Civil court action over barking dog

Ninjamog

Hi all,

Just wondering has any one ever gone down the route of bringing a neighbour to court over a barking dog causing a nuisance?

And I so, how do you get on?

barbiegirl

Hi Ninjamog,
Have you tried talking to the neighbours and all the usual channels first? This topic has been discussed on here many times and I have yet to see anyone who was successful going down the legal route.
You need a lot of evidence such as recordings and measurements of the length and duration. You have to be absolutely certain you are targetting the right dog and if possible a couple of neighbours should come together.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. If one of my neighbours had an issue with my dog, I would hope they would come and speak to me before doing anything else at all.

Indricotherium

Ninjamog wrote: »

Hi all,

Just wondering has any one ever gone down the route of bringing a neighbour to court over a barking dog causing a nuisance?

And I so, how do you get on?

What solution would you hope for from the court?

Ninjamog

Indricotherium wrote: »

What solution would you hope for from the court?

Honestly, I just want the owner to take responsibility for the care and welfare of the dog.

It's quite obviously from the whining, crying and barking, all day, morning, noon and especially night, that this poor creature is not being cared for properly. He is unhappy. That much is blatantly obvious.

The dog barks all night long,

I have recordings of the noise he makes all night. Keeping a whole bunch of my neighbours and myself awake right through the night.

Dogs bark, I get that, but there comes a point when enough is enough.

I haven't slept right through the night in weeks.

And to be honest. I don't think these would be the kind of people I can approach.

Neighbourhood has a rep for being a bit on the rough side.

And if they were nice considerate people, don't you think this wouldn't be an issue?

The dog warden has been in touch on several occasions now and seems they are getting no where.

It's such a touchy subject and seems there is no real resolution.

It's just sad is all. That this poor animal is going to spend the winter freezing his ass off and being ignored!

Ninjamog

Oh and to add a point, taking someone to court really is the very last thing I want to do,

I just don't know what to do any more.

Like I previously said. I am being deprived of my basic right of sleep for weeks on end.

I now slept on the sofa!

barbiegirl

I really do wish you luck. It can be very hard to get a successful resolution and it is and always will be the dog who suffers. Depending on where you are should the warden take the dog he may not get a chance to be rehomed, if the pound won't work with rehoming groups.
The ideal would be the dog being rehomed to someone who will care about it, and you getting a good nights sleep.

andreac

I really would approach the owner first in a pleasant manner and explain your problem. You never know, they might take your issue serious and do something about it.
How do they know there is even a problem if no one has contacted them?

I think its very unfair to speak about a court action when you havent even spoken to the owners first.

Ninjamog

andreac wrote: »

I really would approach the owner first in a pleasant manner and explain your problem. You never know, they might take your issue serious and do something about it.
How do they know there is even a problem if no one has contacted them?

I think its very unfair to speak about a court action when you havent even spoken to the owners first.

The dog warden has tried to speak with them with regards the matter a few times with no response. Why would I be any different?

I'm trying to be as fair as possible.

Trust me in not trying to be mean or make enemies by any means.

The reason I have enquired (never said I was actually going to bring them to court) about court was to see how it works. If at the last resort I may have to go down that route.

I'm still just looking into my options. That's all.

andreac

Sorry i didnt see the part where the warden has spoken to them already. Well if thats the case then you probably have no choice, but i cant comment on possible outcomes with a court case.

Just wondering, do you rent or own? If you rent, maybe you could look into moving or speak to your landlord and ask them to contact the people directly.

DBB

I posted earlier when arghhhhhh my laptop did something odd and I lost the post... damn computers!
Anyway, I'm inclined to think that we don't often hear about successful or unsuccessful resolutions to these cases simply because it's actually quite rare for a perosn to bring it all the way to court. It is a difficult thing to do, not just because the onus is on you to gather evidence, but it is bound to put quite a strain on neighbourly relations. You don't have to get on with your neighbours, but if you're held responsible for causing them bother, they can make life rather uncomfortable for you, without ever breaking the law, as such.
OP, you've clearly gone to a fair bit of trouble to gather evidence already, and although it is best practise for the complainant to try to resolve the issue locally before going official, the fact that the dog wardens have been out several times could absolve you from having to take this step. The dog wardens can also act as credible witnesses to back up your case.
Have the local SPCA been out to chat with the owners? They may, just may be able to talk the owners into surrendering the dog, which would surely lead to the best outcome for the dog: a new home which would presumably be pre-vetted.
If it goes to court, the judge may order that the dog is rehomed, usually as long as one or other party pleads for sparing the dog. However, if the worst comes to the worst, the destruction of the dog can be ordered... and unpopular an opinion as this may be, if the dog is really living such a miserable life where he is as OP indicates, perhaps this wouldn't be the worst fate for the poor oul dog.:(

jackofalltrades

andreac wrote: »

Sorry i didnt see the part where the warden has spoken to them already. Well if thats the case then you probably have no choice, but i cant comment on possible outcomes with a court case.

