Animal Control hearing today

Here's my notes to take with me.

Our yard abuts to 12.5 feet of fence with the rear yard and slope of XXXXXX.

We are considered the view side of the street without a slope to separate us from rear neighbors. With a zero lot line fence the depth of our yard is 12 feet to our patio and 16 feet total to the rear wall of our house. During the nicer months and summer months we are often unable to open our windows to our family room because if the dogs can see through our blinds they will bark at us while we are in the house. There are also nights that the dogs bark and howl until 10pm or later. The barking often lasts for hours at a time throughout the day.


March 2007: Company comes for a visit and is shocked by what we endure with the barking. We cannot even enjoy a meal or company in our backyard. Dogs force their heads through the fence to bark at us anytime we use our yard.

We tried simple training commands such as "quiet" and "hush" to discourage the dogs from our section of the fence.We generally avoid our yard at this point.

My daughter, Sophia (6 years old at the time) already had a fear of dogs and this exacerbated. She actually runs into a brick wall trying to run from a dog because she had been so traumatized.

Quentin wakes up frequently from nap and some of his first sentences at 18 months old are "Them doggies barking".We talked to the kids about not making eye contact with the dogs and avoidance of the fence/dog area in general.

February 2008: With one year gone by things is not getting better and are in fact getting worse. We now almost completely avoid our rear yard and are searching for remedies.

April 2008: We redid our landscaping and still cannot enjoy our yard. (Insert pictures of the dogs in the background of landscapers working).

May 2008: More company came to visit and commented that it was out of control. I continue videotaping and calling animal control. I also invited the Animal Control officer to come to my house to witness the behavior from my family’s perspective (It’s different than seeing it at street level).

May-July 2008: I asked a mutual friend to approach the homeowner in hopes of explaining that the dogs really are a problem for our family and could she just keep them off the slope. Things escalated in July 2008 at which point the homeowner hung signs on the adjoining HOA fence stating "Beware of dog". I invited other friends over to witness what we tolerate on a daily basis. Everyone agrees that there is a problem here.

I petitioned the HOA in July 2008 (documents attached) sighting the Quiet enjoyment rule.

September 2008: I bought The Super Bark Free Training Device and Dog Dazer 2 handheld device. I thoroughly researched the products and tried training the dogs to stay away from my section of the fence. They continued to bark albeit in other areas of the yard in addition to continued excessive howling and barking. Training devices cost me $100.

A new dog is introduced. It squeezes through the fence completely and is in our yard at least twice. Then we witness one dog go through the rear neighbors fence and attack another dog on the other side of us.

I petitioned the HOA a second time sighting the animal bylaw and maintenance of such animals.

We have suffered continued harassment by the dogs and homeowners failure to resolve the issues. We are subject to repeatedly excessive and loud barking. The dog’s behavior harasses children and other pets on private property.

Currently:I have various videos and pictures from February 2007 through yesterday (March 3, 2009) showing them barking continuously without being provoked and also being in another neighbor’s yard on January 2, 2009.

I have had to instruct my babysitters not to allow my children outside. I am fearful of what may occur without my direct supervision.

Just this past Sunday I was gardening and when I came upon that section of the fence the dog charged up the slope and barked uncontrollably and forcefully until I walked away.

And a few recent video highlights of the offenders. I actually have 9 full minutes of barking that I loaded on DVD.