Comments on: Ceaseless Barking For No Obvious Reason

Question: Ceaseless Barking For No Obvious Reason

26.2 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:40:03 -0800

My neighbor's two dogs have been barking non-stop for well over an hour.

These are yappy dogs, but nothing remotely like this. I'm not a snooping neighbor, but I went over and looked into her house. Nothing looks amiss and both dogs appear to be fine. We live in small 1920's bungalows; I can see most of her house from the windows. I can't see into the back bedroom, but I can tell the TV is on there from the flickering light. Her SUV is not in the driveway. I'm not angry about the dogs barking, but more concerned. Is there anything I should do? It there a way to quiet the dogs? She sometimes stays at her girlfriend's house and I'd hate to have the dogs barking frantically until the early morning.

By: hal_c_on

hal_c_on — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:03:06 -0800

Call the cops (911, or the local number would be even better). Tell them about dogs barking, and something seeming weird. The cop on patrol near the area will checkup for you. Don't try to do it yourself.

Good luck.

By: pwb503

pwb503 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:07:59 -0800

I say call the cops too. Just be a concerned neighbor and let them look into it.

Cross your fingers your neighbors don't grow dope our you'll never be invited over to another BBQ again.

By: amyms

amyms — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:15:53 -0800

Seconding what others have said. If your police department has a non-911 number for regular calls, use that. If not, go ahead and call 911. Tell them that your neighbor's dogs have been barking ceaselessly for over an hour and you're concerned. They'll send someone over to check it out. They'll knock on the door, and if someone answers, they'll say "Hey, quiet your dogs"... If no one answers, they'll investigate further.

By: Unsomnambulist

Unsomnambulist — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:20:21 -0800

I agree with Hal C On - except don't call 911. 911 is for immediate emergencies. Call your local PD directly and explain the situation (or, if you live in LA, dial 311).

By: iamabot

iamabot — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:21:23 -0800

Yeah, just call dispatch (not 911), they'll come out and give the house a go around and knock on the front door.

By: amyms

amyms — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:32:34 -0800

Just wanted to pop in to clarify the "call the police" suggestions. If you are truly worried about your neighbor (rather than just the barking) don't call it in as a "barking dog" call, make sure you say something along the lines of "The dogs are barking and this is unusual and I'm really worried that something might be wrong"... I don't know how big your city is, but in my husband's department, "barking dog" calls are a low priority (EVERYONE calls in to complain about barking dogs, especially at night). But, if the barking dogs are a symptom of your knowledge that something is "wrong" then that might get a higher priority.

By: 26.2

26.2 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:47:30 -0800

Thanks everybody. We just had an ad hoc neighborhood meeting (on my back patio away from the dogs). We all agreed something is strange over there. Police are on the way.

amyms thanks for the tip about clarifying that it's a "Hey we're worried" call as opposed to "Damn Dogs!" call. Hopefully, that'll get the community officer here sooner.

Poor dogs are still barking.

By: notsnot

notsnot — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:54:58 -0800

For most dispatch systems nowadays, 911 is the point of contact for *everything*. I've called the regular police number and been scolded, "Just call 911."

By: taff

taff — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:08:06 -0800

OOh, what happened?

By: Lesser Shrew

Lesser Shrew — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:57:43 -0800

This is kind of late, but if the police do have to enter, is there someone who can take the dogs? If something has happened, and they are upset, going to animal control won't help. Also, I'd hate for them to end up in the general sheleter population because of sloppy paperwork.

Your neighbor should be grateful for the dog sitting, if it comes to that.

By: trixare4kids

trixare4kids — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:29:04 -0800

"For most dispatch systems nowadays, 911 is the point of contact for *everything*. I've called the regular police number and been scolded, "Just call 911."

I'm not sure where you are, notsnot, but here in San Francisco area and a lot of other places too they ask to call the "Police non-emergency" line for all things non-life threatening.

Around here, 911 is for for police, fire and medical emergencies only -- I'd love it if they'd adopt a 311 number like some cities.

So 26.2, what happened last night?

By: 26.2

26.2 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:40:10 -0800

Here's the update -

Police officer came and did a through check of the exterior of the house and looked in all the windows. Everything was secure and there was no sign of any struggle inside the house. The police didn't have cause to enter the house. They offered to issue a noise citation, but we declined.

Dogs barked continuously until she came home at about 4 this morning. We had left a note on her door, asking her to get one of the neighbors to enter the house with her since they dogs were really freaked by something. There was nothing wrong in the house. The dogs and cat were fine - food, water, toys. It's a mystery what set the dogs off on 6 hours of non-stop barking. She was incredibly apologetic.

BTW - San Diego does have a non-emergency number. It's (619) 531-2000. The officer was very helpful.

By: 26.2

26.2 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:44:48 -0800

Oh, and thanks everybody for the advice to call the police. I was worried that it would be a nuisance call or that we'd get my neighbor in trouble, but the officer was great.

By: Vaike

Vaike — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:56:31 -0800

It was probably an animal such as an opposum. That is the one thing that will make many dogs go off nos-stop. The animal might have been cornered and not able to escape. Therefore it was a stand off.

By: rtha

rtha — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:53:05 -0800

Thanks for the update, 26.2.

Trixare4kids: SF does have 311, though it's obviously not well-publicized, and it's unlcear whether it also functions as a police non-emergency number.

By: trixare4kids

trixare4kids — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:13:18 -0800

rtha: 311 in San Francisco is not meant to be a police contact, rather it is for government services and information.

The San Francisco Police Department has the following numbers on their homepage.

Emergency:
dial: 911
Non Emergency:
415-553-0123