Where do I go to file a complaint?

gingersmom · Sep 10, 2007

My next door neighbor has a little terrier-type dog that he puts out into the back yard on a tiny run and just LEAVES there for hours at a time.

The dog hates to be left outside and barks and barks and barks for HOURS. And we are not talking real barking, more like whiny yipping. It just won't stop.

This morning the dog got put out around 6 a.m., and the owner went back up to their third floor apartment and just left it out there. It woke me up well before my 7:30 a.m. alarm was due to go off, and kept me awake.

The dog was still standing at the door barking when I left for work this morning. the poor little thing! It was cold and damp and rainy out!

This cannot continue. Where do I go to complain? I have no idea who the property owner is, but I do know that they don't live on premises. Do I call the animal control officer?

kitytize · Sep 10, 2007

Yes you can call animal control and they will warn the owners.

twstychik · Sep 10, 2007

I'd hate to call AC just because you never know what will happen to the animal but in this case I'm not sure you have a choice. I couldn't live with the noise... and the poor dog must be misreable. Unless you can find out who owns the property (perhaps your local tas authorities could tell you the owner's name) I think AC is the next logical call.

gingersmom · Sep 10, 2007

This particular neighbor I met just once. He and his gf both work for pet stores, and he admitted to being a small-time BYB. He "got rid of" the Persians he was breeding because they were "too much trouble, always having to go to the vet."

I think that death would be preferable for any animal forced to live with this loser.

The very next time this happens, I'm reporting him.

roxie225 · Sep 10, 2007

I think you can file a report with the police station for distrubance of the peace and you could probably contact your local humane society and basically tell them how he neglects the poor thing by leaving it out in all weather conditions. Does it have some sort of dog-house or shelter for when it rains? And does she leave it food and water within it's reach? I think those are things they may need to know to determine if there is in fact anything they can do. Good luck and keep us posted on what happens!

white cat lover · Sep 10, 2007

Do report him.

Terriers tend to be very loyal dogs, & very needy as well. They need to be around people.

They also tend to have the most annoying voices ever!

gingersmom · Sep 10, 2007

Originally Posted by Roxie225

I think you can file a report with the police station for distrubance of the peace and you could probably contact your local humane society and basically tell them how he neglects the poor thing by leaving it out in all weather conditions. Does it have some sort of dog-house or shelter for when it rains? And does she leave it food and water within it's reach? I think those are things they may need to know to determine if there is in fact anything they can do. Good luck and keep us posted on what happens!

As far as I know, there is no local "humane society," there is just animal control and the no-kill shelter.

The dog DOES have an igloo in the yard, and there were two great big EMPTY bowls in the yard in different places, but the dog obviously wanted to go in: it stood on the porch in front of the door, barking & barking, then it would pace a bit, then stand and bark at the door again.

I was torn between wanting to drop-kick it (better yet, drop-kick its owner,) shoot it to put it and the entire neighborhood out of our misery, or break into the back yard and capture it and bring it to the shelter.

Of course, I am not one to hurt animals, but at 6:30 a.m., all kinds of murderous thoughts go through your head when you are trying to get that last bit of sleep before getting up for work, and instead you are forced to listen to: "YIPE! YIPE! YIPE! YELP! YIPE! YELP! YELP! YIPE! ..." for more than an hour straight!

twstychik · Sep 10, 2007

I remember you mentioning said neighbor before... I'm reminded of a Seinfeld episode wheren Elaine gets Kramer to "take care of" a similar dog problem. We all know you'd never really hurt the dog.

Of course, knowing it's that neighbor makes talking to him useless... I'd call your AC officer then.

roxie225 · Sep 10, 2007

Originally Posted by GingersMom

As far as I know, there is no local "humane society," there is just animal control and the no-kill shelter.

The dog DOES have an igloo in the yard, and there were two great big EMPTY bowls in the yard in different places, but the dog obviously wanted to go in: it stood on the porch in front of the door, barking & barking, then it would pace a bit, then stand and bark at the door again.

I was torn between wanting to drop-kick it (better yet, drop-kick its owner,) shoot it to put it and the entire neighborhood out of our misery, or break into the back yard and capture it and bring it to the shelter.

Of course, I am not one to hurt animals, but at 6:30 a.m., all kinds of murderous thoughts go through your head when you are trying to get that last bit of sleep before getting up for work, and instead you are forced to listen to: "YIPE! YIPE! YIPE! YELP! YIPE! YELP! YELP! YIPE! ..." for more than an hour straight!

I do know that each town has a noise ordinace or something meaning that there can't be excessive noise before and after certain hours. 6:30 is really early and I think a lot of places it may be between 8-9 am. If they are violating that I'm sure they get a fine or a warning that if they do it again they will get a fine. Maybe that will be enough for them to start leaving the dog inside the house.

mybabyphx · Sep 10, 2007

I would definetly call and complain about noise ordinance. I wouldn't wait until it happens again, I would call today. I remember you talking about this neighbor before, and you know as well as I do that it WILL happen again... so just call!

goldenkitty45 · Sep 10, 2007

Call Animal Control or the local police and file a complaint. One or the other will do something about it.

gingersmom · Sep 10, 2007

I am going to wait - as you said, it WILL happen again, and just like you can't punish a child the day after they do something wrong, you can't call about a noise ordinance violation 12 hours later and expect to be taken seriously by law enforcement.

Next time it happens, I'm phoning the police. Our noise ordinance is 10 p.m. - 7 a.m., so they were in violation of that. Animal neglect is another thing entirely. I'm going to also take pics of the dog barking at the door - I figured out how to do video on my camera. I don't think it has sound, though...

Thanks, peeps!

gingersmom · Sep 10, 2007

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Call Animal Control or the local police and file a complaint. One or the other will do something about it.

They are one and the same, here. The "dog" officer is a police officer.

twstychik · Sep 10, 2007

Good luck! Hope it works out for all in the end.

roxie225 · Sep 10, 2007

Good luck and let us know how it goes!!

pushylady · Sep 10, 2007

Do you know anyone who's looking for a terrier-type dog?

gingersmom · Sep 10, 2007

Well, when I got home, my roomie said that my landlord called animal control. So that'll just help when I call the next time.

Some people just ... grrrrrrrrrrrrrr ...

coaster · Sep 10, 2007

You mentioned that the negligent neighbor lives in an apartment, if I understand correctly. Something like this happened to me many years ago when I lived in an apartment. The lesson I learned from that experience was that the first thing you should do is take your concern to the apartment manager. If that doesn't get results, then the next step is to take it to the authorities. I see that in your case, the landlord was good enough to take the second step for you. I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't the first complaint.

Good luck. I can sympathize with your anger and frustration. I hope the neighbor shapes up.

menasmom · Sep 10, 2007

Call Animal Control. I had the same problem with a set of neighbors I had who would leave their two squeeky-barking dogs out at 4:00 in the morning and would bark right outside our bedroom!! If the person isn't home, they will leave a warning sticker on her door.

clairebear · Sep 10, 2007

I'd contact the local animal control. They probably won't be able to call it abuse if the dog has shelter, and food and water. But if the dog is constantly barking they may be able to do something about it disturbing the peace.

Where do I go to file a complaint?

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