Noisy Dogs
THE BYLAW
In the City of Victoria, the Animal Control Bylaw regulates noise caused by dogs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It governs public places, private property and any type of vehicle.
It is expected that dogs will bark given the regular comings and goings of a neighbourhood. However, the owner of a dog must not allow the dog to bark, howl or cry in any of the following manners:
(a) continuously for ten minutes or more without significant periods of rest
(b) sporadically for a cumulative total of 15 or more minutes within 1 hour, or
(c) otherwise in such a manner as to cause a nuisance.
It is easy for Officers to pinpoint the exact moment when noise becomes excessive as the Bylaw is very specific. Each circumstance has its own unique factors and Officers will take them into account before deciding upon what action to take. The fine amount for this violation can be $150.00 per day.
In the District of Oak Bay and in the Township of Esquimalt animal bylaws also regulate noise created by dogs 24/7/365. These bylaws also govern public places, private property and any type of vehicle.
It is expected that dogs will bark given the regular comings and goings of a neighbourhood. However, if the barking is excessive it may violate provisions of the Bylaw.
It is difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when barking becomes excessive as the Bylaw is subjective in nature. Each circumstance has its own unique factors, but usually, excessive barking is barking that is frequent and/or persistent and disturbing to the neighbourhood.
In Oak Bay and Esquimalt the bylaw states, "No person shall keep or harbour any habitually noisy dog within the Municipality." The fine amount for this violation can be $50.00 per day.
Regardless of the jurisdiction there is no justifiable legal reason for a dog to bark at night unless the cause for the barking is truly unexpected. Examples: your neighbour's house was on fire, or the police chased a "bad guy" through your backyard. Raccoons, sirens, the moon, people walking by your house shouting, etc., are not unexpected occurrences and do not provide a justifiable reason for a dog to bark between 10:00 pm and 7:00 am of the next day (8:00 am Saturdays, 9:00 am Sundays & Statutory Holidays).
THE FIRST COMPLAINT
If you are disturbed by a barking dog and decide to call Animal Control you must provide the following information.
1. Your NAME, ADDRESS and PHONE NUMBER. Anonymous complaints are not investigated.
The complainant's identity is not provided to the dog owner. You are always identified as "the complainant".
We purposely do not use terms such as "he" or "she" when referring to you. Your identity will not be revealed
to the dog owner unless the matter needs to be resolved in court and you agree to be a witness.
2. The ADDRESS of the barking dog. We do not search neighbourhoods to locate the barking dog.
3. You must also provide a BRIEF ACCOUNT or HISTORY of recent barking disturbances.
Animal Control Officers do not initially know how valid your complaint may or may not be. We likely do not
live on your street, nor are we parked outside in our vehicles listening to what is going on 24 hours a day.
An Officer will attend at the location of the alleged barking dog and speak with occupants to:
(a) identify the dog's owner & determine the likelihood of the complaint
(b) inform the dog owner of Bylaw regulations pertaining to barking
(c) identify barking motivations & suggest possible remedies
(d) inform the dog owner the complainant will be counseled to keep a Barking Log if they are further
disturbed
(e) ensure the dog is currently licensed
The Officer will then telephone you and advise you of the outcome of the discussions with the dog owner.
It is our experience that most dog owners are concerned for their neighbours and do not want their dogs to be
a disturbance to a neighbourhood. Some owners have no idea their dog was creating a disturbance and
sincerely regret any inconvenience they may have caused and take immediate action to lessen or stop the
barking.
If the dog continues to bark and causes you further disturbances you must produce a written log of the barking
to verify that a violation of the Bylaw is occurring (see next heading for information & instructions).
BARKING LOG
With our initial approach, 80 to 90% of barking complaints are resolved by a single face-to-face meeting with the dog owner. However, there are occasions when barking continues and the complainant is further disturbed. If this occurs and the complainant wishes to make a second or subsequent complaint they must produce a written account of the barking disturbances.
Officers will not re-visit any barking complaint unless the complainant has kept a "Barking Log". It is absolutely mandatory that the complainant keep detailed, accurate and factual notes of the barking.
The following types of information should be recorded:
1. DATE ( year / month / day )
2. EXACT TIMES when barking started (eg. 9:17 am, 9:22 am, 9:25 am, 5:19 pm, 10:56 pm)
3. DURATIONS of barking (eg. 42 seconds - 09 seconds - 1 minute & 13 seconds)
4. How did the barking disturb you?
5. Note whether or not the dog visible to you each time when it barked?
6. When you can observe the dog, document whatever appears to be motivating the dog to bark.
7. If you go out - document when you leave and when you return or there will appear to be long periods of
time when the dog is not barking.
8. Occasionally document where the dog is when it is barking (eg. by backdoor, at gate, middle of yard)
A Barking Log is complete when the complainant has recorded three (3) days of significant barking in any 10
day period. The three days do not need to be consecutive and can occur in any pattern within any 10 days.
Upon completion of the 3rd day (of documented barking) the complainant should immediately contact Animal Control and advise. An Officer will make arrangements to pick up the Log and it will be reviewed to determine whether a violation has occurred. If it is apparent that a violation has occurred the Officer will re-visit the dog
owner with Barking Log in hand to (A) inform the owner a violation has occurred and (B) warn the owner further disturbances will result in daily fines. Officers will again endeavor to work with the dog owner to find solutions so that penalties can be avoided.
At this point very few dog owners continue to allow their dog to cause a disturbance. However, if barking continues the complainant must complete a second Barking Log in keeping with the same standards as the first log. When a second log is received that confirms a violation has occurred Officers will canvass other residents near to the source of the barking to identify other persons who can corroborate general or specific allegations.
Officers may themselves monitor the source of the barking for periods of time and issue fines based on their own observations.
Officers will issue tickets when there is a reasonable expectation the violator will be convicted. Officers may issue tickets based on individual or corroborated statements. Complainants must be prepared to go to court and provide testimony if required.
Complainants are forewarned that personal integrity and diligence are very important to the successful resolution
of a barking complaint. Poor record keeping, general statements (eg. "dog barked all day 9am - 5pm"), exaggeration, fabrication, lack of tolerance for neighbours are all reasons for an Officer to conclude an investigation. Files closed for any of these reasons will not be reactivated for 12 months.
PENALTIES
In those circumstances where the initial efforts of the Animal Control Officer has done little or nothing to restore
the peace & quiet of a neighbourhood, a fine can be issued to the dog's owner for each day the barking, howling, or crying from the dog violates the Bylaw.
The Animal Control Officer does not need to witness (see or hear) a violation. They can issue a ticket (on reasonable and probable grounds) when there is credible documented evidence by witnesses who are willing
to go to court and provide testimony.
At this stage, tickets are issued because the dog owner's actions to remedy the problem have been insufficient or non-existent.
In some cases tickets do not bring about any change and may provoke the dog owner to be more uncooperative and more unreasonable and can result in even more disturbances. If this occurs, it can be argued the dog owner is keeping a "habitually noisy dog". In some cases (with approval from the Municipality) an Officer could seek an Injunction from a Provincial Court to compel the dog owner to no longer keep the dog within the Municipal boundaries.
In lieu of an Injunction the owner could surrender the dog to Animal Control where it would be adopted out to a more suitable and responsible person or family.
