animal control - what would you do?

[LuvMyPuppE]

okay, so my family and i recently moved into our new home which is not in the country per se (but may seem like country to others - depending on where you live)!

anyhow, it's different from the city where we did live as far as laws about burning trash/brush and things of that nature. most people around us own larger pieces of land - the houses aren't so close together. i guess this makes them think there is more leniency with their pets? i don't know.

anyhow - there is a dog the next house over that is outside all the time without a leash. it doesn't really bother me because it stays away when my kids are playing outside EXCEPT i find HUGE turds in my yard. it aggravates the crap (all pun intended) out of me. why? because i pick up my own 9 lb. dog's poop! if i pick up my dog's little turds out of the yard - i obviously don't want poop in the yard! one reason being because i think it's gross - the other reason being i don't want my kids or anyone else stepping in it.

another issue - i took my kids and my dog for a walk today and when we walked by the house where the dog is - the dog ran up to us. it didn't harm anyone, but my dog was scared to death - i had to pick her up. then, 3 other dogs (looked like pekignese pups to me) ran out barking. no fence, no leash - nothing.

it was annoying because i was taking my dog for a WALK, not taking her for a carry - which i had to do because of those dogs! it was also a distraction because my kids are young and i was having to pay attention to my dog - those dogs - and making sure my kids weren't going to get ran over by a car in the chaos.

i'm not one to "tell on people" but the poop in my yard is really annoying me. plus, i plan on walking my dog/kids every day down the street and don't want to deal with the dogs doing that every day.

if it were you, would you call animal control? what would you say?

[joeyandtanksmom]

I would maybe try to talk to the owners, and just let them know what's going on. If that doesn't stop the poop and bad supervision (or lack of...), I would call animal control and say that there was a dog being a nusiance (sp?), and that you had tried to talk to the owner, but it didn't help. Good luck!

[LuvMyPuppE]

i know - i'm kind of nervous about approaching the neighbors - being the new kid on the block and all. my husband grew up in this neighborhood and he said they aren't the easiest people to get along with.

they have lived here forever and would probably get defensive if i approached them. i'm guessing nobody else has a problem because

A)they don't have kids and/or walk their dogs by the house OR

B) they don't mind dog poop in their yard.

i just kind of figure someone who lets their dogs run loose doesn't have much regard for their neighbors anyway or their dogs for that matter. in the rare event i'm outside with my dog without a leash, i grab her if she starts to go to the neighbor's yard so she won't poop there. secondly, i don't want her to get ran over by a car or stolen! there's not a lot of traffic, but still, it could happen.

i just wonder if animal control would think my complaint was petty.

[Chili Dawg]

I'm sure the Animal Control folks get all sorts of calls and your call would not be considered petty. They see the ugly side of dog ownership all the time.

[maryeverett1]

In my experience people that live in the country have differing rules than people in the city...things are way more lax and they can get away with so much more! Here is an example: when my husband and I first met he lived in the "country" and loved there because he had a 100lb chocolate lab (that was his baby) and he wanted him to have room to roam. He would let haegan out for long periods of time and I questioned that and his safety but my husband said it was okay! One night we came home and haegan was not waiting for us like usual and did not come home. My husband refused to get upset thinking haegan was just exploring extra long. Morning came and haegan was still not home. We went looking for him and found him shot, dead and thrown out with the garbage on the side of the road by someone's house. When we approached the owner of the house they said that he was chasing chickens (which was a lie...haegan hated chickens.) we called animal control on this person and they did nothing actually stating that the rules are different in the country than city! The moral of the story is this! I would approach your neighbor in a friendly way and kindly discuss the problem! If you go about it in the wrong way you could risk something happening to your precious dogs. How anyone could shoot a dog and throw it out with the trash is beyond me! It's so cruel and heartless and my husband cried like a baby! The rules are unfortunately different in the country and if that person has lived there a long time chances are animal control will side with them! Not trying to be negative or scare you just want you to go the nice route if you can first! Sorry for the long post and the hideous story! Just wanted you to be aware of what happened to us and that animal control did nothing for us even in an extreme situation! Have a good evening!

