get a backbone.. if your on good terms with him allready, just talk to him about it in a nice way and see what happends... its the festering ,wondering what to do,getting mad thats unneccesary. lucas
Spoken like a festering pustule of oozing WebTV goo. Learn how to properly format a post to usenet.
And yours?
On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 04:51:05 GMT, dkhedmo wrote:
:Are you actually in Berkeley? Berkeley municipal code states there :should be no more than 4 dogs over age 6 months. If there are more adult :dogs than that, they are required to have a kennel set-up which is :approved by the humane society and there are set-back requirements for :said kennels. : :As per recent CA laws regarding dogs being kept/tethered outside, etc. :the following may be helpful: : :> Section 10.04.140 Care requirements for dogs housed or left outdoors on private premises. : :> C. Shelter. If a dog is housed or left outdoors, its owner/guardian shall provide a ?shelter? structure or other space for the dog ... > (f) be kept clean and maintained in a manner designed to insure the :best possible sanitary conditions, e.g. excreta shall be removed from :the shelter as often as necessary, : : :Good luck dealing with Berkeley bureaucracy, you'll need it... : :Karen, who used to live in the East Bay and worked in Berkeley for many :years
Yes, I'm actually in Berkeley and thanks for citing the city code. I'm pretty sure he has less than 4 dogs, probably two. I figured that Berkeley doesn't allow this guy to just let his dogs continually crap in his backyard and never clean it up. I just went to my back fence with my digicam and took 1/2 a dozen pictures. I hadn't taken the trouble to look carefully before, but from my single vantage point on the fence I could see that the dogs aren't just crapping next to the fence, but all over the portion of his back yard that I can see -- the area in back of his new garage, an area over 150 square feet, for sure. He just ignores it, evidently. Many turds, most rather dried up by now, just sitting out there. Now, I'm certain that it's an egregious code violation.
I've read all the posts up to this one and I'm inclined to agree with the people who say I should talk to this guy before contemplating going to the authorities. I can probably find the regulations online, FWIW, but it isn't my inclination to go to the authorities if there's a chance I can resolve a problem without doing so, and this situation can very probably be so resolved. I'm not going over there today, because I want to think about just what I'm going to say to this guy. He's tried to come off as a nice guy, easy to get along with and I think if I approach him in the right manner he will start keeping his back yard reasonably clean. I don't want to create bad feelings, so I'm going to work on my attitude, think about how to approach him. I've done many similar things in the past (I think we all have), so I figure I can probably work this problem out too. I don't think either of us needs to get belligerent. It's been years, so there's no rush. I think the first step has been made, actually, which is simply deciding that I'm going to talk to this guy. It could happen today, it could happen in two weeks, who knows? But it WILL happen! I rarely see him. He doesn't hang out in his back yard, AFAIK. I may wait until I encounter him, or I may knock on his front door. If I wait until I encounter him he will immediately realize I have had something on my mind that I've wanted to talk to him about - not a bad way to start the communication about this.
His house is generally upwind of his back yard, is a big part of the problem, I figure. I don't think he has a wife. I don't know this for a fact, but I suspect he lives there alone with his dogs. His house is due west of the back yard, and the prevailing winds in Berkeley are from the west or northwest. Only on rare days do we get offshore winds, and only then would he sense the problem, assuming some of his windows were open.
Dan
:On Thu, 19 Jul 2007 20:24:23 GMT, Dan_Musicant :wrote: : :>Lived here ~25 years, bought the house March 2000. Soon afterward met a : : :>footing I'm on here. Is this guy required to clean up after the dogs? :>
:>TIA for wisdom, etc. :>
:>Dan : : :There isn't much you can really do and remain on good terms with your :neighbor. At one time my neighbor had 16 (large) dogs and the stench :and flies was intense. Our city requires three unrelated neighbors to :sign a complaint about dogs. You might consider growing mint near the :pile or just stay inside.
Funny you say this because there's been a pretty big mint patch about 10 feet from that back fence. This year for some reason it's died back considerably. I'd come to regard it as a problem, because the mint, originally confined to a plastic pot one of my house mates had ascertained, had jumped to the yard and as you probably know, mint is quite invasive. It spreads with runners and until recently has been very hardy here.
16 large dogs in your neighbor's yard sounds like a living hell!
