Neighbours harassing folks about Dogs - legal avenues?

[NSanity]

So.

I just fielded a call from my mother over lunch. It turns out they have a shitty neighbour who has/is complaining about their 2 German Shepherd's.

Apparently they moved in one weekend when Mum and Dad were away, and that weekend complained about the dogs barking at 2am. By complained, they complained to the Ranger/Police. Annie (my sister) was home looking after them and what not, other neighbours were interviewed etc. The other neighbours confirmed that they were not really noisy (no more or less than any other dogs in the neighbourhood), and weren't the kind that barked during the night unless there is good reason (namely burgler's or a cat in their yard or whatever).

Incident passed.

But as a result my parents now go out of their way to keep them inside during the night as a measure of compromise and good faith to the new neighbours.

Now it turns out that the neighbours daughter's kitten has strayed into the yard with the end result that Buffy and Kendra (yes my parents name their dogs after characters from Buffy and Angel) had dinner - yes, the kitty decided not to choose life, and choose to be in an enclosed yard with 6ft fences all around and 2 German Shepherds - it ends the way you think it would.

This has resulted in the Police and Ranger again being called. Ranger has already come - Police yet to - and as some people know, Cat's aren't supposed to stray out of your property. Thus the Ranger has basically said "tough titties" to the neighbour in his report.

That said last night when I spoke to mum and dad - things were pretty sombre (although I didn't know why at this stage), and it turns out that last night they were working out if they had to put the dogs down. Hence the mood. They've passed this point now.

Anyway apparently the neighbour has been a jerk - so far as throwing bricks at the dogs during the day - and has now just said to the police/ranger that "he fears for the safety of his 3 year old daughter".

You know, Through a 6 foot Colorbond fence.

I mean, sure - if you pissed off the dogs enough that they became forwardly agressive (both are quite defensive and retreating in nature - and will often hide from unknown guests) - they'd probably scale the fence with ease and you'd have a real fucking problem on your hands. But this hasn't happened, nor is it likely to - unless this fucking numbskull keeps throwing bricks at them.

The other kicker is that this guy hasn't actually, at any stage, come and spoke to my parents about it - only dealing with it through the Police and Town Ranger.

Mum and Dad are now genuinely upset and somewhat unsure to do - which is odd. Dad is really really good at dealing with pretty much anything that lands on his plate. But as a by-product of this, they think they might not be able to come down to Melbourne this week. Something we've all been planning/looking forward to for months now.

I pointed out to Mum that this asshole needs to be put back in his place - legally. See a lawyer - and the police - Serve him with disrupting their peaceful enjoyment, as well as cruelty to animals (for the bricks). Also put it to him that if he feels that the 6 foot fucking colorbond fence isn't "secure" enough for him, that they are welcome to get an expert opinion, then go halves if required in a new fence that will "think of the children".

What things can be brought to them? They are in NSW. If that helps any.

[Crusher]

Firstly, your dad really needs to go knock on their door and tell them, in a good neighbourly fashion, to pull their heads in.

Next, councils have a domestic pet mediation service for just this reason.

ring the council's animal control officer, explain whats been going on the events to date. Get your side of the story to them. Tell them about the kitten and the bricks. Tell them that your parents are afraid of leaving the dogs unattended for fear the owner will hurt or poison them. Tell them that your neighbours will back you up that the dogs dont bark excessively, are well housed and secured, and are of no menace to anyone.

Ask them to arrange a mediation session with the neighbour next time they call to complain, preferably at your parents house where the animal officer can meet the dogs and see their secured fencing. The neighbour will be put in their place as a twat and future complaints will be generally seen as frivilous.

Re this weekend... put them into a kennel for the weekend if you are overly concerned. Or install some night vision cameras in the yard to capture any stunts your neighbours may pull.

Dont even consider getting them put down... your parents have a perfect right to own domestic pets.

[Edstructicon]

They could stick a security camera somewhere, nothing like video evidence to back up your case.

TBH it doesn't sound like the neighbour is going to be reasonable, so it may get to the point where someone breaks the law before anything will be done. Just remind your parents to press any charges they can on the other guy.

Either that or burn his house down.

[Sandez]

We had the same thing when I lived in the 'Mountains.

