County not much help with barking dogs

It wore on Catherine Sienko until she just couldn't take it anymore. But when she called to file a complaint against her neighbor and his barking dogs, she didn't feel like she got much help from Pima County.

After a yearlong battle, in which she was forced to spend many hours unsuccessfully negotiating for her peace and quiet, the neighbor was fined $200. The barking continues.

So she has started Quiet Pima County, an organization whose aim is to change the way the county deals with barking-dog complaints. So far, the group has just a dozen members, but she's hoping its ranks will swell to hundreds of had-it-up-to-here activists who can get the county to change its ways.

"We're being assaulted," she said. "We're being assaulted by noise. We're getting sick. We're getting high blood pressure. We're getting tinnitus. We can't sleep at night. We can't enjoy our patios in the evening."

There were 615 complaints related to barking dogs in the last year.

Sienko first filed a noise complaint against her neighbor, who has three dogs, in April 2007. The county sent him a letter about the complaint.

When the dogs didn't stop barking, the county suggested mediation, an experience that Sienko found frustrating and futile.

"They wanted me to make an agreement to allow his dogs to bark," she said. "And I'm not going to do that. He needs to take responsibility."

Michelle Moore, an enforcement support specialist with Pima Animal Care, said the point of mediation isn't to pressure one side to back off but to see if any halfway solutions can be found.

Sometimes a neighbor wants to sleep in because she works late, so the dog owner will agree to keep the dog inside in the morning, or the neighbor likes to entertain outside in the evenings, so the dog can be kept in the house in the evening.

"Each situation is unique," Moore said. "The mediation is supposed to provide a neutral environment that is not judgmental of either side."

Jayne Cundy, public service supervisor for the county shelter, said mediation was suggested by the judges and hearing officers who heard barking dog complaints because often, they would end up mediating the dispute themselves, rather than imposing a fine. Mediation only occurs if the dog owner agrees. Just 141 cases went to mediation last year.

But as Sienko can attest, it doesn't always work. Her neighbor's dogs kept barking. She had to keep a "bark log," documenting when and for how long the dogs barked. The case proceeded to court, in this case before a hearing officer at the Animal Care Center.

Noise complaints within municipalities are heard in their courts, while county complaints are heard at the center.

The neighbor was fined $200 in April 2008, a year after her initial complaint.

The dogs continue to bark, and another neighbor is pursuing a complaint against the same dog owner.

"We're so annoyed with how the system works," she said. "They keep giving the dog owner chance after chance."

Cundy said Animal Care Center's options are limited. The law does not have a provision for removing a dog just because it is barking.

Cundy also said the county has the burden of proving the barking is more than an occasional nuisance.

Sienko envisions a system that holds dog owners more responsible. She said dog licenses should have points on them, just like driver's licenses. With a first offense, the dog owner would have to take the dog to obedience class or lose points on the license.

Subsequent offenses would lead to more points being deducted, until the license was lost.

Moore and those with experience training dogs said there are a variety of reasons unattended dogs bark, but the main ones are boredom and anxiety.

"If you were confined to four walls all day, you would be bored, too," said Mary Anne Coleman of Companions for Life, which is affiliated with the Humane Society.

Dogs that are exercised regularly and have mental stimulation in the form of a variety of toys are much less likely to bark, she said.

Moore said it's important for owners of dogs with impressive voices, like hounds, not to encourage the dog when it's a puppy and the sounds are cuter.

Both said grown dogs can be trained not to bark, but it takes work and dedication on the part of the owner.

"You cannot just slap a collar on them and expect it to work by itself," said Moore. "You need to work with them. It's like teaching children."

DID YOU KNOW

• City of Tucson Noise Ordinance: Prohibits various activities that produce "clearly audible" sounds beyond the property line where they come from and that "disturb the public peace, quiet or comfort of the neighboring inhabitants."

• Pima County Noise Ordinance: Forbids noise that disturbs neighborhood peace and quiet or brings discomfort or annoyance to "any reasonable person of normal sensitivity."

• If you live in Tucson or unincorporated Pima County and have a complaint about noise, call 911 if it's happening right now and you need immediate attention.

• City residents with a noise concern that is not immediate can call 792-CITY. They can leave a message after 5 p.m. Or they can call the city police substation in their neighborhood, listed in the telephone book's blue government pages.