Surely there had to be another solution. Incredible they could not compromise. Here is the story:



OREGON – “We are just shocked.” That’s the reaction of the Oregon Humane Society to a Wednesday ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals that will require a Rogue River couple to have their six dogs’ vocal cords cut.

The court case was one between neighbors of nearly 20 years, reports the Oregonian: Debra and Dale Krein said the barking from Karen Szewc and John Updegraff’s Tibetan and Pyrenean Mastiffs began in 2002—at 5am each day, and didn’t stop.



The Oregonian ✔ @Oregonian
Owners must surgically 'debark' loud dogs, court rules http://bit.ly/2erFp93
8:22 PM - Aug 30, 2017
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The suit was filed 10 years later, with the Kreins alleging an auditory hell so bad their kids didn’t want to come home from school. Szewc and Updegraff reportedly did attempt to rectify the situation with methods including shock collars, to no avail.

A jury ruled in the Kreins’ favor in 2015; Szewc and Updegraff were ordered to pay the couple $238,000 and have their dogs undergo devocalization. The Appeals Court upheld that ruling.

Szewc and Updegraff had argued that the dogs were what kept their livestock—sheep, goats, and chickens on 3.4 acres—safe from predators. The Washington Post reports that as such, they argued the county’s public nuisance code didn’t apply as they were subject instead to farming ordinances.

But the AP in 2015 reported on the original ruling, which found Tibetan mastiffs aren’t a breed designed to guard livestock. It also cited the 2006 decision of a local hearings officer (related to a citation over the barking) who found the farm use defense was unavailable to the couple due to the small size and profits of their farming endeavors.

They have not decided whether to appeal the latest decision. The Oregonian notes the surgery still allows dogs to make a very quiet bark or squeak; critics call it a “cruel and unnecessary” procedure.

Link:
http://wgntv.com/2017/08/31/co...p-dogs-from-barking/

I'm a dog lover, but this is ALL on the owners. They had YEARS to make their dogs behave, like any civilized human being would do. They refused to do so, and now the poor dogs are having to pay the price.

I love my dogs and I love most other dogs, in general, but I HATE when people have nuisance-barking dogs (people who make NO EFFORT to stop their dogs from barking at all hours of the day and night).

I get it; dogs bark. I have 3 in my home, but we don't let them bark outside at ANY time of day, especially at night.

I'm actually surprised that the court actually decided in favor of the harassed neighbors.

All I know is that I've had a neighbor with an incessant barking dog, and it would drive me literally crazy. I'd be right at my wits end. The darn thing would bark at anything. Anything . And he'd go sometimes for an hour straight. I came completely undone on at least a couple of occasions screaming at the top of my lungs obscenities at the little bastard which actually made him shut up.

Anyway, that's all I gotta say about that.

What the Court should have done was remove the dogs from the irresponsible owners' possession, IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Surely there had to be another solution. Incredible they could not compromise.

It's been going on for 15 years. The owners should have taken care of the issue 15 years ago. If they don't want to subject the dogs to the surgery, they should relocate them off the farm. I can't really have much sympathy in this situation.

quote:

What the Court should have done was remove the dogs from the irresponsible owners' possession, IMO.

Yep. They do it with kids all the time when parents are neglecting them.

How old are these dogs if this has been going on for 20 years?

"But the AP in 2015 reported on the original ruling, which found Tibetan mastiffs aren’t a breed designed to guard livestock"

it's used by local tribes of Tibetan to protect sheep from wolves, leopards, bears, large mustelids, and tigers

I hate irresponsible dog owners. Most "dog people" are oblivious to other people. Your dog is not the center of the universe. I don't want fluffy jumping on me or snarling at me, control your fucking dog. I refuse to go to people's houses now that don't train or restrain their dogs.

First, any moron who would have the blatant audacity to decree I had to surgically alter my dogs can go 'F' off and die. We have reached a point in society where the court system and its judges are either as stupid or mentally ill (or both) as the people who appear before them. The right answer was always right there before this judge, but he was apparently to stupid or arrogant (or both) to reach out and grab it. It goes something like this.

"The dog owners have 30 days to pursue a solution that will eliminate the continual noise from their dogs. Animal Control will continue to monitor the situation across the 30 day timetable. If at the end of that 30 day period the dog owners have failed to come into compliance with the court's direction, their animals will be forfeited and removed by animal control."

Wow, who would have ever guessed. A non-insane answer to a solvable problem.

We had neighbors years ago with a dog that barked incessantly. You get used to it. How often does the train go by? So often you won't even notice kind of thing.

