State and Local Laws
If the situation doesn't improve after your efforts to work something out, it's time to check your local laws and see what your legal options are. Armed with this knowledge, you'll be better prepared to approach your neighbor again or go to animal control authorities, the police, or a small claims court judge.
In some places, barking dogs are covered by a specific state or local ordinance. For example, Massachusetts law allows neighbors to make a formal complaint to the town's board of selectmen (city council) about a dog that is a nuisance because of "excessive barking."2 The board holds a hearing and makes whatever order is necessary to stop the nuisance - including, in some cases, ordering the owner to get rid of the dog.3
Similarly, state law in Oregon declares any dog that disturbs someone with "frequent or prolonged noises" is a public nuisance.4 The county investigates complaints.
Keeping a dog whose barking is a nuisance may even be a minor criminal offense. A woman in Connecticut, for example, was convicted of violating a local law that prohibited keeping a dog that was an "annoyance to any sick person residing in the immediate vicinity." The neighbor who complained suffered from migraine headaches. The penalty for a first offense was a fine of up to $100, up to 30 days in jail or both.5
If there's no law aimed specifically at dogs, a general nuisance or noise ordinance will make the owner responsible. Local law may forbid loud noise after 10 p.m., for example, or prohibit any "unreasonable" noise. And someone who allows a dog to bark, after numerous warnings from police, may be arrested for disturbing the peace. (Dealing with the police is discussed below.)
A Tennessee judge imposed a fine of $6,200 on a man whose dogs - up to 19 of them, at times - disturbed his neighbors. The steep fine came after the dog owner said, in court, that he didn't care what the neighbors said.6
To find out what the law is where you live, go online or to a law library and check the state statutes and city or county ordinances yourself. Look up "noise," "dogs," "animals" or "nuisance." You can probably also find out about local laws by calling the local animal control agency or city attorney.
OTHER COMMON COMPLAINTS
The laws of many towns and counties cover, in addition to barking dogs:
- dogs that run at large
- dogs that damage property or threaten people, and
- the number of dogs allowed per household (See State and Local Regulation).
