Expert: Robin Flynn - 8/15/2007

Question
What rights do pet owners have against neighbors falsely accussing dog of barking.  We have been sited a $92 ticket for the second time. the first we pursued in court,taking 3 days off work. had neighborhood documentation that our dog is not a nuisance provided to the city attorney at which time the accusing neighbor dropped the case,at this time we were unfortunately forced to use a bark collar in fear of having more complaints from this neighbor. It is a year later and we are being harrassed again.  When sited the second ticket, we were greeted by two police officers upon arriviing home.  If we were to take the case to court the officer said he would have to testify that the dog was barking upon their arrival. Of course because there were two strange men with loud radios and flash lights snooping around! Our dog had a bark collar on at this time, which we hate to do. We again asked our surrounding neighbors of the night of the incident,they again replied they did not hear the dog barking out of control until the police arrived. Our dog does not bark for unwarrented reasons.  He is not left alone outside for more than 3-4 hours at a time. We have lived here for 15 years always with a dog. Our neighbor only 2 years. This neighbor also had previously harrassed our neighbor until she was forced to give up her dog due to threats from the humane society. This dog was not a nuisence either. We have several incidents in the neighborhood, drunk sitting on neighbors porch, police were called.  School windows just two blocks away vandalized. Our truck was also broke into one week previously. Police did not appear concerned about this.  We are responsible pet owners. We live in Rapid City, South Dakota. Oh yeah, this complaining neighbor has a dog that barks if and when she is ever left outside.  Any advise would be appreciated.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Denise,

These situations can be very tricky because its one word against another.  I am not an attorney but I can tell you what I would do in this case. First, I would call the local SPCA and ask to speak to someone who has your dogs best interest at heart. Tell them your story and let them know you are being harassed. Provide them with documentation from the other neighbors who do not hear the dog barking and ask them to visit. If the neighbor has a history of  targeting dog owners the SPCA may help. However, if the neighbor is a dog lover and feels the dog is being neglected in any way then the SPCA will more than likely side with the neighbor. You said you are responsible pet owners so this shouldn’t apply. Next I would install a video camera [this technique can be costly for external security systems but you can also find less expensive options. Such as placing a video camera in a window and direct it towards the area where the dog resides to record the dogs actions. Start recordings when you are not home]. The video could work as a deterrent. Lastly, I would never use a bark collar on my dog. I have seen horrible injury cases with these collars. Sadly, there are people in his world who just don’t like dogs or who just love to complain, it gives them something to do. If your neighbor is one of those people she/he may not stop with the dog she/he may find others things to complain about so be mindful of this.  Some people are driven crazy by neighbors like this and eventually move anyway from the harrasement. I’m sure none of this seems fair and you shouldn’t have to defend your dog if he/she didn’t do anything wrong but as you know life isn’t fair. From what I have read it looks like it is very hard for a neighbor to win a battle against a dog barking case [in your case it isn’t even true]. Please visit this link:  
http://www.barkingdogs.net/barkinglaws.shtml Im surprised that they issued you a ticket. I would fight it in court and get advise from an attorney as to how you can stop these complaints going forward.
I have also included several legal links that may help you. The first is a free law resource and the second is the Animal League Defense Fund. They list resources that may help you if this goes to court. I would also pose this question in the allexperts legal section.  I hope it works out and you are able to remove the shock collar. If you have any additional questions I’m happy to help.  

http://www.thelaw.com/
http://www.aldf.org/resources/resources.php?pid=7&tpid=5

For the animals,
Robin