Lawyer for barking dog letter -- recs needed

Hi all-

We have a crappy situation with an irresponsible dog owner who doesn’t lock her dog door at night so her dogs run in and out barking anywhere from 5 mins to 2 hours (constant!) during the wee hours of the morning. They’re super sharp barks that echo off their completely concrete and PVC fence back yard so it totally amplifies the sound.

It’s been going on for too long. The neighbors have 311d like crazy -there’s at least 40 complaints and all DEP does is send the owner a letter with “helpful tips on how to keep your dog occupied”. We’ve written notes to them, sent letters to landlord (the dogs’ owner), and ASPCA has visited with PD. At first we thought they were locked out all night in freezing temps (hence our call to PD/ASPCA) but since they visited and saw that the dogs have access to inside there’s no animal cruelty going on and PD/ASPCA can’t do anything more.

Owner doesn’t care.

At this point, I need a decent attorney to send owner a letter. Of course I could get any random atty friend to write a lawyer letter but I’d like to actually hire someo ne who has some expertise in this because I don’t anticipate that they will just stop after receiving one lawyer letter. We may have to do some sort of private nuisance claim.

Any recs for a good lawyer?

Thanks!

greenworks

in General Discussion 6 years and 8 months ago

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yudashasom | 6 years and 7 months ago

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I can’t believe people think the way to handle this is dog treats. Liberal mentality!!!

greenworks | 6 years and 7 months ago

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Thanks but these dogs are barking in the middle of the night (anywhere from 11:30pm to 5am) and at no particular thing. They are not barking at us or any particular trigger. They just bark.

Most of the time we’re fast asleep when they gear up and we’re not just up and about at that hour. We’d have to get up, get clothed, walk a distance etc.

It worked in your situation bc you were rewarding them for tolerating your presence (you were trigger, you conditioned them to accept you). With these dogs we are not the trigger and we’d probably just be rewarding them for barking since we are not the trigger.

catboot | 6 years and 7 months ago

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My neighbor 2 yards over has 3 large dogs. Whenever we were outside, the dogs would bark non-stop. As dogs do, they would also bark at random things. Somehow, managed to train them not to bark at us. I started tossing Milkbone treats into their yard whenever we wanted to go outside. Eventually the dogs associated us with food and instead of barking, would wait for treats. Hardest thing to do was to figure out how to toss the treats that far away (break them in half, helps that we have a fire escape which makes the launching easier). I did have to explain to my next door neighbor why there were mysterious dog treats appearing in his backyard (I was hoping the squirrels would eat them, but they don’t). Anyway, I still toss the occasional treat over, but the barking has pretty much stopped.

greenworks | 6 years and 7 months ago

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Thanks mat315 — we actually bought one of those! Problem is the actual yard is the back yard of home or two away from us and we’d have to get creative with placing it in range and without trespassing.

angelique.m.west | 6 years and 7 months ago

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Maybe try one of those sonic dog whistles. I’ve never used one but some people swear by them and say they can stop a barking dog in its tracks. Amazon sells them for less than $10 and they get mixed reviews but it seems worth a try. Sorry you’re having such a hard time.

greenworks | 6 years and 7 months ago

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I’m usually the first person to do the face to face first but they (and their family) are exactly they type of people who will retaliate in stupid ways, even if not physical (maybe we’ll have some false 311 complaints? LOL).

Not worth the risk. Thanks tho.

angelique.m.west | 6 years and 7 months ago

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I know you said the owner doesn’t care but have you actually met face-to-face with him? If not, I would suggest you try this tact before sending a lawyer’s letter . Maybe ask to meet him or her for coffee and bring along an audio recording of the dog barking. I’m suggesting this approach only because the more heightened the thing gets the more likely everyone will dig in their heels. And, frankly, while a lawyer’s letter may make you feel better it’s hard to see that it will produce results. Btw, another approach, far less diplomatic: Since you are awake every night with this dog, why not go over there and ring their bell or rap on their door every single night for a week or two to complain? Yes, you will wake them up and you’ll be a nuisance. And they won’t be happy. But neither are you.

greenworks | 6 years and 8 months ago

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Thanks — as far as gathering neighbors goes (logical in most other nabes), we know we’re not the only ones bothered but there is zero will to personally let the owner know there’s a problem-even as a group, acting politely. People are miserable but refuse to do anything but lose sleep and bitch.

We’re definitely looking at a private nuisance claim if it gets to that — but all of my atty friends are in ridiculously specialized, non-litigation-based areas of law, and they don’t know anyone either.

And yes, we’re dog owners too (have two as well) and it burns me even more to know how many people are idiots with their own dogs. A dog that barks for two hours straight like last night is not a happy dog, either.

dorkofwindsor | 6 years and 8 months ago

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Since this does not really seem to be about animal law anymore, it would seem to fall under general nusiance / noise. Your friend may indeed be the right person for the job, or another generalist. Just a thought – If you have other neighbors signed on, it may prove to be impactful, as the neighbor has clearly had the PD at their door and doesnt give a care. It is easier to hold onto preconceived notions with a “crazy neighbor” justification (after aspca and nypd “cleared” them) versus a whole host of people telling the owners they are the problem. Just a thought, either way good luck. Most dog owners are great citizens, clearly this one gives the rest of us a bad name.