rubiton Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 You need to be able to set up one of those video cameras and video what is happening - got to be cheaper than boarding, lawyer letters etc. If you have a video that shows your dog in the yard and not barking that makes council go elsewhere very quickly. On the other hand if the dog is barking make sure you can see the fences in case there is something like the neighbour setting the dog off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charli73 Posted September 27, 2013 Author Share Posted September 27, 2013 Council although they havent told me where this woman lives (she isnt allowed to) she has disclosed a few things that I have figured it out anyway but I cant write a letter as I dont know who to address it to unless I have 100% certainty.. Council are also sending a survey to about 30 surrounding residents to ask them if they hear barking and at what times and if it bothers them.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
temperamentfirst Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Council although they havent told me where this woman lives (she isnt allowed to) she has disclosed a few things that I have figured it out anyway but I cant write a letter as I dont know who to address it to unless I have 100% certainty.. Council are also sending a survey to about 30 surrounding residents to ask them if they hear barking and at what times and if it bothers them.. I would board your dog first so you have proof the woman is making it up. Then have a lawyer draft a letter and send it to the council for forwarding to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ish Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Could you put a bark collar on her, so you have proof she isn't barking without having to board her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haven Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Council although they havent told me where this woman lives (she isnt allowed to) she has disclosed a few things that I have figured it out anyway but I cant write a letter as I dont know who to address it to unless I have 100% certainty.. Are you sure that is the case? I've heard of people being able to access the details of people making complaints about them to the council via the freedom of information act. They may not be able to just tell you, but perhaps if you filled out the necessary forms and paid the fee (which is like $25 I think)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charli73 Posted September 27, 2013 Author Share Posted September 27, 2013 I will have to suss this out.. I don't think it matters what information or facts we have she doesn't listen to the council lady when she is told the dog isn't there she just does not believe it.. She will only be happy when she hears no dog barking (unrealistic) and I cannot believe this nutter is taking it further and dragging us through this I just don't have the time or energy with a very young family, fur kids and a demanding job.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosetta Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Then only feasible solution I can see that will resolve the issue once and for all is - as others have suggested - to make sure the dog is elsewhere for a few days. If you don't have a friend or relative who can take her then boarding is the only alternative - worth the expense to bring the issue to an end. Once you have provided council with that proof then they will soon give her the message not to keep complaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missymoo Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 sounds like the council thinks shes nuts too...good luck and sorry for the crappy situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Please don't recommend debarking to a Victorian resident. The Nanny State has made it illegal, and the RSPCA VIC actually prosecuted a Victorian woman who took her dog to a NSW vet to be debarked. The boarding (choose the three days you are all out of the house) is an excellent idea. Council can finally convince her that she has the wrong dog with the boarding! That is incorrect, it is not illegal to debark, it is only illegal to show a debarked dog. I too would recommend debarking. Better that than going to court and trying to prove it's not your dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamSnag Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Barking collar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Barking collar? going zapp does work, although the RSPCA might come to visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melzawelza Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 You can buy bark count collars that actually have a counter inside them that count how much your dog has barked. Ask your council if they would be amenable to you getting one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 If I had complaints about mine, I'd ask council to declare them to be a nuisance and head to the vet with the declaration and have them debarked. Why bother to fight it or get upset about it, if you don't have the energy or time to deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe001 Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 It can go a long way. I ended up with an attempt to put an AVO against me and in court. Didn't work as I had never approached her. My nutter wasn't just focusing on my dogs but everything and I just had to wait until she ran out of things to complain about and she moved. Unfortunately there is no crime in complaining and no-one for me to complain to - you just meet each challenge as it comes. If I were you I wouldn't approach her or write a letter or anything - let the council deal with it. They get nutters all the time and are good at weeding them out. For me first it was me leaving my car running in my carport. She would ring noise control (who would ring me and usually wake me up to ask if I had my car running - nope) and then the police. They would come out and put their hand on the bonnet and walk away shaking their heads. Then it was my cat running on her roof. Yep, the 3-legged inside cat. Then it was me keeping native birds - nope - noisy miners for a university eradication study. Then me trying to break into her house - I just laughed that off. Then barking dogs. The phone call I received was when I was in Darwin. I answered the mobile and the real estate said she had had a barking dog complaint. I told her I was in Darwin with my dog sitting next to me. She laughed. But still ended up with a council complaint - they dismissed it. I did the notes thing and often left for a few days and hoped they aligned with her notes of a complaint - they did. Also all other neighbours wrote letters for me. Council told me to sit tight and wait for her to move. It was very stressful and horrible at the time but eventually she blew her stack and left my life. Thank god. Good luck and try not to let a nutter impact on your life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melzawelza Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 If I had complaints about mine, I'd ask council to declare them to be a nuisance and head to the vet with the declaration and have them debarked. Why bother to fight it or get upset about it, if you don't have the energy or time to deal with it. Well, most people don't want to put their dogs through operations under GA unless their dog is actually a Nuisance barker and they have tried everything to rectify it already. It seems the OP is very sure that her neighbour is over the top and her dog is being blamed for all barking. The dog is also being blamed for barking which is happening when it's not there, so the debarking wouldn't make a difference to the complaints anyway. That plus the last two people I know of who decided to go down that path had to get a specialist in and paid about $3k for the operation. OP - it sounds as if the Council have told the woman they will be taking no further action - is that right? If so, I would just keep doing what you're doing and don't worry about it. Lots of people threaten taking it further when the Council says no further action but very few actually do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 If I had complaints about mine, I'd ask council to declare them to be a nuisance and head to the vet with the declaration and have them debarked. Why bother to fight it or get upset about it, if you don't have the energy or time to deal with it. The only dog I know that has been debarked can still make a very loud noise and it sounds worse than a normal bark. Kind of like a pig being tortured. Horrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackie Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 She cannot take YOU to the Victorian Ombudsman. That is not its purpose. She can complain to the Ombudsman about the actions of the council. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 That is incorrect, it is not illegal to debark, it is only illegal to show a debarked dog. You cannot get a dog voluntarily debarked in Victoria, you have to have a written letter your dog is a declared nuisance dog and there is no other option but to debark. I believe you also cannot go get a dog debarked on a little holiday to NSW and bring it back to live here if it's registered with a Vic council. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 I'd be seriously thinking of debarking. If you mean the woman making the complaints, then I agree. I'd be seriously thinking of debarking. Thats a bit extreme isnt it? What if its not the OPs dog being the issue? What's extreme about it? Huh - are you serious. Any operation is extreme even if even if necessary. The woman is a nutter and people are seriously suggesting debarking of an innocent dog. Yeah I'd say if council tell VCAT the whole story and back you up, they will probably just tell her to deal with it. I'm sure they come across lots of weirdos. Sounds like a nutter. I'd probably keep the dog inside when you aren't there to be safe. So many lives are ruined by nutcases. We all live too close together. If I had complaints about mine, I'd ask council to declare them to be a nuisance and head to the vet with the declaration and have them debarked. Why bother to fight it or get upset about it, if you don't have the energy or time to deal with it. I cannot believe this post is serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 I would take whatever steps were needed to protect my dog from the crazy dog hating neighbour, if it meant debarking then so be it. Compared to a bait tossed over the fence or continual stress caused by harassment from a crazy person debarking is nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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