Dog Dead End

The village animal control officer stopped by tonight to discuss the situation and have us sign the formal complaint, if we were so inclined. We were not so inclined.

Don't get me wrong - we haven't had a change of heart. We still want the dogs leashed and controlled by their owner. But going forward with the complaint will not be productive. The officer told us that he had spoken to the judge, to see what he would do with the case if it was brought to him. Unfortunately, it would be at most a $25 fine, not even a slap on the wrist.

The current animal control laws are just not that strict. Sad but true. If the dogs aren't causing harm to people/property, or posing a threat, there's just not much that can be done. Even if one of the dogs were to maul me within an inch of my life, a judge could very easily drop the case (as opposed to locking the dog up, or destroying it).

I still have to call the officer back, but we've pretty much decided that it's not worth stirring up all kinds of bad karma over this case right now. A $10 or $25 fine every 6 months is not going to deter this guy from walking the dogs unleashed.

This was the officer's recommendation as well. He wasn't trying to dissuade us, but he's totally right - why stir up the hornet's nest when we already know the judge won't or can't do anything? This guy & his dogs have been a problem for him for a long time, but until we can get solid evidence of the dogs on our property, we can't make a real claim of being threatened by them.

Surveillance will continue. If we can get photos of the dogs on our property, we'll be in better shape and might be able to build a case. It's just very discouraging.