dog out, and that dog is a barker I would leave a note alerting the owner that the barking is unreasonable. The owner needs to take responsibility, and steps to insure that the dogs are not left out annoying neighbors, interfering with the enjoyment of residences. There are Municipal codes , and fines that will be enforced if the complaint is legitimate.If a declaration of violations is needed, provide accurate information, and be prepared to testify in court. I think the process is worth it, if the owner does not comply with the first warning from Animal Control. Dogs bark out of boredom, neglect etc. , the dog’s welfare should also be considered, and attended too !
April 10, 2013 at 5:58 pm #787985
cjboffoliParticipantLife, civil society and government would certainly be a lot simpler if people would just take responsibility for themselves and their dogs and obey the law. But I don’t blame those who file complaints (valid ones) as much as I blame those irresponsible people who simply refuse to think of their neighbors before they think of themselves.
The overwhelming majority of the times that I have politely approached neighbors to ask for a bit more courtesy the response I have gotten is usually a belligerent declaration of “rights” (actual rights, assumed rights and imagined rights). So that’s why the whole complaints machine needs to exist and why people use it over approaching neighbors directly. Because in our age of self-centered entitlement, it is a massive waste of time to ask people to even consider being courteous.
I also don’t agree with the go-to argument that ‘we’re in a city so we should put up with other people’s noise.’ While that is certainly the reality of an urban environment, I wish we more often heard the sentiment ‘we’re in a place where the houses are ten feet apart so we need to be much more careful and considerate about the noise we make.’ It is actually possible to live a perfectly happy life without needing to create a level of noise that your neighbors should be forced to endure on a normal basis.
Noise pollution is real. Some people may have different levels of sensitivity to yours and there can be real psychological effects from loud sudden noises, including from barking dogs.
Judging from the vast numbers of domestic animals that are abandoned and abused on an annual basis – not to mention the mountains of dog waste that regularly litters the sidewalks and ground in my neighborhood – there are a LOT of people out there who simply shouldn’t own dogs. They give the good dog owners a bad name. And yet everyone seems entitled to have dogs, even in very densely settled urban environment where dog ownership causes problems for others.
While I think it is unfair and wrong for neighbors to abuse the complaint system as Marshallo describes, I do think the intervention of Animal Control is unfortunately necessary. And personally, if someone filed a complaint about something I was doing, my first reaction would NOT be to start accusing my neighbors of overreacting but for me to think about what I can do to curtail the problem so that I can be a better neighbor to the people who live around me.
April 10, 2013 at 7:01 pm #787986
krixusParticipantVery well said, cjboffoli.
April 11, 2013 at 12:50 am #787987
JoBParticipantit’s hard…
when my dogs bark I respond to find out what made them bark…
but still they are going to bark
i have a neighbor who thinks i unleashed my dogs on her
i did let my dogs into my fully fenced front yard when it looked like she had finished weed whacking her front area that borders mine. it turns out she hadn’t… but how was i to know?
she had a fully functioning weed whacker in her hands and couldn’t have been bitten unless she actually put her hand over the fence.. but there you go.
my dog barked and frightened her
and i must have done that on purpose
she hasn’t spoken with me since.
sometimes there isn’t much you can do about other people’s perceptions…
now if she would only keep that cat that she is sure doesn’t leave her yard inside..
my dogs wouldn’t have so much to bark about
would they
April 11, 2013 at 12:55 am #787988
DBPMemberJan (#9) I don’t doubt that what you say is true, and I feel bad for you. But in your case, it wasn’t the anonymous complaint that did you in, it was the prima facie evidence that was available for anyone to see on your Web site.
Based on the complaint, the DPD guy merely looked at the Web site and found the violation. No further evidence was needed.
* * * * * * * *
When a greater level of evidence is needed to prove a charge made via an anonymous complaint, a cop or other investigator can STILL get it easily enough. It’s unethical, and often illegal, but cops do it all the time anyway. They probably figure: If I have to use some tricks, it’s worth the risk. As long as I got a few bad guys in my tote bag at the end of the day.
Here’s what happens . . . On an anonymous complaint or accusation, a cop will ask you: “Did you do this thing someone’s accusing you of?”