Neighbor cut the locks off and some holes in one of the gates into our property. They also have complained to the police about the news. We then showed the police where the sabotage had occured and they took a different tune.

He hasn't tried that again since, although my brother has heard "SHUT THOSE FUCKING DOGS UP!!" shouted a couple of times.

Bear in mind we live IN a small valley so the sound of a dog barking on the other side of the property can be heard by others. All of our other neighbours love meeting our dogs and can't see what he's on about.

So I sympathise. He was an otherwise nice guy and reasonably good neighbour apart from being a fucking psycho when it came to barking dogs.

[mhgarage]

Neighbour is being fairly unreasonable and not handling things the right way.

However:

IF they are actually noisy dogs, it is very irresponsible to have them in suburbia. Nothing disturbs my peace more than some bored, unexercised outdoors dog yapping all the time. Especially those who bark all night because they are lonely.

In this case, I can understand why people feel like baiting them, even though they should probably bait the owners instead.

+ I would be concerned about having big strong dogs in suburbia anyway, what if they do get out and eat some child? Surely a smaller dog would be more suitable.

Luckily my current neighbours treat their dog well and it is very quiet. But if it barked all the time, I'd be kicking up a stink as well.

[Sandez]

Oh yeah, I should mention that we have 40 acres to ourselves and the neighbor is a good 100m from our house. We are one of 5 people on the street, and there is another street slightly above the eastern border of our property. Our property goes down into a gully that eventually drops off into the Jamieson Valley.

There is a 10 foot cyclone fence encircling the entire place, of which the dogs have free roam. At night time, we lock them in a traditional backyard and leave the door (to the house) open so they can come and go as they please. They're fantastic guard dogs and are well trained, as pets first and foremost.

[funkthis]

Originally Posted by mhgarage

Neighbour is being fairly unreasonable and not handling things the right way.

However:

IF they are actually noisy dogs, it is very irresponsible to have them in suburbia. Nothing disturbs my peace more than some bored, unexercised outdoors dog yapping all the time. Especially those who bark all night because they are lonely.

In this case, I can understand why people feel like baiting them, even though they should probably bait the owners instead.

+ I would be concerned about having big strong dogs in suburbia anyway, what if they do get out and eat some child? Surely a smaller dog would be more suitable.

Luckily my current neighbours treat their dog well and it is very quiet. But if it barked all the time, I'd be kicking up a stink as well.

I agree, there's always 2 sides to EVERY story and while I can symphatise with the OP to a certain extent there is nothing that pisses me off more than bored dogs barking late at night and I can understand the neighbours annoyance/frustration.
I had some bogans move in at the back of our house with 3 German Shepherd X's (on a 400 sqm house&land block) and I almost wanted to shoot the bastards when they kept waking up my 3 month old son (anyone who has kids KNOWS how frustrating and tiring it is to put restless babies to sleep).
I know this isn't necessarily the case in your situation but you don't his side of the story and he certainly isn't going to get a resolution if he doesn't have any communication with your parents who sound like reasonable folks.

[a777]

I'd initially suggest actually talking to the neighbours. If they are not people who can be spoken to easily, then some of the suggestions above about mediation sound good. For the week they visit you I'd put them in a kennel, just so your parents have peace of mind.

Originally Posted by funkthis

I had some bogans move in at the back of our house with 3 German Shepherd X's (on a 400 sqm house&land block)

In certain councils they place restrictions on the number of dogs you can have on a suburban property based on the block size. For example in Gold Coast City Council you can only have one dog if your block size is under 600m2. If you want two then you have to apply for a special permit. If your block size is over 600m2 you are allowed two dogs. If you want any more than two dogs you have to apply for a special permit. Note this is different to the actual registration of the dogs, as all dogs must be registered. Of course, most people probably ignore this rule, just like lots of people don't register their dogs.

[NSanity]

Originally Posted by mhgarage

IF they are actually noisy dogs, it is very irresponsible to have them in suburbia. Nothing disturbs my peace more than some bored, unexercised outdoors dog yapping all the time. Especially those who bark all night because they are lonely.

Its not suburbia. It's country NSW, in a reasonable sized town. Also both dogs are well exercise with daily walks and whilst will chase and bark at Cats, their yard is pretty well Cat free - they've been there for at least 4-5 years now.

