Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Residents Ask For Help From Dogs’ Excessive Barking
GROVE — The quality of life for residents living near a house on Walnut Street has literally “gone to the dogs” over the past six months.
Mary “Ginger” Mathis addressed Prairie Grove City Council last week about her neighbors’ five dogs barking at all hours of the day and night. She played several recordings she’s made of the noise with her phone. In all, Mathis said she has more than 70 recordings of the excessive barking that has been going on since Labor Day 2021.
“This is a sample of what we’re hearing,” said Mathis, who lives on Elm Street.
She noted that the lots are small in that neighborhood and her bedroom window is about 40 feet from the three kennels that hold the five dogs.
Mathis said she first took the neighborly route and left a note for the owner, Joe Watson, who she said does not live at the house. She said she wanted him to be aware of the barking since he didn’t live there.
The note did not help the situation, Mathis said, adding she uses a white noise machine in her house and wears ear plugs but those items still do not help to drown out the noise of the dogs barking.
Her next step was to contact the city’s animal control officer, Vanessa Goodwin, with her complaint that the dogs’ barking was in violation of the city animal noise ordinance.
City Ordinance 6.08.03 on disturbing the peace says it “shall be unlawful to harbor or keep any animals which disturb the peace by loud noise at any time of the day or night.” Animals in agricultural zoned areas are exempt from
the ordinance.
According to a police report about the complaints, Goodwin received Mathis’ first complaint on Nov. 9. The report gives numerous other times that Mathis or other neighbors called to complain about the dogs barking.
For the first complaint, Goodwin writes that she talked to Watson, who denied the dogs were barking. Goodwin told Watson her first visit on Nov. 9, 2021, was an advisory call but the next time, the police department received a complaint, Watson would receive a warning. Goodwin also told Watson that he needed to comply with the city’s requirements to register his dogs and get rabies vaccinations.
In other reports filed by Goodwin, Watson received a warning and then he received a citation for violating the animal noise ordinance on Jan. 4.
City code says that a person found guilty of violating Ordinance 6.08 can be fined $25 to $100 and each day of the violation constitutes a separate offense. According to Rachel Guenther, chief district court clerk in Prairie Grove, Watson chose to pay the fine plus fees, $105, on Jan. 25.
Watson received a second citation for violation of the city noise ordinance on Saturday, Feb. 26, according to a police report.
Mathis was not the only neighbor who complained about the dogs barking at the council meeting.
Marilyn Cochran, who also lives on Elm Street, showed council members a handdrawn map with the location of the dogs at 206 Walnut St. and the location of the homes around the kennels.
“There are seven or eight bedrooms backing up to these dogs,” Cochran said, adding that because Watson does not live at the house, “he doesn’t enjoy these dogs at night like we do.”
Cochran also expressed concern for the animals and said she did not blame the dogs for barking.
“I feel sorry for the dogs,” she said. “They are not happy with their surroundings.”
Mathis said she believes she’s done everything to protect herself from the noise, including installing something on her windows to help muffle the sound, but does not feel the owner is doing anything on his part to help.
“You have ordinances,” Mathis said. “Why are we powerless to enforce them?”
Council members discussed the concerns at length during their Feb. 21 meeting.
City Attorney Steven Parker said he’s looked at what other cities have in place for animal noises and shared those with the council. A few other options used by cities include requiring an anti- bark collar, up to giving the city the authority to impound the animals and require the owner to pay a reclamation fee.
Council members wondered if the city could consider an ordinance that animals cannot be held at a place that is not the owner’s primary residence.
Council member Brea Gragg recommended the city have a set of criteria that must be met and the penalty would escalate if the problems are not addressed by the owner.
Council member Rick Ault agreed that taking someone’s dogs “should be the last thing.” He also noted there are “mixed emotions” out there about anti-barking collars.
Parker said he would take the council members’ comments and have an ordinance for them to consider at the March 21 council meeting.
Capt. Jeff O’Brien with Prairie Grove Police Department talked to Mathis and Cochran after the meeting and encouraged them to call the police department every time the dogs barked at length. O’Brien said now that Watson had received a citation police could issue a new ticket every time his animals were violating the animal noise ordinance.
O’Brien told the women that he also would talk to Watson to see if the situation could be resolved.