Is Your Dog A BARKING NUISANCE?
Propeller Heller
CITIZEN-TIMES.com: TownTalk: View topic - Is your dog's barking a
nuisance?
Address:http://www.citizentimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=484&start=0&sid=074f01316856af6b10b1ea907b4589bf
Is your dog's barking a nuisance?
By Lynde Hedgpeth, staff writer
Feb. 20, 2004 11:17 p.m.
ASHEVILLE - Almost 600 people in Asheville and Buncombe County last year
got so fed up with the din of their neighbors' barking dogs that they
called the pet police.
Between October 2002 and October 2003, Asheville Animal Services
received 382 calls about noisy dogs. Buncombe County animal services
received about 220 barking calls in 2003.
"(Complainants are) usually pretty frustrated by the time they want
something done," said Brenda Sears, Animal Services director for the
Asheville Police Department. Sears said if dog owners had a proactive
approach to barking and more understanding of the city's noise
ordinances, they could save themselves and their neighbors the
frustration of a formal complaint with Animal Services.
They could also save officers precious time.
Though answering calls for barking dogs makes up small percentages of
animal officers' workloads - 4 percent in the county and 9 percent in
the city - Sears said barking calls are time-intensive and take her and
the two other animal officers away from the more than 3,800 other calls
they get each year.
Both city and county animal control officers have suggestions for
residents that could easily solve most barking problems.
They said a quiet, bark-free neighborhood begins with neighbors talking
to each other about their pets.
Montford residents Maggie and John Ewing took that approach after Sears
came to their house to tell them a neighbor had complained about their
dogs, larger mixed breeds named Murphy and Liza.
When the Ewings realized Murphy and Liza barked while they were at work,
the Ewings visited their neighbors and asked them to call if the dogs
annoyed them.
A few months ago, one of them did. The neighbor was hesitant, Maggie
Ewing said, but she was glad to know her dogs were causing a
disturbance.
"It's not pleasant when a neighbor gets in touch with you about your
dogs, but you really have to think of what you contribute to your
community," she said.
Sears encouraged all dog owners to do what the Ewings did before a
complaint is logged. She said neighbors annoyed by barking dogs should
approach the owners before their last nerve gets frayed.
If communication fails, animal officers can write a $50 ticket to the
dog owner, but only if they witness the barking. If not, annoyed
neighbors can get together and take their complaint to the city's Noise
Ordinance Appeals Board, which meets once a month. In Buncombe County,
residents are responsible for taking out nuisance warrants against
neighbors with noisy dogs; animal officers no longer write tickets for
the violations.
Sears also urged dog owners to consider quieting measures like a no-bark
collar. The collars have a battery-powered box that gives dogs a slight
shock when they bark.
Mary Hourihan, owner of Asheville Pet Supply in north Asheville, said
no-bark collars are the most effective tool for keeping dogs from
barking when owners aren't home. The collars at her store range in price
from $60 to $100.
"It isn't as inhumane as it sounds," she said. "It does shock them, and,
yes it does hurt. But it also gives them a beep beep beep first" so dogs
can learn to stop barking before the shock, she said.
Bugged by barking?
Here are the steps animal control officers recommend you follow if you
live:
In Asheville city limits:
Try talking with dog's owners.
If that fails, call 252-1110 and ask for Animal Services.
Two or more neighbors can file a complaint with the city's Noise
Ordinance Appeals Board, which can also issue a $50 fine.
Call Asheville animal control supervisor Brenda Sears at 259-5872 for
more information.
In Buncombe County:
Try talking to neighbors first.
Because of an ordinance change, animal services officers no longer issue
noise citations. They will refer you to mediation. Call 251-6089.
If mediation fails, gather evidence of the dog barking, such as a log of
barking times or audio or video tapes, and take it to the magistrate's
office in the Buncombe County jail, 20 Davidson Drive, to get a nuisance
warrant.
Quieting your pup
Limit your pets' view of irritating conditions, such as people walking
by your home.
Consider a "no-bark collar," which gives the dog a warning beep and a
slight shock when it barks.
Talk to your vet.
Ask your neighbors to tell you if your dog barks while you are away.
Source: Brenda Sears, Asheville Police Department Animal Services
director.