Originally Posted by mhgarage

In this case, I can understand why people feel like baiting them, even though they should probably bait the owners instead.

How about they talk to them - I feel thats a reasonable first step. Calling the police? Not so much.

Originally Posted by mhgarage

+ I would be concerned about having big strong dogs in suburbia anyway, what if they do get out and eat some child? Surely a smaller dog would be more suitable.

It's not suburbia. Its a largish country NSW town. They don't get out - because there are tall, secure fences and they are trained not to. Also they are not dingo's - thus there will be no baby eating.

Smaller dogs being suitable is coming down to personal choice - I too think that large dogs, easily capable of overpowering humans, isn't for me - but its not against the law to own German Shepherds in Australia, nor would I consider my old man an irresponsible dog owner - we've had dogs in our lives as a family for decades, all trained by him.

Originally Posted by funkthis

I agree, there's always 2 sides to EVERY story and while I can symphatise with the OP to a certain extent there is nothing that pisses me off more than bored dogs barking late at night and I can understand the neighbours annoyance/frustration.
I had some bogans move in at the back of our house with 3 German Shepherd X's (on a 400 sqm house&land block) and I almost wanted to shoot the bastards when they kept waking up my 3 month old son (anyone who has kids KNOWS how frustrating and tiring it is to put restless babies to sleep).
I know this isn't necessarily the case in your situation but you don't his side of the story and he certainly isn't going to get a resolution if he doesn't have any communication with your parents who sound like reasonable folks.

For sure there is two sides to every story.

But facts are;

1. They have ONLY made contact via the Police and the Ranger.
2. All neighbours were surveyed as part of the initial complaint about barking - the general consensus being that they bark no more or less than any other dogs in the area (there are quite a few).
3. Even though it was deemed by external people they weren't excessively barking - my parents bring them inside at night as a result of their complaint - A Goodwill gesture to "keep the peace" with the neighbours.

I mean I agree - personally, I would never own a dog that could easily overpower a person (I own Beagles), that's just me.

But when you have 2 neighbours who have lived next to my parents for 5+ years and talk with them on a regular basis and haven't had a complaint ever - then someone shows up and the only interaction they have with you is via the police, it does sort of lean towards "you're a jerk".

I want them to put both of them up in a kennel for the holidays - however the old man has sort of put himself in a position where he isn't going anywhere till this is resolved.

So far he's replacing the gate on the side to one you can't see through and has lower ground clearance (it was a solid gate - padlocked - but you could see through it).

[Lasmi]

Call the police about the bricks (which can be fingerprinted despite what most people would think). That well and truly crosses the line and gives you an insight into the mentality of these people. You could wait until they injure the dogs or drop poisoned meat over the fence but personally I don't think that's appropriate.

[NSanity]

Originally Posted by Lasmi

Call the police about the bricks (which can be fingerprinted despite what most people would think).

Will pass this on.

Originally Posted by Lasmi

That well and truly crosses the line and gives you an insight into the mentality of these people. You could wait until they injure the dogs or drop poisoned meat over the fence but personally I don't think that's appropriate.

Agreed - and well, hence the old man isn't budging till something is sorted :/

[NSanity]

* Update *

Apparently my Dad spoke with the neighbour yesterday. The end result of the conversation is that the neighbour wont be satisfied unless the dogs are destroyed.

Argh. Damn my 8 hours distance from them...

[josh_676]

Originally Posted by NSanity

* Update *

Apparently my Dad spoke with the neighbour yesterday. The end result of the conversation is that the neighbour wont be satisfied unless the dogs are destroyed.

Argh. Damn my 8 hours distance from them...

Well looks like your neighbour is going to be unsatisfied, as long as the dogs are secure in the yard and aren't running around mauling people they have no grounds to issue an order for destruction.

[HumbleBum]

Are they renting or purchased? If renting I am sure your folks know the landlord, (i would be having a word) b) if they purchased, the dogs would have been there prior to this, do fuck em.

Get a lawyer.. and apply smackdown.

I would ponder getting the tix cancelled for your olds coming down and you book one to go up and help sort it out.

[blak]

Might want to set up a camera/dummy camera to deter the neighbour from throwing any baits etc over.