Just wondering, do you rent or own? If you rent, maybe you could look into moving or speak to your landlord and ask them to contact the people directly.

Bit of an extreme move for the OP.
That and the dog would still be distressed and the neighbours still wouldn't get any peace. The only "winner" is the ignorant dog owner who sees his/her tactic of ignore problems working.

dpofloinn

Have you tried contacting the ISPCA with your concerns over the dogs welfare they may be able to handle the situation

Ninjamog

dpofloinn wrote: »

Have you tried contacting the ISPCA with your concerns over the dogs welfare they may be able to handle the situation

The dog warden is from the SPCA.

Unfortunately I own my property so moving is gona be a bit of a difficult one... Recession, negative equity, all that, but that's another story ha!

In my opinion the best resolution is just for the owners to take the dog in, maybe buy him a comfy bed, have a snuggle every now and then...

But then again, chances of that happening are slim.

Look I live in hope. And appreciate everyone's input on the subject.

And yup I suppose not many people have gone down the court role because at the end of the day, who wants to be that person?

Oh and p.s the dog warden has told me (several times incase I didn't hear him I suppose) he does not have the power to take the dog away.

Which, leads me to the question, how bad does a situation have to be before that happens?

Indricotherium

Ninjamog wrote: »

The dog warden is from the SPCA.

Unfortunately I own my property so moving is gona be a bit of a difficult one... Recession, negative equity, all that, but that's another story ha!

In my opinion the best resolution is just for the owners to take the dog in, maybe buy him a comfy bed, have a snuggle every now and then...

But then again, chances of that happening are slim.

Look I live in hope. And appreciate everyone's input on the subject.

And yup I suppose not many people have gone down the court role because at the end of the day, who wants to be that person?

Oh and p.s the dog warden has told me (several times incase I didn't hear him I suppose) he does not have the power to take the dog away.

Which, leads me to the question, how bad does a situation have to be before that happens?

Well, you're supposing there that the dog is barking due to unhappiness or neglect. Some dogs just bark all day for no reason. I know my dog is fond of having the odd bark at a flowerpot, or a deckchair, or a bird that flys over the garden, or his reflection in a window, or his shadow. It's not due to neglect or mistreatment, dogs just do that, and as such, a dog warden would have no cause or jurisdction to intervene?

Ninjamog

Indricotherium wrote: »

Well, you're supposing there that the dog is barking due to unhappiness or neglect. Some dogs just bark all day for no reason. I know my dog is fond of having the odd bark at a flowerpot, or a deckchair, or a bird that flys over the garden, or his reflection in a window, or his shadow. It's not due to neglect or mistreatment, dogs just do that, and as such, a dog warden would have no cause or jurisdction to intervene?

That's fair enough. I'm aware dogs bark.
My original point is that when he does it at 3 in the morning and continues until 6, there is a problem. The dog is disturbing sleep and disturbing the peace.

He can bark all day long as far as I care, but when it keeps people awake at night thats a problem.

And honestly, I would be happier to think that he is
Being looked after and is just a bit bark happy.

Makes the problem easier to solve, keep him in at night... as the meerkats would say.... simples

Kukey

I know someone who was brought to court over his dogs barking by his neighbour.The neighbour lost his case & had to pay the costs.I have sympathy for you as there is nothing worse than listening to dogs constantly barking,especially during the night!!

sethasaurus

If you can't move, you need to do something.

I was in the same situation a year ago and it was really starting to drive me insane. Fortunately, the landlord decided to sell and we had to find another rental.
I had already written letters and hand-delivered them to the neighbour, and he was well aware of my frustration, but at the same time, couldn't give a **** when the dog started barking again. He would happily mow his tiny lawn ( a process that took over an hour) while the dog followed him around and barked constantly.

The guy was a retired judge, so I guess he knew how much he could get away with. I had several 'conversations' with his wife and himself over the time I was there. Often they ended with him telling me "ah, shut up, will ya?". The irony. After a while, I decided not to get mad about it, but I was going to hassle him every time his dog hassled me.

That ultimately didn't work either, but it was really going to be make or break, and I can tell you, there were dreams of jumping the fence with a knife and taking care of the problem myself!

