Dear Eleanore Turkington:
It’s been a few weeks, and nothing has changed with the barking dog situation on my street, Sharon Avenue. The dog sits behind the window and barks and barks. Now the barking dog has a new window which of course, the owner has left open for the dog to bark out of all day.
I also have another neighbor who has two dogs who sit in the living room windows with only a screen to hold them back; barking all day at everybody and everything. Maybe it’s the dog owners that walk their dogs by these houses everyday causing these dogs to bark like crazy (it’s only natural for a dog to protect his property.) My answer is that they are both inconsiderate. I have had to call Animal Control because when the dog does go through the screen and attacks someone or their dog it won’t be because I didn’t bring it to someone’s attention. Animal Control did visit but nothing changed. One dog already has attacked approximately a year ago right in front of my house in the early morning hours. Imagine waking up to horrible screams coming from in front of your home and hearing a dog attack. Very scary. Please post this as any dog walker on Sharon Avenue should be aware of the danger and also maybe Animal Control will now force these people to stop leaving their dogs to bark all day from the front windows. Is it very hard to be considerate?
I again called the Animal Control and was informed that they can’t do anything if the dog is inside the house and barking out the window but if the dog was outside, they could do something???? The dog barking out the front window of a house somehow is not considered a nuisance but, in the yard, it is. The bark sounds the same to me.
I know now that another city service I pay for in taxes has failed me. I thought it was the job of the Animal Control to control animal/dogs. I do find myself asking again what does my tax dollars do for me. It’s a sick world we live in and it’s easier to be an inconsiderate person than to be considerate.
Sharon Avenue Resident
Dear Resident:
I visited the City of West Haven/ The Code/Part 11 General Legislation Chapter 89-9 Dogs to provide you and my readers the definition the Animal Control must observe when it comes to barking dogs:
No person shall own or harbor a dog or dogs within the City of West Haven which is or are a nuisance by reason of vicious disposition or excessive barking or other disturbance or by such barking or other disturbance, is or are a source of annoyance to any sick person residing in the immediate vicinity.
Perhaps you might like to try the advice received from an internet source suggesting assistance with barking dogs. According to lifehacker.com, “Try talking to your neighbor first. Talk to your neighbor before you do anything else. There is a possibility they don’t realize their dog is barking so much, like when they are away or at work or they maybe aware of the issue and are working on it already. Give them the benefit of the doubt and avoid harsh accusations since that will only make them more defensive.”
Coming up: dying tree on Nonquit Street…vintage parked car on Atwater Street…early morning renovation noise…Sorenson Road Pot Hole…repaving Hillcrest Avenue…missing light at Platt Avenue…stop sign at Seaview Avenue..Knox Street holes…school zone stop sign ignored at Hubbard Street…Rangely Street Stop Signs ignored and this is School Zone….abandoned fruit truck at Fairfax and Post Road…Andrews Street—dumping grounds -students damaged curb near 305 Captain Thomas Blvd…illegal dumping on Stevens Avenue and much more
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