Animal control issue, what to do? Iowa

[Newtoniamommy]

Hi, I have an aussie, I own my own home with a 1/4 an acre and own 5 chickens and a duck as well(they actually own me lol) I also have 3 small children and a husband. We had a cat but his wee little liver failed a month or so ago and the parakeet passed last winter or so. I live in a smallish town near des moines ia. Animal control came calling today. When they asked me if my dog has a dog house I laughed and said no what for? They asked if I leave food and water out for her and I said, well no, are you kidding we would have raccoons faster than I can say chicken s*&%. They said someone reported me for keeping my dog outside year round in all weather with no shelter, food, water and on a chain. That she barks incessantly for food. Now, at that point I was a touch angry and walked around back and got my sophie, she had just been let outside to go potty and was running around our fenced backyard chasing squirrels happily, I put her on a leash and brought her around. They immediately commented on the fact that she was fat, brushed and clean. I explained that I am forced to put her on a chain from time to time when we leave to go look at houses, we are in the process of buying an acreage in des moines area see. Having tough luck finding one we like. We have a leanto built for her which I welcomed them to go look at which is 4x8 foot with a privacy fence to the rear and the front is a shed so very little wind gets in there. I feed her inside the house because the creatures we would be inviting otherwise just might take a fancy to my chickens. I explained the neighbor next door is a high ranking police officer and if he thought we were neglecting her he would have definitely commented on it for starters. I have no idea who this person was but it ticks me off. In the winter when it was super cold I let her go potty in the egress window thru the basement so she would not get cold(it is a really large area way bigger than the window and is covered above. She sleeps with me alot of the time and I just made her a roast to test her teeth on today(the really cheap ones parcooked in the microwave make great chew toys of a day fyi) I foster animals for another local shelter from time to time and volunteer. I run the des moines freecycle. I mean come on, I am not neglecting my dog and I am a good person in my opinion. Yet it took me 40 minutes to convince them of this because of what I originally said not realizing what they were asking. What in the world do I do? I am not sure who complained, my dog is rarely outside as she prefers staring at the duck and fantasizing (I hope I spelled that right) and sleeping on a big comfy bed well that and scrounging for crumbs my under age 3 children leave around. Can I sue for the information on who it was who made this crud up and then go after them for defamation? It will be several months I think before we can move into the next house as we still have not found one we like. They were not willing to tell me who it was but I think it was a neighbor who just does not want a dog in the neighborhood(pretty sure I know who it is now that I think about it) oh and my dog barks maybe once every 2-3 weeks, someone has to come and bother her and make her think she has to defend her family(she is a BIG wimp) any ideas? cracks me up, they call about the dog and I am not even allowed to have chickens per a new city ordinance. animal control did not care about them though, they thought it was funny. My dog is a purebred, do you think someone was thinking they could adopt her if she was removed? I just dont really get it.

 

[MissDeb]

I know you were probably fired up over this when you wrote it, but this is little stuff. I wouldn't even fret over it. There are so many things worse in this life time that could have happened. Someones being a butt head, Let em! If that were to happen to me? I'd find a legal way to irritate them even more (grin)....and I dont mean taking them to court either......


Your moving! Who cares! hehe....

 

[legacyln]

I feel for ya! It sucks to be on the receiving end of people "talking smack" about you. I have family in law enforcement: there is no way to compel them to tell you who it was. I think your best revenge is that they went away w/out your dog and w/out giving you a citation! You know you're a good pet owner and you're moving away soon, so hold your head high and forget about 'em!

You also might want to talk w/you othe neighbors and point out that there's a rat in the woodpile and everyone should watch out-- keeps the good ones on notice and lets the bad one know you're onto him.

 

[Newtoniamommy]

Its all good lol, I know who it was now and I already found a legal way as you put it lol, their fence has termites(wondered why the chickens loved it back there...) and I can ask the city politely for it to be treated since it is on the property line(giggle)

 

[tx_dane_mom]

MY husband is convinced I will never find a neighbor I can live next to just b/c of reasons like this....I hate people....LOL. And you all think I'm so nice on here. But screw w/my animals man...ugh...best of luck.

 

[MissDeb]

Ditto Dane mom, I cant stand people. Thats why we live in (what used to be middle of no where) Alaska...lol



I have always had the attitude though when it comes to the law, (being a former criminal justice major and firefighter) things can always be worse, and what comes around, goes around. I wouldnt even say anything to anyone of my neighbors, just in case they are in on it.....it's always good to hold your head high, act like nothing is wrong and if anyone says anything "I dont know what your talking about" always works too.....(grin)

 

[Newtoniamommy]

What I could not believe is that someone would make this kind of stuff up, what is funny is the the police officer next door would have definitely called us on it if we were neglecting our baby. dumb people grrr. I wish I could incite her to bark more, would serve em right and as long as it is betwixt 7 am and 10 pm no one can say a word. Maybe I should get a second dog lol. The kind that barks constantly(giggle)

 

[sundance]

Don't they have an OLD SONG called how much is that doggie in the window that is played by dogs barking, Have a backyard BBQ and pay that song over and over May drive you nuts but will them to

 

[chickbea]

Try to calm down - this is indeed a terrible thing for a responsible animal owner to go through. However, the issue could have come up in several different ways:
1. The reporter could indeed be someone who has some unrelated problem with you and they are trying to cause trouble.
2. How much does your dog actually bark when you aren't there? Even sporadic barking can be intensely annoying, especially for people who don't own animals...
3. In every municipality I have ever heard of, water does need to be provided to a tethered dog 24/7 - but not food.
4. Never blame the humane investigator! They have to respond once a complaint has been made, and they have certain criteria they need to investigate. It is unlikely you will be able to find out who made the complaint, as the vast majority are anonymous.

 

[Newtoniamommy]

I called back and talked to them and they gave me the address of the "man" so I know for sure it is the guy behind me. His dog does not like any other animals and apparently he has done this every time someone has gotten an animal and now no one has one because animal control shows up about every other week if they do, this is what two neighbors said. They also said they have never heard our dog bark while his barks alot. The previous owners of our home bred yellow labs apparently and it got so bad they put their house up for sale and finally just locked the doors and left one day.