Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Somebody complained about my dog barking and they're now facing a felony charge

Dogs create lots of problems around here. I have found a good fence is very helpful, and talking with people is vastly preferable to filing complaints.

Some dogs roam the area every day even though we have leash law that is county wide. If they get close enough I shoot them in the butt with a bb gun and they don't come back.

and if you talk to many people with those dogs, that (or worse) is what you'll get. Best to let the police give a reminder.

I wonder if you call the police about a wild, noisy party at 2AM, do they let the people know who called on them?

Talking to a neighbor can get you in trouble too. All the neighbor would have to do is call the cops on you instead and claim you threatened him and the dog. NOPE...that is what cops and animal control are for.

So how do you train a dog not to bark at night?

Here's the deal ...

My neighbor that was listed did not call Animal Control. I'm 100% certain of that. He was pizzed off that somebody used his name to file a report and called Animal Control to inform them of that. They're sending, or have sent, an officer to his house so that he can sign a statement to that effect.

I want to find out who filed the complaint. If somebody in the neighborhood is having a problem with my dog I want know about it so that I can address the problem. If it's not somebody in the neighborhood then F'em. They deserve what they got coming.

Behind my house is a city storm drainage where people walk their dogs, kids ride skateboards, bicycles, etc ...

Every dog in the neighborhood barks when somebody goes by. It just what they do. I can only guess that it might be somebody that didn't like the sound of my dog's voice. He viciously barks but the whole time he wags his tail.

I will pursue it and find out when it becomes public knowledge. The thing is, I have no freakin' idea who it could be and it bothers me. I don't have any enemies.

I think you do now.

Not sure where you live, but cannot believe that a DA has nothing better to do than follow up on someone making a false animal complaint.

In our town you are supposed to film or record the problem animal just to make sure you aren't making false claims to hassle someone.

Buy your dog a $40 bark collar and everyone can live in peace.

I catch stray dogs ...then spray paint crosshairs... in chevy orange on both sides - then I turn them lose. I've never seen the same dog twice

LOL

The Captain of Animal Control is the one that started the investigation and is pursuing this. It hasn't gone to a DA, yet.

You got to take into account that I live in the heart of nazi liberal Colorado.

I don't believe this is something worthy of a felony charge but that's how they feel about it. The other thing I found out during this fiasco is that here two strikes and you're out. It only takes one unverified phone complaint followed by one officer verified complaint and then you're issued a citation to appear in court and face a fine.

When I went to Animal Control to find out who the filed the complaint I had to pay $5.00 to get a copy of the report. Then I had to produce a picture ID to pick it up even though I had the original signed complaint in my hand.

I spoke to one of the supervisors there and asked them if someone has to produce a picture ID to file a complaint. Nope, all you have to do is drop a dime to rat somebody out.

This isn't the first time I've had issues with the way things are in Fort Collins. Colorado really is nazi liberal hell.

Seriously, shut your dog up and quit bitchin. Shut the dog up or get rid of it if you can't control it.

if its a 2 strikes and your out thing prolly a damn good thing your pursuing it.....

There's one other thing. The city recently passed new legislation that allows someone to anonymously rat out their neighbor. They're not required have their name listed on a complaint.

That's more that a little nazi-esq to me.

+1

Obviously different people have different levels of tolerance for dogs barking. That's why it's important to know your neighbors and to work out mutual understandings of what's acceptable if at all possible. I'm really surprised at the number of people who say call the cops first and don't talk to your neighbors. Those people must live in horrible places.

Generally speaking, barking dogs don't bother me, but I'm sure under some conditions a barking dog could keep me awake when I was trying to sleep and then I wouldn't be happy, but a dog barking during the day generally isn't going to bother me.

I don't think dogs barking briefly during the day are going to bother very many people; however, if someone in the neighborhood works the night shift, a dog barking during the day might bother him/her very much (understandable) - that's part of the reason it's important to know your neighbors.

It also protects legitimate people that complain against crazy people that let their dog bark w/o restraint. Same kinda people you don't want showing up on your doorstep and knowing you're the guy that complained about their stupid dog barking all night.

I think a lawyer might have something to say about that city legislation. Yes, an anonymous complaint can lead to a city employee checking out and independently assessing the situation, but there is no way under the Constitution that someone can file a complaint anonymously that leads to penalties without independent verification. For example, someone anonymously reporting a barking dog violation can't lead to prosecution unless it is independently observed by someone willing to testify in court; otherwise, there's no opportunity to confront your accuser in court, and our Constitution requires that safeguard.

Really? How would you have handled it?

Just to help you out if you haven't been able to read and comprehend what I've written ...

The first thing I did was find out who was having a problem with my dog.

I wrote a note with my name, address, and phone number and a request to please call me if my dog was bothering them. I wanted to resolve the problem by speaking to my neighbor.

He contacted Animal Control to inform them that someone had falsely used his name in filing a complaint.


I haven't done a thing since then and if you have a problem with how I handled the situation ... GFY.

I cant believe no one thought of this - someone wants you to not have a dog, a person planning to rob you would be likely to want to get rid of your dog.

I encourage my dog to investigate anything he wants to bark at. He is here to wake me when my property or life is threatened.