Tuesday, May 20, 2008

I called animal control

Wasn't the first time.
Around about 5 something in the morning, around about the time I wake up before the radio alarm comes on, I heard the low sorrowful howl of the dog across the alley. The howling didn't wake me up. He'd been howling long since before I went to bed. So I opened up the window and spoke to him, which quieted him for about 2 minutes, and went back to bed. When I opened the window I realized it was raining.
It isn't unusual for the people of the house across the alley to just leave their dog, a beige and chocolate husky of some sort, out side for the whole weekend, or several days on end. He sits on the deck, howling every time a siren wails. Howling at night. Howling in the rain. That rain we had a week or two ago, he was out in that. I don't know how his fur works but he never seems drenched. He could be going under the deck periodically, but most of the time he just paces on the deck staring at the kitchen door.
Regardless, I called the city 311 number, who then transferred me over to the 24 hour animal control number. Apparently, I wasn't the only one. I was told, I was the second person to call this morning about the dog.
Back during the flood watch, I called animal control and they did send someone out to check on the dog. By the time they showed up, it stopped raining and the dog was just sitting on the deck, all calm like. Nothing happened. I don't know what to expect when several neighbors call because his howling is so loud and so sad. He doesn't bark, but rather belts out a low deep 'arrooogh'.
UPDATE:
Animal Control called me back and said there was a call 2 weeks ago about the dog. They checked it out, contacted the owners, and told them they needed a dog house for the dog. Today, there is a dog house under the deck, and so animal control seems to be satisfied with the situation. Unfortunately, the dog doesn't spend any time near or in his house.

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3 Comments:

At 5/20/2008 1:48 PM, Anonymous David Archuleta said...

FYI. WHen my neighbor's dogs howled and barked, I copied the statute that forbids dog noise and pout it in her mailbox. nothing. So I called the police. Nothing. So I called the police again, and again, and I faxed them the statute. I told my neighbor (politely) that she can let her dogs howl all day long, but between 5pm and 7am, I didn't want to hear a peep. We eventually worked it out, with a little help from the police and gentle threats of legal action by me. I'll see if I can find the statute and post it.

 
At 5/20/2008 1:51 PM, Blogger Zoila said...

oh, poor dog. It's not animal control you need, you need to call the SPCA and report them for animal abuse.

 
At 5/20/2008 2:07 PM, Anonymous Sayesha Mercado said...

Statute is DC COde 1-303.41 Case is Parry-Hill v. District of Columbia, 1972, 291 A.2d 505. District Of Columbia (With element of scienter read into regulation making it an offense for anyone to permit his dog to bark in manner disturbing to quiet of neighborhood, regulation was not unconstitutionally vague).

 

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