The letter I wrote to the neighbor with the barking dog

[Lilyhoney]

My husband just walked it over for me and gave it to the man I mention below who just folded the letter. Who knows if he will read it or not. I also sent a printed copy of the city ordinance.

I hope they can be more mindful of the dog. It is an older Doberman who had a hind led injury and wears the cone of shame. The yard is full of construction debris and the dog is having a really hard time getting around. They have only lived there for a few months and we haven't really met them yet.

I don't want to call Animal Control but if the barking keeps up then I will have to.




Dear Neighbor,
Hello, we are the neighbors that live behind you. I am writing to you today to address the issue we are having with your dog barking non-stop for extended periods of time multiple times a day. It is really disturbing to hear this day after day. The barking is done early in the morning and at late hours of the evening and all times in between.
I came to your house a couple of weeks ago to ask if you could let your dog in the house because it had been barking for three hours straight. The gentleman whom I spoke with at the door told me it wasn't his dog, that is was his mom’s and she was at the hospital and I would have to talk to her about it when she got home. I asked one more time if he would bring the dog in and he gave me the same response. I explained that I did not want to but that I would call Animal Control to handle the matter. He closed the door in my face. But on the upside, he did let the dog in. For that I am thankful.
We know the dog is a good dog. We feel bad as we watch it stumble about the yard. We also feel bad that it barks for extended periods of time because we know this is stressful to the animal. We don’t doubt your love for or the ability to care for the dog. Maybe you can’t hear it barking, we don’t know.
We work from home and need to concentrate. We have a small child that can’t sleep because the dog barks. It is hard to relax in the tub to relive the chronic pains we have to cope with. Your dog barking is disturbing to our life in many areas.
Please be more considerate to us; your neighbors who mean no ill will toward you. The limit to how long you can let your dog bark is a maximum of ten minutes. As I type this it has been forty-three minutes of nonstop barking.
Please let your dog in.

Thank You,
Your Neighbors

[Lilyhoney]

1. I not going to post and run but

my husband is about to have a conference call so I am going to take my son to the tub. I will be back.



Lilyhoney

[seveneyes]

2. Dear Abby

[Auggie]

3. Best advice I've ever heard ...

you take the guy to small claims court. A constantly barking dog lowers property values, so you have a case. If the barking persists, then your husband takes the guy to small claims court the following week. If you can get your neighbors to pitch in you can continually harass the guy until he addresses the issue. Last thing he probably wants is to be dragged into court again and again just to deal with this dog that he obviously doesn't care about it.

The downside is that you have to hope he doesn't take out any potential anger on the animal. That is a big risk, IMO.

Poor thing is lonely and anxious. Maybe you can volunteer to dog-sit at your house for a few hours? Or adopt, temporarily?

[Lilyhoney]

6. We rent. Our property values couldn't get any lower.

As for small claims, we are talking about people who are lucky to have a roof over their heads.

I have a 12 year old dog who does not like other female dogs. Plus I have a small child that I would not want a hurt, strange dog around.

Thank you for your suggestions and thoughtfulness.



Lilyhoney

[Skittles]

4. am I the only one who tosses them a chew toy?

[Lilyhoney]

5. I keep wanting to toss beanie babies into the cone of shame

to turn it into the cone of happiness.

I am against feeding other peoples dogs as I do not want them feeding my dog anything.

I have tried to verbally command the dog to lay down and have sssshhhhhhuuusssshhheeeddd the dog as pleasantly as I possibly could to no avail.

Raw-hides are kind of expensive even if I buy ones made in China, but again, I won't buy those for my dog. And the dog has the cone of shame so unless I can toss it directly into the dogs mouth it would be tortured not being able to get at it. Honestly though, the dog just wants in the house to lay down it's tired painful body with the people it loves.

[Skittles]

8. animals with cones can get very creative when retrieving a treat

I've seen them in action

anyways, I meant a chew toy, not a food toy

[mackerel]

11. I always throw food over but a chew toy is a great idea.

[avebury]

7. From what you describe, you actually have 2 issues, a neighbor with debris all over his

lawn and the barking dog.

You might consider calling your town/city code enforcement office. If code enforcement can see how bad the backyard looks the city/town might be able to cite the homeowner for the debris. I can tell you that where I live, a yard full of debris would probably get written up and the homeowner given a time period to clean up the yard or the fines would start. Here you can even go on line and file your complaint and request an update on the outcome. Debris all over the lawn represent a hazard plus that in and of itself can negatively impact home values. I would be really concerned about the danger the debris poses to the dog.

Does your neighbor provide some type of doghouse outside for the dog? Adequate food and water? Where I live, you are required to provide adequate shelter for an animal kept outside. If the dog does not have adequate shelter that, combined with the debris and endless barking would be grounds to file a complaint with Animal Control. If the family is not properly taking care of this dog, you are not doing that dog any favor if you don't speak up for it to Animal Control.

[Lilyhoney]

15. I thought about calling code enforcement

once all the snow melted and I got the pleasure to see all the junk and construction debris that is still there from last summer.

Then a couple of weeks ago a guy was there doing some finish work on the eaves. I mentioned the yard to him and he said he would clean it up if they paid him. His work is done now and he is gone. So I am back to thinking about calling the city. But maybe I will address the issue with the residents, they rent so I don't know if they care or not.

Maybe I will bake some cupcakes, take them over and try to have a conversation. I'm trying to be a good neighbor.

There is no food, water or shelter for the dog in the yard. The weather has been good enough that that has not been a worry for me. But it is about to get hot here in northern Illinois.