Propeller Heller
ZIONSVILLE
Agreement quiets dog-barking dispute
Owner's peace offer will cut outdoor noise, but he wants to amend animal
control law.
By Josh Duke
josh...@indystar.com
February 21, 2004
Two Zionsville neighbors involved in a dispute over barking
dogs worked out their differences Thursday prior to a judge deciding
their fate.
At the hearing Thursday night, Judge Lawson Clark accepted the
settlement between Craig Cook and a neighbor, Robert Miller.
Miller had called police several times during the past year regarding
Cook's barking dogs. His calls led police to issue Cook six tickets
since last April.
According to the settlement, Cook was fined $50 and agreed to keep his
dogs inside most of the time and board them at a kennel when his family
goes out of town.
Previous efforts to satisfy his neighbor included the purchase of bark
shock collars.
"We just wanted to be at peace with our neighbors," said Cook, who
approached Miller Thursday to work out the settlement. "It's more
important to be at peace than to make a point."
[Thats probably what his neighbors want. What does this idiot know of
peace]
Cook said he will continue to pursue amendments to the town's current
animal ordinance. He would like it to require more than one household to
file a complaint before police act, and he wants it to call for a police
officer to measure the decibel level.
[So thoughtful of this evil, selfish puke to want to amend a
community-protection law to HIS own benefit so he can torture and ruin
his neighbors lives even MORE!! Doesen't MATTER how many households
complain, NOISE is NOISE. Some residents may be oblivious, have hearing
loss, or have their TV's turned up 900 decibels so they don't HEAR it.
Maybe they're gone a lot, maybe they LIKE noise..
Decibels aren't the whole issue EITHER. NOISE is NOISE. Something
doesen't have to be loud to be annoying or a nuisance or worse]
He also is seeking a better explanation of terms used in the ordinance,
such as defining persistent barking.
[Barking doesen't have to be consistently, absolutely PERSISTENT to be a
major nuisance/disruption.]
The town's Safety Board discussed his amendments Wednesday but made no
decisions. President Dick Crane said he wanted to wait on the judge's
ruling.
The judge did not comment on the town's animal ordinance during the
hearing. He did, however, commend Cook and Miller for working together
on a settlement. He also left Cook with a stern warning.
"The responsibility in this matter is yours," he told Cook. "If the
court becomes aware of any future problems, this agreement will end, and
it will result in a stricter fine."
Euclid
get along with each other, a problem which goes back to the earliest
recorded history in the bible, and other sources. So they developed dogs to
bark at their neighbors, and warn them when their neighbors were in the
vicinity. Of course dogs served other purposes too, such as warning about
dangerous wild beasts, as well as being a warm companion on a cold night in
the cave. The dogs aren't to blame. They were bred that way.
I think it's clear that a dog which barks excessively is being mistreated by
the owner. Its not a happy dog, and the owner is responsible. The owner must
do whatever is necessary to quiet the dog, or the dog should be taken away.
-E
"Propeller Heller" <Small_Pla...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:14211-403...@storefull-3211.bay.webtv.net...
Propeller Heller
Dogs are part of the age-old noise war between neighbors. Neighbors
seldom get along with each other, a problem which goes back to the
earliest recorded history in the bible, and other sources. So they
developed dogs to bark at their neighbors, and warn them when their
neighbors were in the vicinity. Of course dogs served other purposes
too, such as warning about dangerous wild beasts, as well as being a
warm companion on a cold night in the cave. The dogs aren't to blame.
They were bred that way.
I think it's clear that a dog which barks excessively is being
mistreated by the owner. Its not a happy dog, and the owner is
responsible. The owner must do whatever is necessary to quiet the dog,
or the dog should be taken away. -E
So many people neglect their pets [and say "F.U." to their neighbors]
[or are they neglecting their neighbors, too?] letting them become
terribly stressful/disruptive to others. It
seems the only thing some of these bozo's understand is $$$$ -- i.e. a
fine. I wonder if they even care if Fido or Fidette the Terrible
[Nuisances] are removed.
Too bad they don't understand being responsible and decent neighbors/pet
owners.
Micbloo
No but some no life clown who cannot afford a REAL computer is.