WHAT TO DO WHEN ANIMAL CONTROL COMES KNOCKING - Page 2

I was lucky and had a very good experiance with animal control. Rescued GSD, I had to leave town on emergency, stupid family (mine), she gets out and heards all the kids in the neighborhood into thier own yards and gives them a kiss on the behind to let them know they should stay thier. One parent reports as bite, skin not broke, but bruse on the butt. the officer comes over to meet her and talk to me and if that darn dog did not "kiss" her on her way out the door. Funny now, I did not think so at the time. the officer took it in stride and stated she would not report it, she felt the dog was a keeper, just needed redirection.

 Louise,

 When Animal Control came knocking at my door, I did none of those things.  I was happy to let the guy view the dog, his toys, etc.   It did not hurt that the Ac guy was a really pretty hunk!!  It helped that some city workers were working on pot-holes or something in the street and had been greeted by the dog moments before AC showed up.  THEY started telling the guy, "that's a NICE dog" the minute he got out of his truck.  The dog did the rest, greeting the AC the way he does everyone.  The guy was impressed.  He saw the bite toys, including a sleeve, in the car and asked about it. I showed him.  I even showed him what I did with a "half sleeve," using that for "bite rewards" during heeling.  He was impressed.  It seems the neighbors behind me had claimed the dog wasdangerous, just to cause trouble.  I took him into the backyard and showed him some of the stuff they threw at my dogs.    He did not see a dangerous dog and ripped up the Dangerous Dog notice he had come out to give me!! 

Weeks later, the same idiots were making more of  their bogus calls about dogs barking and making noise.  The same AC came out.  Welllllllllllll...   I was out of town that week...and the dogs were boarded at the vet.   The idiots made more calls while he was there!!   He was contacted by cell or radio.  He went through the gate, ascertained that not only had he not heard the barking, but THERE WERE NO DOGS THERE AT ALL!!    The idiots were issued a letter about the criminality of making false reports and that was the LAST we heard from Animal Control.  The idiots, who may also have questionable immigration status, have been quiet for nearly five years.

 GerShep2,

I for one am happy to know you and yes, I know others who do what you do and I hear many stories about how thankless a job you really have. I also know that you are probably amongst the poorest paid public servants there are. I have been involved for a long time in GSD rescue and I know what goes on out in the world. The saddest part is that people who frequent this board and say they are for the GSD and the sport do nothing to help people like you and fight tooth and nail when abuse or neglect cases surface. We just had an example of that on this very board this past week.

And I have no need of advice like this and personally, I feel it is poor advice. If there is no reason to hide something, then it is unnecessary to think in these terms. Mystere has given us one positive example about how a proper attitude and cooperation can go far in shutting down any reason for an ACO to be at one's door.

 I applaud what you do and I thank YOU for your work. I know I simply could not do it because I would be in jail from wanting to choke some of the people you must deal with!

 I'd be in the cell next to  you!!      

This thread has been offered as advice for people who may not know their rights--a person such as myself--who certainly has never had anything to hide.  I'm told that the ordeal I experienced is not at all unusual in my community.

While I refuse to use the internet to air my not-so-dirty linen--nor am I soliciting cash contributions, I went through a freakin, nearly 3-week, bureaucratic nightmare involving the the violation of my rights by the the macho, power mongers at the local Humane Animal Services involving my elderly, spayed, 12-year-old GSD female.

For me, this has been a mind-boggling, eye-opening, costly (attorney fees, impound fees, administrative costs for a hearing) experience.  I refuse to go into the details--suffice it to say that my old girl was not deemed a "dangerous animal".

Take it the way Louise intended it - as an honest effort to give everyone a heads up in the event the local animal control does not abide by the law. If that happens, some may be glad for the advise.

 Louise, 

Whatever happened, I am happy that it all worked out for you. There is sometimes abuse of power too and perhaps that was what you were talking about in making your post. However, in general, having worked in law enforcement or around law enforcement, I can tell everyone that starting out with an attitude, even if it seems to be appropriate at the time, is usually not going to do anything except escalate the confrontation. That is my opinion from having been on the streets for a long, long time and seen the results of such encounters, be it with humans or dogs.

Some animal control officers are the greatest folks in the world.  They love animals and also get along well with the citizens.  I have also known some that were immature, macho fascist types out to bully someone by using the power of their badge.  A number of years ago, a real estate speculator bought the home behind me cheap from an old couple that had trouble keeping it up.  This debvelper picked up the house for about 50% of the value by conning these old folks. This lady moved in and then immediately complained to the local police about every dog in the neighborhood that they were running loose on her yard and barking all the time.  This involved complaints against me, my neighbor a farmer who had hunting dogs for over the last 30 years which never strayed from his peoperty and only barked when someone came on his property, and also involved several other neighbors within a five block area. 

She claimed my dogs barked at night and kept her awake.  They didn't because I only take them out in my 1/2 acre 6 foot high privacy fenced-in back yard and I don't let them bark.  I was issued a ticket by a local licensed police officer who did the animal control.  He parked near the side of my house and walked up and down my fence and in front of the house and then said my dogs barked at him ferociously from inside the house. I told him that's what nomals GSDs do when someone trespasses and won't leave.  He said it indicated dogs with unmet needs.  He said if I kept bothering my neighbor she would sue me for the lost value of her property due to a dog nuisance closeby which would make her home hard to sell.  At the same time she began a noisy remodelling project, when finished raised the price of the home about 2.5 times.  She was attempting to make a big profit on the home.  I also got a threatening phone call from a realtor who said he had brought folks to look at her house which became listed for sale and his buyers left verty angry at the dog barking (of course there wasn't any).  I often take my GSDs out in the yard at night with me for extended periods of time.  I have a heavy overgrowth of trees and this lady had almost no visibility. 

One night I heard a screeting coming from the fence.  My male went over and jumped on top of the fence and grabbed an object and pulled it off the top of the fence to me.  It was a small speaker emitting a screeting noise that made in bark and howl a bit.  I pulled the wires and they looked like they went under my neighbors garage.  I also found a microphone nearby on the top of the fence and pulled that out.  Just then her electric garage door went up and I noticed there was no automatic light.  I noticed a second car pull in the garage and I recorded the license plate. 

The next day I hired a PI and had the license plate run.  The car was owned by the realtor that had called me and threatened me.  It turns out he was coming over to her house late at night 2-3 nights a week and was having a hot and heavy affair while he was a supposedly happy, married man.  His wife had no idea about it.  You can imagine the fun I had with this situation from here on out.  The problem was quickly resolved with one single phone call to this man.  He was told in plain terms not to ever call me again, come to the neighborhood and get the complaints rescinded immediately or the farmer and I would be paying his wife a visit with some interesting photos of cars, license plates at the home behind me. The man was very apologetic and the problem stopped immediately.  I never saw the cop again but found out he had a fling with the woman too.  Then the lady sold the house. My new neighbor turned out to be vary nice folks and just happen to love dogs.  Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

And that, Preston, was the ultimate "caught ya with your pants down, dude" .

hodie,

The young female HAS officer visited me twice after the hearing--at my request to determine that I was in "compliance". She was decent and asked to meet and schmooze with the dogs.

However, her male superiors have been pompous, cavalier jerks. When I initially advised a HAS sargeant that a continued quarantine at the shelter of my old lady was not in best interest of her health and requested "home quarantine", he said that the citing officer objected to this legal option and declared, "Officer X is the law".

So after nearly 2 weeks in "jail", my old girl was released to me with pneumonia or severe kennel cough.