By ANEEKA SIMONIS
A PAKENHAM man said years of unsuccessful attempts to silence a yappy neighbourhood pooch had sent him doggone mad.
Anthony Walters, who said he barely got through a night uninterrupted by the sounds of his neighbour’s dog, said he was sick of jumping through council hoops and wanted something done about his noisy four-legged neighbour.
“You pay a lot of money for rates every year and get very little service back from them.”
Mr Walters said he had had little reprieve from the noise despite three years of complaining to Cardinia Shire Council, and was demanding clearer stipulations around what was and wasn’t considered reasonable.
“There aren’t any hours on their website where barking dogs would be considered unreasonable,” he said.
“I don’t know how long a dog has to bark for and how many times it has to bark before they consider it to be a nuisance.”
Unfortunately for Mr Walters, he remains in the dark as to what qualifies as a noise nuisance.
A statement by council’s Compliance Services co-ordinator Shannon Maynard had not cleared up the picture for Mr Walters.
“If residents are affected by nuisance barking, the first step is to approach the dog’s owner to discuss the issue,” Mr Mynard said.
“If excessive barking continues, residents can report the issue to council. A council officer can provide noise diaries to record the time and duration of the barking over specified time periods. Council will also get in touch with the dog’s owner to discuss the issue and give them strategies to try to stop the noise.
“If the matter remains unresolved, the officer will then conduct sit-outs and door knock the area to gain further evidence of the barking. The complainant will also be required to keep a second diary, to show the problem is ongoing.”
Mr Maynard said if council found a barking dog to be a nuisance, they could issue the owner directive notices to correct their pet’s behavior.
“Council cannot force someone to get rid of their barking dog, however owners are required to implement works or activities to stop the barking and may face fines or prosecution if they fail to do so,” he said.
“Infringements are $200 and failing to comply with a notice to comply also carries a $200 on-the-spot fine. Offences which proceed to court are subject to a maximum fine of $2000.”
Mr Walters, who has had several council officers stakeout the front of his home to survey the noise, claims his neighbours are well overdue for a fine.
“Very rarely do they actually do anything about the barking other than yell at the dog from inside the house,” he said.
Animal noise is addressed under council’s Local Law 10 which is due to expire and may change under a current review.