Anyway after like 3 years I was outside and something was wrong. Something off. Then it came to me....it was quiet. My first thought was wow this is nice, then it hit me ...... awwww poor thing must have died. .

Our dog was hilarious. She wasn't a barker per say. Only when riled up. The funniest thing was when something would get all the neighborhoods dogs barking talking our dog would sigh loudly and with an annoyed look go to the window, muster up one or two good barks as if to say yeah whatever I hear you. Sigh loudly again with that "pain in my ass" look and go back and lay down. She was a great dog.

Hated the trash men though. I think she thought they were stealing our stuff

15 years was more than enough. Too little, too late now. The people can probably find new homes for the dogs, and avoid the surgery, even at this point.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
We had neighbors years ago with a dog that barked incessantly. You get used to it. How often does the train go by? So often you won't even notice kind of thing.

Uhhh, no. You don't get used it. At least not me. Christ, it is absolute hell when my neighbor's dog won't shut up.

I guess I see it as dogs bark, it's what they do.

When I worked emergency communications / dispatch I learned the true meaning of ying and yang, balance.

You see every night there would be calls about dogs barking, keeping me up etc. one night however this sweet little old lady called all discombobulated. You see there was a loud party across the street and all the racket was keeping her dog up. ..... balance in force thought I.

What kind of neighbors from hell are these jackasses? 20 years and all they had to do, even once they got sued, was slap a bark collar on the dogs.

quote:

Originally posted by jimb888:
What kind of neighbors from hell are these jackasses? 20 years and all they had to do, even once they got sued, was slap a bark collar on the dogs.

The article says they tried a shock collar.

I don't know about Tibetan and Pyrenees Mastiffs, but we've had Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd crosses as well as a straight Anatolian as guardian dogs. We live in a canyon with no nearby neighbors. The guardian dogs might be a quarter mile away from the house, but when we take the pets out for their last call before bedtime the guardians hear it and go off. They are wonderful at keeping the livestock safe, but they have absolutely no business in a neighborhood. They've been bred for years to be nocturnal, watch, listen, stand guard, and raise hell if anything comes around. You aren't going to train that out of a guardian dog. Keep them inside at night or don't have them in a neighborhood. 3.4 acres doesn't sound like a viable farm. They probably need to figure out another way to keep their livestock safe or sell it.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
We had neighbors years ago with a dog that barked incessantly. You get used to it. How often does the train go by? So often you won't even notice kind of thing.

Uhhh, no. You don't get used it. At least not me. Christ, it is absolute hell when my neighbor's dog won't shut up.

Agreed. You don't "get used to it".

People that let their dogs bark non-stop are inconsiderate in the extreme to their neighbors.

Just one of the reasons I like living in an HOA neighborhood. They help control that nuisance. (my preference would be a home in the middle of 1,000 acres, all to myself. But that's not going to happen.)

You definitely don't get used to it. My first apartment after college I had a neighbor with a little rat looking mongrel. The moment she put that little bastard out he started and she'd leave him out for hours. I don't know how the poor thing didn't blow up his throat. I asked her to please do something about it a couple of times. English wasn't her first language and all she ever said was, "He got pee and poo." Finally called property management and after a few times of them talking to her with similar results I called when she put the dog out and let the lady at the desk listen to it until she hung up. Took 5 months but she was either kicked out or moved.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Our dog was hilarious. She wasn't a barker per say. Only when riled up. The funniest thing was when something would get all the neighborhoods dogs barking talking our dog would sigh loudly and with an annoyed look go to the window, muster up one or two good barks as if to say yeah whatever I hear you. Sigh loudly again with that "pain in my ass" look and go back and lay down. She was a great dog.

My Pippi had a similar trick. When the neighbor's little nippy things were out in their back yard, Pippi would go over to the fence and walk back and forth to get their attention. Once the neighbor's dogs saw her and started raising a ruckus, Pippi would think "My work here is done. Mission accomplished," and she would quietly come to the door to come back into the house and get her treat.

I get annoyed when my dog barks... and he only does it for a combined ~3 minutes a day!

I have neighbors a few doors down and when they let their dogs out in the yard the whole neighborhood knows it. I wouldn't be too happy about living next to a family where it's non-stop barking.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
"The dog owners have 30 days to pursue a solution that will eliminate the continual noise from their dogs. Animal Control will continue to monitor the situation across the 30 day timetable. If at the end of that 30 day period the dog owners have failed to come into compliance with the court's direction, their animals will be forfeited and removed by animal control."

Wow, who would have ever guessed. A non-insane answer to a solvable problem.

This.

I don't know why the judge thought he/she needed to prescribe the exact solution. All that matters is that the problem gets solved in a way that's humane to the dogs.