[LuvMyPuppE]

Originally Posted by maryeverett1

In my experience people that live in the country have differing rules than people in the city...things are way more lax and they can get away with so much more! Here is an example: when my husband and I first met he lived in the "country" and loved there because he had a 100lb chocolate lab (that was his baby) and he wanted him to have room to roam. He would let haegan out for long periods of time and I questioned that and his safety but my husband said it was okay! One night we came home and haegan was not waiting for us like usual and did not come home. My husband refused to get upset thinking haegan was just exploring extra long. Morning came and haegan was still not home. We went looking for him and found him shot, dead and thrown out with the garbage on the side of the road by someone's house. When we approached the owner of the house they said that he was chasing chickens (which was a lie...haegan hated chickens.) we called animal control on this person and they did nothing actually stating that the rules are different in the country than city! The moral of the story is this! I would approach your neighbor in a friendly way and kindly discuss the problem! If you go about it in the wrong way you could risk something happening to your precious dogs. How anyone could shoot a dog and throw it out with the trash is beyond me! It's so cruel and heartless and my husband cried like a baby! The rules are unfortunately different in the country and if that person has lived there a long time chances are animal control will side with them! Not trying to be negative or scare you just want you to go the nice route if you can first! Sorry for the long post and the hideous story! Just wanted you to be aware of what happened to us and that animal control did nothing for us even in an extreme situation! Have a good evening!

oh my gosh...yeah, that sounds like something that would happen around here!

i honestly wouldn't be afraid of letting my dog run around freely if it weren't for the fear of her being ran over or stolen. i think people around here are def. more lax when it comes to animals running around. it's just SO annoying that i pick up my dog's poop only to find other dog's poop lying around!

i'm thinking of getting a wireless fence (which is a whole other thread) so i can let her run around freely without worrying about her getting ran over.

still, a wireless fence wouldn't solve the problem of other dogs coming into the yard/harrassing us when we walk by.

i don't know about the safety/effectiveness of the wireless fence, but our property is so big - it would cost a fortune to build a fence around it - and a small fence in the middle of it would just look tacky.

like i said - another thread - posting that now!

[Twinkie2Cute]

As the other posters have said, I would have a talk with the owners. If they ignore your concerns, I would call animal control until they were tired of hearing from you. Your property is your property. They have no right to let their dog roam in your yard. They may think their dog is harmless, however, it's their dog and they should keep it on their property. Who knows what could happen. Stand your ground! Don't let them bully you just because they have lived there longer than most and think they own everything around them. I have had neighbors in the past just like this and I did not back down. I hope the outcome is positive. I will keep my fingers crossed!

[Britster]

I hear ya. I live on 3 acres of land, with 90 acres of farmland behind us. We have 1 neighbor directly next to us, and the farmer who owns the land lives down the field. They have a few Black Lab's and a little white dog that get into our trash, wander all over the place, etc.. BUT, with that said, my mom's old dog that passed away used to be free to roam so we couldn't really say anything... and she ended up getting hit by a car (by my own stepdad who didn't see her). It was terrible, and another reason not to let your dog roam.

My dad lives out in the country but he's in a somewhat neighborhood, with maybe 10 other houses on the street. Literally none of the dogs are fenced or chained except ours, we have a big fenced in yard. Most of the dogs are super friendly and we don't mind their visits-- but there's always the few problem dogs whose owners shouldn't even own dogs. Anyways, certain events had become just enough and my dad did call Animal Control. They gave a citation to the owner of the Lab who gave my brother a huge black eye by knocking him over and they had to pay a fine. The dog hasn't been loose as much anymore but it causes a rift between neighbors, for sure.

Goodluck!

[rockbaker]

I live in the country in North Carolina and we have several roaming dogs that live outside 24/7

I don't walk my yorkies anymore in my neighborhood after I was attacked by a neighbor's pit bill..

Yes, the owner paid the vet bill (promptly), but I like my chain link fence.


We also have dog stealers in the neighborhood that steal dogs (from your yard for pit-bull baiting)...yes we told the cops and they went to their house and got 2 little ones back alive...


We keep our chain link fence locked also, we are always outside with our dogs and they are never left outside unattended.


roxanne