Good luck. The only thing worse than living next to all that poop, is living next to a person that you don't get along with. That can be a living Hell. I hope it works out for you, and you and he can solve it amicably. Take care.
Cheri
clipped
Mint is a seriously weedy plant. For the more important problem, I would call the health department, tell them the neighbor's yard is full of dog feces and is attracting rats. You won't be fibbing, because you may not have seen them yet but it is attracting them :o)
I am very disinclined about approaching neighbors personally - if he likes dog poop all over the yard, he may not share your good-neighbor instincts. Read your city building code - it must have a clause about accumulated garbage/waste, noxious odors, etc. Make an anonymous complaint, if your city accepts them, first. May sound "chicken" to some, but I have met my share of nasty, vindictive neighbors - code allows anonymous complaints for a good reason.
Except that code doesn't allow complaints to remain anonymous past the initial investigation. If an agency takes action -- a fine or citation -- the records become public for due process proceedings at hearings. The name of all complainants will be made public.
Dan (the OP) is right on the money with his approach. There is plenty of time to involve government if the neighbor persists in his behavior once Dan talks with him.
This should help... (sorry but I had to).
-- Oren
If your not getting it from the horses mouth, You're listening to the wrong end.
Get a ringer to file the complaint; an out-of-town relative, etc.
Reason I jumped to my conclusion is that this guy has a yard full of dog crap that he must be constantly stepping into and smelling in his own house. I would not anticipate him to be reasonable since apparently he likes living under these conditions and would not understand why you don't too. If you speak to him, I doubt he would comply, and then if you turn him in, then he would think it was you and you would be the enemy and the cause of his problem. Normally I would discuss a problem with a neighbor before using the nuclear option but I think it is needed here. Frank
What conclusion? To what or whom are you replying? You need to include a bit of the text to which you are replying.
You can do that, but what standing does the ringer have? How would they be directly affected? If somebody who doesn't live near the poop-dude turned in a complaint, it wouldn't get investigated. I would be thinking someone was trying to pull a prank or has a grudge.
Yes, it probably would, but it is poisonous to dogs. And poisoning the guys critters is likely to cause some serious neighborly problems.
I agree with the folks that are suggesting you tell the neighbor about the smell bothering you. He really may not know. And at least you'll have tried doing it in a neighborly way prior to asking for city help.
As a responsible dog owner (I poop scoop once a day in winter, twice a day in summer), it is awful to read about stuff like this. It gives dog owners everywhere a bad name -- unfairly. I hope you'll give the guy a change to mend his ways.
So long as you keep it civil and use the ol' Oprah "I Statement" trick (try not to accuse him, just tell him that the smell is preventing you from enjoying your back yard), it might work out OK.
Then again, it might not. He could get very defensive, but then you'll have the city codes to back you up.
Best of luck with it all.
--svs
If he has another neightbor he doesn't like, he could use his name and address. I doubt the county has more than a passing interest in *who* complains.
A county agency can be subject to civil lawsuits if an investigation, based on a 'complaint', was not valid. The validity of a complaint is always established by a legitimate report. That does not mean that a county agency cannot initiate an investigation. But if the agency investigated and took action based on an complaint, it will document that the complaint is from a real and valid source.
Sign the complaint and attest to the veracity of the report; using another name? Come on!
My county requires multiple complaints from neighbors ( 3 ) and these complaints need to be in close timing/dates.
Our animal control is under a lot of fire due to dying animals and improper care of the facility. Experts were brought into Las Vegas to help the county get corrected at the animal shelter.
-- Oren
..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..
Even on public health or animal cruelty problems? That would make a lot of sense.
Bob
I live back east now, and something I noticed in early spring were ads for people willing to come clean up the dog poop in your yard, I assume for people who just let the dog out to poop in the snow but never cleaned it up all winter. (Ewww... the mister was out there at least once a week, no matter how damn cold it was!) We didn't own a dog when we lived in the east bay, so I can't say I ever noticed people offering those services, but maybe you could look around for a couple of phone numbers to give the guy, maybe even check into the prices. Could be a way to open up an amicable conversation?
Karen
Dan_Musicant wrote:
private premises.
shall provide a ?shelter? structure or other space for the dog ... > (f) be kept clean and maintained in a manner designed to insure the
Here you go:
Karen
dkhedmo wrote:
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