Neighbour's Dogs in Distress

genie

My neighbours have three dogs. They are kept outside in a high-sided wire pen in all weathers. I have lived here for four years and I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen them running around. They are extremely timid and I cannot go within twenty meters of them without them running away. They were kept outside all of winter 2009/2010 and it seems that they are to be kept outside all of this winter, too.

When the family are at work, the dogs bark almost continually and it has got to the stage that I cannot open my back door and go out into my garden without the dogs barking and howling for attention. During the bad weather just before Christmas, with the temperatures at minus 14 at night and well below freezing during the day, their barking/howling/whining was pitiable and they really sounded as if they were in distress. They were barking/whining/howling so loudly that a neighbour from further up the road came down to see what the matter was. My neighbours in the opposite direction know exactly when I am out in the garden due to the increase in the dogs’ barking.

I would like to point out that I have not spoken to my neighbour about this as there was a lot of trouble between him and previous occupants of this house in relation to animal cruelty.

I do believe that a spot check needs to be made in order to see the conditions these poor dogs are being kept in so on 26 December 2010 I contacted Sligo Animal Rescue but they don't handle cruelty cases. I then contacted the ISPCA who told me that boredom/lack of exercise does not constitute a cruelty allegation and that they can not deal with nuisance caused by barking.

Is there any organisation who can investigate these dogs? They do have shelter but they don't have any quality of life whatsoever. I am now at my wits end.

Bog Bunny

This makes me so sad and so mad!
I don't think the Sligo Animal Rescue people refuse to look into cruelty cases per se; I'd say it's is a position of being resigned to the fact that they have no power themselves to intervene, only in conjunction with the guards or the dog warden.

You did not say whether the dogs have shelter, are fed regularly, have constant access to fresh clean water, their pen is cleaned out. If these mimimum requirements are lacking then it constitutes cruelty and is not only a nuisance issue.

As is often the case, what you can do legally and what you do not want to do for neighbourly reasons are two opposing things. That's the dilemma a lot of people find themselves in. Almost inevitably it's the dogs who draw the shortest straw :-(

There is a similar thread running, from the barking dog-owner's perspective. Maybe you should have a look there to get ideas what you can do.

Discodog

genie wrote: »

I then contacted the ISPCA who told me that boredom/lack of exercise does not constitute a cruelty allegation

It really pees me off that the ISPCA always give excuses why they cannot act instead of being positive about what they can do like calling to the property & discussing the situation with the owner.

Regarding the noise nuisance you can report the matter to your local Council. If they refuse to act you can take a civil case in the District Court.

genie

Thanks for your replies.

You did not say whether the dogs have shelter, are fed regularly, have constant access to fresh clean water, their pen is cleaned out. If these mimimum requirements are lacking then it constitutes cruelty and is not only a nuisance issue.

I think the dogs do have shelter but whether they are fed/watered/cleaned regularly I can't say but I have never seen the dogs looking thin or dirty. The owners just don't care about them, they only do just the bare minimum for them, and it makes me feel so helpless. The animal welfare legislation the ISPCA referred to was dated 1911. That is 100 years ago. :rolleyes:

The neighbour can be a vindictive so and so. Previous owners who confronted him about animal cruelty in the past told me that he cut their fences so their animals got out and he also left a dead fox on their front doorstep. :eek: As this is only hearsay, I cannot raise those points anywhere.

I also cannot afford to take a case to the District Court and it amazed me that this would seem to be the only option available to me now.

Discodog

Section 108 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992, provides:

Where any noise which is so loud, so continuous, so repeated, of such duration or pitch or occurring at such times as to give reasonable cause for annoyance to a person lawfully using any premises in the neighbourhood or to a person lawfully using any public place, a local authority, the Agency or any such person may complain to the District Court and the Court may order the person or body making, causing or responsible for the noise to take the measures necessary to reduce the noise to a specified level or to take specified measures for the prevention or limitation of the noise and the person concerned shall comply with such order.

Before making a complaint, the complainant must first serve notice on the person responsible for the noise, advising him or her of the intention to complain to the Court (the prescribed form of notice is set out in the Environmental Protection Agency Regulations 1994. Service of a notice is a condition precedent to the making of a complaint and is the first item of which the Court will require proof at the hearing of the complaint. Order 96 rule 8 (3) of the District Court Rules 1997 sets out the procedure for making the complaint.

Under Section 106 of the Act, the local authority, or the Environmental Protection Agency itself, may also complain and, in extreme cases, seek to obtain a warrant for entry to the relevant premises, for the purposes of abating the nuisance.

The Section provides defences to a complaint where the noise is incidental to lawful business and all reasonable efforts have been made to limit the noise, or where the noise is generated under a licence granted under the Act.

In practice, this jurisdiction is exercised pragmatically and the Court will expect both parties to be reasonable. In the case of a noisy dog, it may be the case that the animal is ill, or that its conditions of habitation are unsuitable to its size or demeanour. In extreme cases, therefore, a complaint in these circumstances may lead to the destruction of the animal.

Bog Bunny

genie wrote: »

Thanks for your replies.


The neighbour can be a vindictive so and so. Previous owners who confronted him about animal cruelty in the past told me that he cut their fences so their animals got out and he also left a dead fox on their front doorstep. :eek: As this is only hearsay, I cannot raise those points anywhere.

He seems to be your regular friendly neighborhood bully! :mad:
Intimidating to the extreme. It takes guts and cunning to stand up to these guys, for sure, and to have the law on your side is not a great help either.
In cases like this I keep humming a mantra - what goes round comes around. And hope and pray it comes around quicker than the bully thinks.