I live in marginal peace. Doggers
within a half block radius know better than to tone up the
neighborhood with their yard barkers... pursuant to the 2 year
conflict with the foaming at the mouth raving dognuts across the
street. They would LIKE to tone everyone else up, but they know I
won't let them get away with it.
However, if you increase that radius to
say, 3 blocks you get into some serious AC issues. If I step outside
at any time in a 24 hour period, it is impossible to NOT hear a dog
bark. I literally see off leash dogs on a daily basis.
I don't bother complaining for the
primary reason that I am burnt out on that, and again I have at least
marginal peace in the home... I can sleep through the night and do my
work without interruption. I am sure these other doggers are making
their immediate neighbor's life pure hell but that is a battle for
them to fight, not me.
This is an intermediate essay regarding
the Klonda Richey incident. I have been reading the facebook pages,
blogs, news websites and the like regarding the incident. Not
surprisingly, I see a trend in the comments indirectly blasting those
who make complaints.
Here are some good ones from the
Montgomery
County Animal Resource Center:
Heather
Coleman How long did you stay and watch? Most loose dogs don't
hang around at home...but do come back shortly...yeah
90% of these complaints come from pissy neighbors with too much time
on their hands, but you are out there for that time
that there is a legitimate complaint, like this one. Hope this is a
wake up call to everyone.
Deborah
Koehler Agree with Christina, some people use the ACO to harass
neighbors regarding their pets.
Yup, thats right
Heather – in spite of the fact that neighborhoods all over the
world have an epidemic of barking, biting, dog off leash, and dog
crap everywhere, a full NINETY PERCENT of such complaints are false!
All I hear are barking dogs, but I'll just go ahead and FABRICATE a
complaint since I am just a nasty dog-hating Nazi.
Tell you what
Heather – come to my block and throw a rock... there is probably a
90% chance you will hit a nuisance barker, dog off leash, dog
behaving dangerously, dog destroying property, or a dog shitting on
someone else's lawn. How is that for a great statistic??
The absurdity of
Heather's statement is compounded by the fact that, in most places,
it is next to impossible to prosecute a dog owner for ANY bad
behavior. This is based on the First Principle that all dogs are
wonderful and all dog owners are Noble. Anybody who does not love
Fido unconditionally is a bad person, and all dogs and dog owners are
by definition justified in ALL of their actions.
Seriously, if I
were to harass a neighbor I would use ANYTHING other than a dog
complaint. Dog owners are given a pass on just about everything.
Authorities go WAY out of their way to protect dogs and their owners.
Their overclass status is nearly rock solid. It would be,
literally, the path of MOST resistance. I'd be the knife wielder at
a gun fight. Only a complete idiot would pursue that avenue.
I submit the polar
opposite: For every complaint, there are 10 offenses: A bare
minimum of 90% of offenses go unreported due to the facts that:
Authorities don't give a shit, doggers are neighborhood bullies
backed by the State, and endless propaganda that everyone has to love
Fido no matter what.
Yeah, we are all a
bunch of cranks and liars and Fido is just absolutely perfect.
So absolutely true. The last call I made to AC to complain about a robo-barker I was told point blank that there was nothing they could do about it. And this is in a decent neighborhood in one of the richest cities in the U.S.
ReplyDelete" Dog owners are given a pass on just about everything."
ReplyDeleteI have always felt that statement was true about cat owners. Cats are given a pass to trespass all over private property, urinate and defecate on private property, kill native wildlife and leave the rotting remains on private property, yowl in the middle of the night when fighting or mating, reproduce like bunnies, transport fleas, ticks, mites, and lice onto private property, the list goes on. Yet, I never hear a word spoken against poor innocent kitty, and if you do say a word against kitty, you get labeled an animal hating fiend!
I think that there should be a booklet written up that all prospective dog and CAT owners have to read and then a written test taken (just like a driver's permit) and passed before one can get a license to acquire the pet.
The booklet would include information about keeping one's pet (dog and CAT) on one's OWN PROPERTY, unless secured on a leash or in a fenced yard (CAT fencing is available nowadays,) the necessity of cleaning up feces, not permitting excessive barking, the list goes on, but I think we all get the point.
