Is there any legal or ethical way to stop a neighbor who harasses a senior citizen about her puppies barking?

Question

A relative of mine, a 77 year old lady has two puppies, and gets constantly harassed by one of her next-door neighbors about their barking. The lady has dog licenses and rabies tags for her puppies, they never get out of the yard, and they are kept inside all night and part of the day. She also gave her neighbor her phone number and told her to call if she hears the puppies barking and it wakes her up. The lady has started to put the puppies outside later in the morning so as not to wake the neighbor. The neighbor complained to the police and the health department anyway. The lady’s other next-door neighbors work at night and sleep in the day but THEY have not complained about her puppies barking. The other residents nearby on the block also have dogs. The neighbor has even called this lady a b*tch on the answering machine. This lady has done all she can to accomodate this neighbor who even yells at her when she sees her in the yard. I appreciate any sincere and helpful advice.

The neighbor now complains if the dogs bark in the evening when she comes home from work. So its more than the neighbor gets annoyed if she gets woke up by the dogs. Apparently the neighbor doesn't want my relative to have pets although the neighbor has two barking dogs of her own.

Answer 1

Verbal abuse is certainly harassment and abuse and if she gets the neighbor on tape or answering machine then that is the case and the leverage she needs. She needs to contact the police herself and express that she feels threatened by the calls. It is possible that she can get a restraining order as well. Also the phone companies have a couple of options that your relative can employ. First they have the ability for a person to block calls from certain numbers, called Call Block. Additionally there is a code you can dial for nuisance calls (I think *57) which logs the calls in the phone companies central office as harassing calls. The only stipulation is that the person who does this agrees to prosecute if it comes to that.

One additional thing you might do. Draft a letter, not from the 77 year old lady, as her loving family members who are concerned. Sign the letter and say something like this. We realize that you have been leaving harassing messages on our relatives recorder and we have copies of these messages. We can obtain phone records if necessary. Given our relatives age and diminishing health it is our intention if you cause her any medical problems account of your harassment we will take legal action against you for causing that whether it lead to a medical problem or God forbid Death.

You might contact a lawyer for advise on that letter to see if you are within your bounds to send it or not and if so if that same lawyer thinks you would have a case and would be willing to help file it. Then if everything goes okay send the letter Registered mail, Certified and return receipt requested and keep the proof of delivery. Also at the same time send/mail a copy of the letter say way to your house and that way you have proof of it's mailing and receipt to both you and them. What you don't want to do, and is why I said consult a lawyer before going that far, is that you don't want the neighbor to be able to claim you are harassing them.

Answer 2

Well I hate to say this but most cities have laws against dogs barking, and your relative could be fined, and or even have her dogs taken away if she can't keep them from barking. And it doesn't have to be a nuisance to everybody, just one person.

Though illegal or not, it is still not right to harrass another person. If this relative lives in an area with a home owners association, I would tell them to contact the hoa, and see what they can do. If possible have other neighbors that don't mind the dogs back her up. If there is no HOA, then i'd suggest telling this relative to not deal with the neighbor, and if she has any problems just to call the police.

In the meantime maybe you should have this relative of yours either take the dogs to an obediance class, or have somebody come out and help to stop the pups from barking. Good luck

Answer 3

Barking is a reaction that can be conditioned. The older lady can tame her dog's barking.

There are wall and window treatments that are affordable and can control sound. The B%^tchy neighbor or the old lady can invest in this.

Junk is usualy a great sound diffuser. If there was stuff between the neighbor and the lady, that would help. A bush, plants, parking the car there, etc.

But it realy sounds like the neighbor needs to get laid and crash out afterwards so she can't hear anything.

Answer 4

You could speak to the police, but first I'd recommend mediation. Have them get together via a mediator to speak - try to resolve things amicably and if that doesn't work then go the more legal route. Your relative might also think about walking them more - why has a 77 year old got two puppies anyway? They'll live longer than her and will be more energetic than she can cope with. Just because the other neighbours haven't complained, it doesn't mean they aren't annoyed. Likewise, the clearly already quite antisocial neighbour may have issues and need warning to back off. But do try mediation first.

Answer 5

Why do you think that your relative has a legal or ethical right to bother her neighbors with barking puppies?
You say that she has done all she can to accommodate this neighbor. Everything except the obvious thing and that is to get rid of the puppies and get some other type of pet that is not a nuisance to the neighbors.

Answer 6

sounds like your relative at 77 can not control her dogs, and they bark , better check local laws but excessive barking is a crime and can lead to fines

Answer 7

Sounds like a bully. Tell your relative to stand up for herself and her puppies!

Answer 8

Dogs bark because they are dogs. If she lives alone, they are her protectors. The negative neighbors are most likely causing these dogs to bark by their glares & yelling in her direction. Report them for harassment to the police. We have one neighbor who hates any dog who barks & he uses his hose to spray over fences to soak dogs & I took a pix of him & gave it to one of my neighbors who is taking care of him as we speak. It's against the law to mess with a dog like that. Get to know the dogs & they might not bark as much. I did this & can now walk down the street without getting barked at. Dogs are a good judge of character. They bark at negative people. Sadly, the dogs get reported & get a file for being a nuisance. Hope some of that helps!

Answer 9

suggest earplugs