My other option was the courts. I had a log of dates and times the barking happened, copies of letters to him, etc and videos of the lawnmowing incidents and a muddy, soaked dog stranded in the rain on a concrete pad, next to it's undersized kennel (which it didn't use).

The court system is supposed to be there to enforce some responsibility when it is lacking. I would take the bugger to court. i don't care if my neighbour is nice or not. Everybody is nice - so what?. Not everybody is nice AND does the right thing, so unfortunately, you have to tell them.

You are entitled to peace and privacy in your own home, so go get it.

PS Make sure you write letters to the neighbour (keep a copy), try to sort it out first if possible, but keep as much documentation as you can - that is your ammo in a courtroom.

tk123

sethasaurus wrote: »

After a while, I decided not to get mad about it, but I was going to hassle him every time his dog hassled me.

This came to mind when I was reading the OP - I think I'd be temped to go and bang their door down at 3:00am and ask them to bring the dog in! If they started losing sleep they might reconsider the dogs living arrangements - I know from experience when neighbours had me blocked into the drive and overheard me mentioning (you can hear thru the walls here) that I was on call that night and may have to go to work at 3:00am the car would magically move to somewhere else on the road

billytheduck

I am following the thread regarding nuisance dog barking and wonder has the original poster actually been to court over this issue? We are at the same stage ourselves and would love to know the outcome.

We had great relations with our next door neighbours for years, actually looked after their two lovely dogs for over 6 years on holidays, when they away etc. Around Jan 2015, they started barking 4.30 AM onwards, I am an animal lover, have always had dogs (among other animals) and am well aware that "dogs bark", it is continuous non stop barking at all hours day & night that is causing us to be near meltdown.

We did all that was advised, we approached the owners, who freely admitted they realised the problem and would do something about it. Unfortunately that was not the case and having approached them nicely over four times, it getting to the angry stage. I've been out asking them to shut the dogs up at 5.40 AM !!! And getting riled I have to admit. Obviously all neighbourly friendliness has disappeared.

It is a huge pity that there is nothing between talking to the neighbours and going to court. We DID contact the ISPCA to no avail telling us it is a noise nuisance problem and to contact the Dept of the Environment. Have done that - awaiting reply for weeks now !!!
The neighbours have last week completely denied (in a text) that there is any problem at all and are taking legal advice over OUR behaviour ???????

As animal lovers we have let this go for over a year and a half as we are well aware that the animals may be taken away, but it has reached the stage where if it doesn't stop I for one will locked up for lack of sleep. I have recordings & dates & times.

Please have anyone out there been here and had a successful solution through the courts?

Thanks

Ms Doubtfire1

I don't think you'd even get as far as court in all fairness- this is a civil matter, not a criminal matter. This also seems to be a behavioral problem, and one that only rose it's ugly head 'recently'.something causes the dogs to bark.if my boy barks, he's trying to alert me to something. Any more details?where are the dogs kept? inside or outside during the night?

billytheduck

This is not a "recent" problem. We have tried every single avenue before resorting to court. Have been suffering this for over a year and a half, and as already stated the only reason we haven't taken it to court already is for the sake of the dogs, not the neighbours. We are avid animal lovers and understand dogs completely. The dogs are barking because they are bored, never walked, never played with, and also want to be let out as "they do not like messing their run" this is a quote from the owner. The poor animals are locked up at least 10 hours per day, and I wonder if they don't like to mess their run, what they do for these ten hours. Although this is a cruelty issue, apparently it is borderline as the dogs are fed and watered.

The reason they bark is of no consequence to us anymore, heartbroken as we are to say that, all the advice we have been given is to go to civil court, and the judge decides whether or not this constitutes a nuisance, if the judge deems it does the dogs will more than likely be taken away. What I am wondering is has anyone ever taken this route, what happens in court, and what is the most likely outcome?

billytheduck

This is not a "recent" problem. We have tried every single avenue before resorting to court. Have been suffering this for over a year and a half, and as already stated the only reason we haven't taken it to court already is for the sake of the dogs, not the neighbours. We are avid animal lovers and understand dogs completely. The dogs are barking because they are bored, never walked, never played with, and also want to be let out as "they do not like messing their run" this is a quote from the owner. The poor animals are locked up at least 10 hours per day, and I wonder if they don't like to mess their run, what they do for these ten hours. Although this is a cruelty issue, apparently it is borderline as the dogs are fed and watered.

The reason they bark is of no consequence to us anymore, heartbroken as we are to say that, all the advice we have been given is to go to civil court, and the judge decides whether or not this constitutes a nuisance, if the judge deems it does the dogs will more than likely be taken away. What I am wondering is has anyone ever taken this route, what happens in court, and what is the most likely outcome?