I intend to write an essay about extended cat barking soon: Its a huge problem that needs to be solved. Also, cats running into the street attacking passerby, ripping off arms and legs, etc... are also a big problem. Seriously, I really hate it when I walk down the street and someone's cat charges the fence barking its head off... it can be heard for blocks.
ReplyDelete"Cats are given a pass to trespass all over private property, urinate and defecate on private property, kill native wildlife and leave the rotting remains on private property, yowl in the middle of the night when fighting or mating, reproduce like bunnies, transport fleas, ticks, mites, and lice onto private property, the list goes on."
ReplyDeleteduring the first years in my house, i had more problems with cats than dogs. i had one screaming and hanging onto the window screen trying to get to my cat. i've had to go outside in the middle of the night, get the garden hose and chase off the fighting screaming tom cats. not enough time to get into all of the property damage... but when pit bulls started to become popular, i started having less and less problems with cats. hmmm.....
more and more cities are including cats in their leash laws.
ReplyDeletelooking forward to your cat essay.
from my other favorite blogger :
And I'm an animal lover. Ninty percent of the dogs I've had, have been pound pups. But my sympathy for random dog X ends right at my property line.
that goes for random cat x too.
There are some annoying barkers in my neighborhood. In all of the stupid things people's dogs have done, I have complained exactly one time in my entire life. I didn't complain because these particular dogs do not seem to be dangerous. So, I agree... most people do not complain. Also, any complainer who is also afraid should be taken much more seriously. Because that is an unusual situation where a dog is actually doing something to scare the person rather than staying in its own yard and just barking.
ReplyDeleteMy last barking wake-up call was during the wee hours of last weekend. So I called animal control. This was after yelling "SHUT UP!" out of my bedroom window.
ReplyDeleteI'm hearing a lot less barking. Wonder if animal control's Sternly Worded Letter did the trick. Or was it my yelling?
Anon @10:16. I think that many people are afraid of the dog owner - even if the dog is not dangerous, the owner might be. Again, in scenarios such as these you are dealing with someone who is not much more than an animal themselves.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some people are afraid of the dog's owner.
ReplyDeleteIn my case, I am not really afraid of them. But, I do not wish to create ill will within the neighborhood.
The dog I complained about repeatedly got into my trash. He made quite a habit of coming into my yard and leaving dog poop. He is a nice dog... although very stupid. I will say that since I complained, his owners have done a good job of keeping him in their yard. I think maybe they didn't realize how much of a problem he had become for other people.
But, even in that case, I hesitated to complain even though they are not mean people. I had gotten a container for my trash which the trash guys summarily tossed in the truck and crushed up the first time I used it causing me to have to get yet another one. Until this dog's shennigans, I was able to set my trash out in just a trash bag.
He'd gotten to where he'd spread trash all over the place even with the trash can. They have a fenced yard, but weren't using it for some reason. I guess I wasn't the only complainer since they really seem to have taken steps to make their dog less of a nuisance.
My father used to always say, "A dog in town is nothing but a nuisance." He grew up on a farm where dogs had a purpose. And he could understand people keeping an indoor small breed dog for companionship.
When I was younger, I thought he was being too strict. Now, I think he was exactly right.
It seems dogs in town do little else besides bark their heads off all hours, spread trash around and get into things, poop everywhere, run in front of cars potentially causing accidents, and worse of all.. if they're loose they can get into packs with other dogs. And some dogs are mean all by themselves and then they get loose...
Neighbors whose yappy pug drove me to the point of hiring a lawyer have moved on from dogs. I just heard the rooster in their back yard and guess what? Roosters are illegal within our city limits.
ReplyDeleteAnd guess what else? Our city has an anonymous code violation reporting form that really works. I've used it for all sorts of code violations in this nabe. Aho neighbors, your rooster just got reported. Buh-bye, rooster.
It's a shame that barking dogs aren't given the same priority. Wee hours barking is every bit as annoying as those predawn cock-a-doodle-doos.
So, its going to be chicken stew at your place this weekend?
Delete