Arf!

My boyfriend and I live in a studio apartment with all our windows facing the backyard, where our landlord keeps his two big and very, very loud dogs. The backyard is pretty small and the dogs are left there for days at a time, whatever the weather, so it seems that the barking is more of a cry for help than anything else. They go at it for 10 to 20 minutes at a time, several times a day, and even more frustratingly - late at night. When they're not barking, they're whining, and there's just no hiding from the noise - the acoustics make it seem like they're in our bedroom. Sometimes, there's a neighbor's dog out in a nearby yard, the three of them bark together for what seems like hours.

No one's complained to our knowledge, and for a good reason - the rent is very low for the neighborhood, the apartments are nice, and the landlord is generally pretty laid back about everything. Seems like if he could shut the dogs up or keep them anywhere else, he would have done so already, so complaining to him would be pointless, and if we try to involve the law in this, he'll get pissed off and invite us to seek accommodations elsewhere.

How do we get the noise to stop without that leading to us moving out?

Please help! ~Alena

Ask Gothamist has thought about what to do about the perpetual barking dog(s) before (and we have some experience, as our old neighbor had an angry pit bull that never shut up) but it sounds like the dogs here are being neglected.

Generally, for barking dogs, call 311 and talk to the Department of Environmental Protection, which handles noise complaints. (Or call the Department directly at (718) 699-9811.) If you think there's abuse or neglect (defined as depriving the dogs of shelter from extreme weather and/or not providing food and water regularly) you can contact the ASPCA. Their website has information on how to report animal cruelty.

When reporting incidents (either a noise violation, or accusing the landlord of animal cruelty) we suggest just asking to be kept anonymous. In the case of simply making a noise complaint, the landlord will get a letter from the DEP, which might be enough to scare him into doing something to help the dogs. (If no one has complained, maybe he doesn't think there's a problem.) If there is genuine neglect, getting the ASPCA involved may be your only option if you want to help the dogs. Definitely call them, though, and ask their opinion, as we're sure they see such cases all the time.

Related: See the ASPCA in action on the Animal Planet show Animal Precinct. Also, Ask Gothamist on if you can train your dog to stop barking.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Erin O'Brien in Miscellaneous on March 31, 2005 1:10 PM

Comments [rss]

John

Joe: Wow, I would hate to live in your neighborhood - who can live with the constant rumbling of garbage trucks sprinkled with bursts of screaming from homeless people. Glad you can deal with it though!

Where the hell do you live? It's not ridiculous to want to live in a reasonably quiet place. And as someone pointed out, there is a big different between the intermitten rumblings of traffic and garbage trucks, than with 24/7 barking.

Idiot.

Erin

In response to ang.'s comment, in order to prevent the deaths of these animals, people looking to adopt a pet should consider adopting adult animals. Puppies and kittens are cute, but the older cats are always the last ones to get adopted. (My mother actually just adopted an adult cat who is very sweet, albeit a little bossy.)

ang.

Unfortunately, if the dogs get taken away, they will die. Even if the dogs are nice, they are big and adult and probably not well-socialized. So unless they are purebred (not pit or rottweiler), they will sit in a shelter until their day comes. Wow, the situation sucks! Hope for everyone's sake that the landlord is a surprisingly reasonable guy and discussions/letters/citations help.

hijiki

joe, you have no idea what it's like to be in your home trying to sleep and have a tortured dog yelping in a brick echo chamber every 10 seconds for hours on end. every day. all year. it's nothing like the intermittent noises of a garbage truck. and it's illegal.

wtf

...Screaming homeless people?

hijiki

i would definitely not talk to the landlord about it first. if you have to persue other channels, which you probably will, he will know it came from you. if you get him into any trouble, your life will be more difficult. squabbling with a landlord sucks.

we had a very similar situation that went on for nearly 2 years. it was a neglected, yelping pit bull. my roommate along with several other people we talked to in our area complained to the owner but it didn't help. the ASPCA told us they would most likely kill the dog. erin was right on, 311 was the way. they sent the owner a decent letter that gave techniques for the dog owner to try as well as explaining the laws regarding the barking dog and sent us a cc of the letter. it worked.

joe

newsflash: garbage trucks make noise. homeless people scream. car alarms go off. dogs bark. deal with it.

REALITY CHECK

Don't simply go straight to using 311 without trying old-fashioned dialog first.

You've taken this complaint to Gothamist, but not the dog owner? Talk to him. If it continues, complain to him again. What's he gonna do, kick you out? I don't understand why people keep walking on eggshells for landlords, despite the many laws protecting tenants. I don't know why people kiss their landlord's asses so much.

Read this to see your tenant rights.

And if the guy is so laid back, perhaps he's a nice guy. Who knows--maybe he'll listen. How will you know unless you try?

Then, if the dogs are still giving you a problem, call 311.

Rose

Don't know how desperate your housing situation is but plan on moving. I have the feeling that even if you spoke to the landlord it would do no good. If you're wondering anything about if I've ever had to deal with similar situations, the answer is yes and the dog owners "lost". But the dogs won because their living conditions improved.

Brian Van Nieuwenhoven

whatever you do, don't have your ex-boyfriend's neighbor and his fat mailman friend drive the dog out somewhere in the country to leave it there. It'll just run back home and you'll all get in trouble.