Sometimes they don’t even need to have a complaint. They’ll just go on a fishing trip, throwing things at you.
You say, “Yeah, coppers, but you don’t have a case against me unless you can provide a witness.”
Guess what . . . Now the cops don’t NEED any other evidence or witnesses, because you just gave it all to ’em on a silver platter. They’ve got an admission of guilt, straight from the horse’s mouth into the cop’s ear.
This is why criminal defense lawyers are always telling their clients: “No matter what they threaten you with. Arrest, harsher punishment for not cooperating, whatever. Don’t say anything to the cops about a crime you might have been involved in unless I’m there with you.”
Best legal advice you’ll ever get, too.
Ya know, for all the crime shows people watch on TV, I’m surprised they don’t learn more about the law. All you need to know in life, you can learn in Season 1 of “The Wire.”
April 11, 2013 at 12:59 am #787989
DBPMemberThis is from a cable TV show on AMC, but there’s some language on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBeQO1nBThQ
I’m not putting it up for yuks. I’m putting it up to prove my point about hard it is for some people to get this lesson.
April 11, 2013 at 1:05 am #787990
deb.lynnMemberI couldn’t agree with you more cjboffoli! I would love to be your neighbor. I have asked neighbors with adjoining walls of a townhouse to be aware of noise transfer and was blasted by her telling me her “rights as an owner”. And the same with the other neighbor who leaves her dog on the deck to bark at everything for hours! That is just rude and inconsiderate.
April 11, 2013 at 6:50 pm #787991
maudeParticipantI’ve had a neighbor complain about one of our dogs who had severe separation anxiety. Apparently she whined all day long and bothered the neighbor who worked from home. It must’ve been loud because we both lived in houses. Anyway, we tried everything to calm the dog down but she never got used to it. We ended up taking her to the Humane Society (for different reasons, I’m sorry to say). It’s stressful when someone complains about your dog. What happens if the complaints continue? Fine, after fine, after fine? Give up the animal? Move? Punch the neighbor?
I’m always concerned that someone will complain about our current dogs. They both bark at anything that moves in the alley or at the neighbor dogs when they enter their own yard. If anything, my neighbors might be more irritated at my swearing at the dogs to shut the *%$@ up!
We have several dogs in the neighborhood who bark but most never do it for very long. And now that it’s getting nicer out, the barking is being drowned out by lawnmowers, power tools, and soccer/baseball games at the park.
April 11, 2013 at 7:50 pm #787992
datamuseParticipantOur neighbor’s dog barks sometimes. It’s cool. She views our yard as part of her patrol duty, so if she sees someone in it, she’ll bark at them. We get the benefit of a guard dog without actually having a dog. Thumbs up.
But she doesn’t bark for hours and hours on end. If a dog’s doing that, the dog’s probably not happy. And neither are the neighbors.
April 11, 2013 at 7:51 pm #787993
amaliaParticipantMy own short story (and why I might choose an official complaint over a face-to-face): a neighbor’s dog was barking incessantly all day, so I walked over, sick as a dog myself (which is why I was home), and asked her to bring the dog inside. She got all up in my face about how it’s not HER job to make sure I’m not disturbed by the dog and besides, the dog wasn’t bothering HER. That was the end of that conversation. I never bothered to ask again, and she never bothered to become a decent neighbor (she was house-sitting, I recall, but I assume she never changed).
I wish people were considerate. On the road, in public, in private. I have lots of faults, but I’m considerate.
April 13, 2013 at 8:57 am #787994
singularnameParticipant(Seasoned! Good one, Jan. Glad you and Jo got my [possibly not too great] joke. I thought I’d recalled a few risque-ish witicisms from you, so I’d hoped to make you chuckle.)
Back to the dogs! :-)
April 13, 2013 at 8:42 pm #787995
NikVParticipantMarshallo, I empathize with your situation. Do you perhaps live near 39th and Genesee? Also, can you provide any details on how to go about making the FOIA request?
April 14, 2013 at 12:18 am #787996
Genesee HillParticipantGrrrr. BarkBarkBark Grrrrr.
And my little doggy doesn’t wee-wee or poopie on anyone’s land, other than my own.
Disclaimer:
Public sidewalks, streets, and parks, DO NOT count.
LOL
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.