Animal Control strongly encourages you to take a pro-active role in trying to resolve a nuisance dog problem. You can do so by following these steps:Step 1:
Summit County Animal Control suggests that you contact the owner regarding the barking dog in an effort to resolve the problem at a neighborhood level first. This can be done in person or by sending a signed letter describing the specific problem. It is recognized that contacting your neighbor first is not always possible or desirable for you. If you are uncomfortable making the initial contact an Animal Control Officer (ACO) can intervene.
Step 2:
If the problem persists after the initial contact or if you aren’t comfortable contacting the owner, a warning can be issued. To issue a warning, the following information is needed from you.
A. Complete Address of the dog owner. If this is unknown, an ACO can try to assist you in gaining this information.
B. Description of dog(s) and circumstances. i.e. color, breed, size, etc. Can you see the dog(s)?
C. Specific date and time frames and/or intervals the dog(s) were barking. Example: “The dog barked from 8:00am to 10:00am” Note: “The dog barks all the time” is too vague of a statement and does not meet the elements of describing the nuisance.
D. A signed complaint. An ACO will produce a typed complaint including the above information and provide it to you to sign.
Step 3:
If the barking complaint is not resolved within 72 hours of the issuance of the first warning, then you will be instructed to sign a second complaint. A second warning will then be issued.
Step 4:
If the problem persists after another 72 hours, then you will be encouraged to sign another complaint for a citation to be issued. By doing so, you must be willing to testify in court, should that become necessary.