Noise Pollution
by Jason Lind, Herald Sun
Has a barking dog got you down? Or maybe one's just keeping you up. Either way, the law tries to determine when Fido qualifies as a nuisance. Daylight has a lot to do with it. From 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., any dog that barks, whines or howls at least once a minute fop a 10-minute period is considered a nuisance. On the other hand, a dog that simply barks at the mail carrier every day doesn't qualify. But from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. any barking, whining or howling is enough to make a dog a nuisance. If you think your neighbor's canine qualifies, you can call police officers, sheriff's deputies or animal control officers. Then it gets thorny. For an officer to take action, he must identify the dog and its owner - and must observe the offense. But officers don't always have time to wait for a dog to bark. But there's another route to peace and quiet. A dog can be deemed a nuisance if two or more people swear in writing that the dog barked, howled or whined for the required period of time or at night. An officer also can act if the complaining person can offer sufficient evidence. These days, that can be as easy as cranking up the video camera. Dogs, however, are not the only animals covered under the law. The law applies to any animal raising a ruckus. Animal control officers say they also receive calls about goats and roosters. If an animal is deemed a nuisance, the owner is held responsible. For a first offense, he faces a $25 fine. A second or third offense carries a $50 penalty. The fourth time, animal-control officers could seek a court order to seize the animal. Officials say that rarely happens.
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