[avebury]

16. A rental - that puts an even different spin on the matter.

You might consider contacting the property owner who may or may now realize how trashed his/her yard is. The tenants might pose a liability issue for the property owner. Furthermore if the dog is injured, in pain and manages to get out, the dog may pose a risk to the people in the area if it lashed out at someone. You might want to ask the property owner just how much liability insurance that he/she has on the property and if he/she will be able to afford to pay any fines for code enforcement violations.

As to the dog, I would definitely start to document (video or pictures) the conditions that the dog is having to deal with. You just can't focus on hot weather but cold weather too. Illinois can have some really nasty weather in the winter. If it were me, I would not even think twice about calling Animal Control. You are not doing that dog any favors by not doing so. In my last home, I had neighbors that had Animal Control take away every animal they had because everyone was calling Animal Control on them the conditions were so bad for the animals. I ended up going to the shelter and adopting their cat because he was such a nice cat and would have been put to sleep if I didn't adopt him.

[Lilyhoney]

19. I'm going to see if I can contact the owners of the house

so I can talk to them about the yard. Thanks for helping me make up my mind. Maybe the residents would be happy to have help from a neighbor to help get the yard cleaned up. I am sure they would like to be able to enjoy their yard.

[avebury]

22. The biggest issue for the property owner is potential liability

issue and he/she cannot even be guaranteed that his/her tenants won't ever sue him/her at some point for whatever reason. In a society where fewer and fewer people take responsibility for their own actions, there is greater and greater numbers of people suing others instead.

If the city hands out any citations, the property owner will probably be the one stuck with them because he/she is the owner of record.

In addition, if the lawn is that trashed with junk it becomes hard to mow. One of the biggest citations (dollar wise) where I live is related to overgrown lawns.

[lovemydog]

9. Those kinds of inconveniences can be so irritating.

Good luck Lilyhoney. Let us know how it goes.

[Lilyhoney]

18. Thanks for posting

Please see my follow up posts on this thread.

[underahedgerow]

10. Your best bet is that call to Animal Control. As the dog is injured the request could be both the

barking dog nuisance and a check on the welfare of the animal, that it's got proper food and shelter and that it's getting proper medical care.

Poor doggie, she must be so sad and miserable and lonely. The AC officer will also counsel the neighbor on providing better care for the beastie, and maybe that will sink in. I can't abide hearing a dog barking for hours on end, I'd be climbing the walls, you must be utterly miserable!

If the file is opened and the condition of the dog deteriorates AC will at least have a record to start with on possibly taking the pooch into their care and re-homing her.

[Lilyhoney]

17. The barking woke me from a nap yesterday.

My son and I are sick, we were napping and the barking woke me and him. I was like WTF! I am also 48,000 words into writing an 80,000 word novel. It is so hard to think with the dog barking, especially because I can see and hear the dog from my desk. The weather is finally nice enough to open windows. But then I have to close them to concentrate. The other day I was going to write the barking dog into my story but I was focused on the scene I was writing, but I still might write it in.

Calling AC is still an option if the dog keeps being a nuisance. The barking ordinance says something to the effect that 'if the barking bothers a reasonable person' so the letter I wrote and delivered is how I am trying to establish that I am a reasonable person. First a polite request, then a letter, next I will record/video the endless barking which is when I will call AC to step in.

I don't want to cause the neighbor to be fined money they just don't have. I would feel bad.

[marzipanni]

12. If the guy's mother is out of the hospital,

is she recovering at your neighbor's house? I doubt that she would want to hear her dog barking.If she can't take care of her dog, and her son doesn't like having a dog, perhaps a new home can be found for it.
What happened in the last few hours; did they let the dog stay in the house during the evening


Edited to add: Some people on a Pet Forum Facebook group have recommended this to quiet a neighbor's barking dog-

http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Outdoor-Ultrasonic-Bark-Deterrent/dp/B000UZNLGA

[raccoon]

13. Thanks for that link! I had this problem years ago, living right next to

neighbors with a little terrier that barked at everything that moved, and had a
loud, shrill, piercing bark.

OP, best of luck to you and your family.

[Lilyhoney]

14. The woman just let the dog out

She brought the dog out this morning and she stayed with it until it went potty then she brought it back in the house. I know this because the view from my office and desk is of their back door and yard which is where I was sitting at the time.

They did keep the dog in the house for the rest of the night last night as well.

I hope they keep up the mindfulness.

I think the mother might work at the hospital, I don't know for sure though.

[malthaussen]

20. We have a similar problem in our apartment...

... a neighbor's dog begins barking as soon as the neighbor goes to work, and basically doesn't stop until she comes home. Except for brief breaks, I guess so the mutt can catch his breath. I fortunately don't hear it back in my room, but it makes the living room uninhabitable.

At times like this, I just channel Billy Collins:

"Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House"

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

-- Mal

[Lilyhoney]

21. I feel for you.

There must be something you can do.

Thanks for posting, I really enjoyed the image of the the dog in the orchestra.

[LeftinOH]

23. I had that problem when I lived in an apartment-

I worked nights and slept during the day. The upstairs neighbor was gone all day, and the dog barked NON-STOP ALL. DAY. LONG. I complained to the apartment management, which did nothing. I left a note and said the noise had to cease or I would call animal control.

Then it happened again with a next door neighbor. The neighbor worked nights (and I work days). The dog was left alone in a dark, quiet the house all night long. And it barked ALL. NIGHT. LONG.

While I am not a dog lover, I know that many dogs cannot stand complete silence. They need to have some ambient noise - like leaving the TV on at low volume..or even just a radio at low volume. Also it helps to leave a light on if it's going to be dark outside.

[reneealanis22]

24. thanks

thanks for writing this. I changed some of the wording to fit my situation and i am going to put this letter on 2 of my neighbors' doors!! I hope this works!! i cant believe someone could just let their dogs keep barking for hours and not know!!! thanks for posting this!!!