This is in Ireland.

Ms Doubtfire1

billytheduck wrote: »

This is not a "recent" problem. We have tried every single avenue before resorting to court. Have been suffering this for over a year and a half, and as already stated the only reason we haven't taken it to court already is for the sake of the dogs, not the neighbours. We are avid animal lovers and understand dogs completely. The dogs are barking because they are bored, never walked, never played with, and also want to be let out as "they do not like messing their run" this is a quote from the owner. The poor animals are locked up at least 10 hours per day, and I wonder if they don't like to mess their run, what they do for these ten hours. Although this is a cruelty issue, apparently it is borderline as the dogs are fed and watered.

The reason they bark is of no consequence to us anymore, heartbroken as we are to say that, all the advice we have been given is to go to civil court, and the judge decides whether or not this constitutes a nuisance, if the judge deems it does the dogs will more than likely be taken away. What I am wondering is has anyone ever taken this route, what happens in court, and what is the most likely outcome?

the court will most likely agree with you. The dogs will probably be put to sleep if not dealt with by the owner.below will give you some insight

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1986/act/32/section/25/enacted/en/html

Ms Doubtfire1

by the way, have you been in touch with the dogwarden? Where I am that really seems to work.Not sure where you are located?

DBB

It is overstating the case to say the dogs will most likely be put to sleep. It doesn't say anything in the legislation about euthanasia. It says that the judge may order that the dog(s) is handed over to the dog warden, from thereon to be treated like any surrendered dog.
That means the dog(s) can be rehomed. Of course, they may be pts pretty much straight away depending on which pound they're put into, but in many pounds they stand a great chance of being rehomed.
But even at that, surrendering the dog is an option only after the owners are given the chance to remedy the situation. Not that this is always a good thing for the dog(s).

Ms Doubtfire1

DBB wrote: »

It is overstating the case to say the dogs will most likely be put to sleep. It doesn't say anything in the legislation about euthanasia. It says that the judge may order that the dog(s) is handed over to the dog warden, from thereon to be treated like any surrendered dog.
That means the dog(s) can be rehomed. Of course, they may be pts pretty much straight away depending on which pound they're put into, but in many pounds they stand a great chance of being rehomed.
But even at that, surrendering the dog is an option only after the owners are given the chance to remedy the situation. Not that this is always a good thing for the dog(s).

you are absolutely correct.

recedite

Makes you wonder why some people keep dogs at all.
I was talking to a guy over the weekend whose two dogs were not housetrained because they were "too stupid" to train. For this reason, and because he didn't like dog hairs in the house, they were never allowed inside.
They are not a guard type breed either. Whats the point in a person like that having a dog at all? I think they must have got the dogs "for the kids" originally.

billytheduck

In this particular scenario, the dogs are about 7-8 years old. One cocker, one small pomeranian (with health issues) (I would have this little fella in by the fire, not stuck outside). For the first 2-3 years they were walked twice a day, groomed properly, played with (there are no kids in the house) and treated like a pet dog should be. Except never let in the house.

As in a lot of cases, the novelty wore off, the are now locked in a small run separated from each other by a small fence from 9-6 every single day, sometimes longer if the owners head out shopping or whatever they do. They would often be locked in from 9am to 10pm. The poor things bark excessively because they are bored & fed up. They are being treated just well enough for the ISPCA not to be able to do anything. The owners are too lazy to take the time to train them not to bark. Three and a half hours one evening the cocker howled & whined, wishing to be let out and have some company. With my own dogs over the years I would only have to knock on the window and they would cease barking, or if it was something really upsetting them & they didn't stop, I would bring them in. (Yes they were allowed inside but preferred outside). The animal laws in this country are non existent. The dog warden can call and speak to the owners, but has no powers to actually make them do something. So the only option seems to be court to let the judge decide. Thanks for all the responses & help

Ms Doubtfire1

I presume they wouldn't surrender the dogs to a rescue?

billytheduck

No chance of them surrendering the dogs. The dogs are two dotes (apart from the incessant early morning yapping), I would take them myself, this would not be taken up on either, it is looking more and more like stubbornness on the part of the dog owners who just don't like to be told that their dogs are not perfect

Ms Doubtfire1

billytheduck wrote: »

No chance of them surrendering the dogs. The dogs are two dotes (apart from the incessant early morning yapping), I would take them myself, this would not be taken up on either, it is looking more and more like stubbornness on the part of the dog owners who just don't like to be told that their dogs are not perfect

Bloody ***** :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: