City Of American Canyon Online Community Forums

lol I've heard everything now!!!!

Must be the Sentinal which is the equivalent of the National Enquirer Napa Style. UFO's and all at the airport.....LOL

In todays Times Herald, yet another victim of a vicious dog attacking her. The poor woman was strolling with her baby from the grocery store and was attacked by a dog.

When will American Canyon WAKE UP and pass ordinances banning such vicious breeds in our community like Pitbulls and Rotwielers???

This woman and her baby could have been killed!

But Humane Services Director Peter Lepley was quick to point out that the blame for an aggressive dog more often than not lies with the owner. "Not every dog that's a Rottweiler is vicious," he said.

Lepley emphasized the importance of "responsible guardianship," which he said includes making sure animals are spayed or neutered and enclosures are securely fastened.

Burns claims Tupit left the front gate open and the dog unchained.

........Above is from the article of the Herald...........

The victim even says the gate was open & the dog unchained. Once again it's not the dogs fault, but irresponsible owners. And Paul, why don't YOU wake up and realize that American Canyon is NOT above STATE LAW!!!!!! If you are that concerned why don't you get together with the rest of this city and start petitioning and protesting the CHANGE THE STATE LAW which states that countys and city CANNOT ban certain breeds!!!!! It is unfortunate that we are having such issues with aggressive dogs. Banning them won't solve the problem. Same as banning guns won't solve the problem. Government has already banned drugs and them illegal, but gee did that solve the drug problem. NOOOOOO. Animal control needs to inforce the current leash laws and laws governing dogs. And if you are going to own a watch dog then the potential owner needs to complete certain classes on proper training, etc. and maybe even require them to take thier dog to obedience training. I am also for requiring licensing of the dogs, but I thought you had to license your dog no matter what the breed. Laws don't do any good if they're not inforced, so I lay blame not only on owners of these dogs, but on the city as well. And please do not think that I have no compassion for the problem, I myself have kids. I have been bitten myself by a stray mut that didn't even look close to any of the so called vicious breeds. ALL animals have the capacity to attack, even the little or big ohhh so cute and friendly ones have that potential. I am sorry paul, I usually agree with alot of what you have to say, but not on this one!!!! Like I said before, if you really really want to change the law you need to start with the STATE!!!

I beginning to agree with Paul and I am sure this poor woman who was attacked would agree with him too.

The city could require all dogs over a certain weight to be on a lease in the backyard for public safety purposes. I dont know about banning them, but more control is needed for public safety.

Drugs have nothing to do with it.

I too agree with Paul on this one. We must ban vicious dogs. The dogs cannot have excuses because of ignorant ownership. there are way to many "bad" vicious dog owners out there. Maybe we need to start neutering and spaying them also (the owners)!

BTW who is the proud owner of the three pit bulls let loose everyday at Community PArk, at lunch time......when kids are out there.

And who is the owner of the two pitbulls running loose at the Benicia Park last weekend?

And the Kimberley Park pit bull mix last night.

All ignorant dog owners, irresponsible with no regard to public safety.

As I stated before in a previous posting those changes along with a new one I discovered in a bedroom community back east during my last vacation will stop most of the problems.

The latest ordinance is you cannot own one of the major known viscous breeds if you are a renter. Only if the property owner acknowledges the ownership and maintains the required insurance rider for that kind of pet ownership.

That law along with the others have pretty much controlled the bad pooch incidences in most communities of 20K people or less.

I had a tenant that rented from me in Antioch- in their lease, they were to have no pets- they got one anyway, and it bit someone- guess who got sued- yup, me, because I was the owner of the unit.

I ended up settling for about 5 K to get out of it, as it cost me close to 2400 in attorneys fees already- so 7400- money I will never see from teh tenant.

I like this idea that if you must be a homeowner to have a dog - I think you can put it over a certain weight-

there is another idea I thought of too, which is requiring dogs over a certain weight or breeds to be registared with the city, and that the owner is required to have an automatic closing get to the yard, like they have with pools - spring gate.

Paul I always read your post with great interest, sometimes I even agree with you, sometimes I don't! Your idea of only homeowners owning dogs just does not work for me. Some of the most stupid people own their own home and some of the nicest people rent.
As to the unfortunate situation that you found yourself being sued, as your tenents broke their lease agreement surely you could get them to leave? Was there no way that you could sue them for the money? No need to answer that last question..it is a bit too cheeky!

Never got the money back, wasn't even worth trying, this resident had enough troubles-

No knock to renters at all, not what was intended, but rather, the home owners insurance often covers these claims- most renters to not get a renters policy-

ANd Linda, sometimes I even agree with you too!

I noticed on the Vallejo City Council Agenda they were foing to have a discussion and vote about a "Vicious dog" ordinance. Does anyone know what happened with that?

Kudo's to Denver, Colorado! In todays Times Herald there is a article regarding the Banning of pitbulls in Denver. They have confiscated over 300 and have already euthanized 240 of the dogs. In order to keep a dog from being put dow the owner must sign a waiver that states that the dog will not reside in the Denver City limits. WOW, if a town as large as Denver can muster this up, AmCan should be able to.

This ruling is temporary. It will be challenged I am sure. To sentence dogs to death as a general rule because of a breed? Isn't that how it begins? Will people be next if they aren't a specific breed?

Breed management is proven to be an effective and responsible deterant that makes it the owner first and city second for enforcement and maintenance.

That way you are not stepping on anybody's civil rights. Denver will have a class action suit for sure keep watching the paper.

Another pitbulll sighting:

2:36 pm today.................at the Starbucks in American Canyon a rather muscular pitbull was tied to the table outside while the owner was in drinkiing coffee with friends. The dog was unattended. My question is why even bother to take the dog if you are just going to tie it up outside.

Irresponsible.........

At the code meeting when issues were discussed, Councilwoman Coffey advised that most of the complaints she receives are from people complaining of barking dogs all night long. The planning director didn’t feel that this was a health issue and therefore it wouldn’t be considered a priority. Councilwoman Coffey pointed out that it is a health threat because of sleep deprivation and that could prompt people to go “postal.” Meaning out of control behavior. I happen to agree. So I did some research with our beloved Google and found these letters and comments to help people understand how this is devastating.

This is a letter authored by Michael Wright an Anti-Barking Dog Noise Activist.

Since the early 80s I have been plagued with numerous
sources of excessive noise. By far, nuisance barking
dogs have presented the greatest threat to my health
and livelihood.

The health threat comes mainly from sleep deprivation.
Over the years I have suffered thousands of sleep
interruptions from this noise source. Much of the
time I have worked in a home office, and daytime
nuisance barkers have frequently driven me and my
notebook computer to seek the sanctity of quiet libraries
to complete necessary tasks.

The barking dog problem is related to animal abuse
and neglect. Once I paid a professional fee to an animal
behavior expert to provide me a written opinion on this
subject. It boils down to this: a barking dog nuisance
is a neglected animal. She called it "separation anxiety."
The biggest offenders are dogs which are left in the yard
24 hours a day with little attention from their owners.
They express their anxiety by continual barking.

Municipal law enforcement here does little to control the
problem. Although the city codes define barking dog
nuisances and prohibit them, enforcement mechanisms
are weak. Police are unable to write citations to offenders.
Those suffering from the noise have the option of signing
complaints themselves, but this invites hatred and retaliation
from the dog owners.

I am told that 150 dogs are put to death each week by
local animal control authorities in this municipality of
about 80,000. This amounts to 7800 annually. In a
recent USA Today (5/12/97) it was reported that for the
nation the 1996 figure was 1.5 million dogs killed.

Where do these dogs come from? Our urban centers
do not have native populations of wild dogs. It is
reasonable to assume that each and every one of these
dogs once had a relationship with a human, but was
abandoned.

When I was growing up, it was assumed that taking
a dog into a household was a commitment for the life
of a dog. No one in my neighborhood would have ever
thought of taking their family pet to the shelter just
because it wasn't "working out." This ethic seems to
have changed. Many seem to think of dogs as disposable.
People with that mentality should never be allowed to
become dog owners.

The USA Today story reported that animal rights activists
are advocating "no kill" shelters. Municipal animal control
authorities say that this is "impractical." The debate is
off the track.

What we really need is a complete overhaul of our animal
control ordinances. Owning a dog, like driving a car, should
no longer be considered a right, but a privilege. Dog owners
should be given permits on the basis of passing an exam
demonstrating competence, responsibility, and knowledge
of good practices for dog care along with municipal ordinances
defining and controlling animal nuisance behavior. Police
need to be empowered to write citations to violators. Those
who don't play by the rules should be fined, and in the event
of repeat violations, should forfeit their right to own a dog.

Does anyone know of any municipalities which have moved in
this direction?

Here is some more information on the EPA booklet. Its focused
squarely on health, in fact titled "Noise: A Health Problem",
published by the EPA Office of Noise Abatement and Control, Washington
DC 20460, August 1978. Here are some quotes:

"...noise is more than just a nuisance. It constitutes a real and
present danger to people's health."

"The idea that hearing loss is solely the result of industrial noise
is dangerously erroneous."

"As William Stewart, former Surgeon General of the United States,
has pointed out, there are many incidents of heart disease occuring
daily in the U.S. for which 'the noise of twentieth century living is
a major contributory cause.'"

"If there is one common denominator degrading the quality of all
our lives, it may well be the almost constant intrusion of noise - in
the home, at work, and in public areas."

"Newspaper files and police records contain reports of incidents
that point to noise as a trigger of extreme behavior... This
noise-induced, anti-social behavior may be far more prevalent than we
realize."

"Calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience.
Noise must be considered a hazard to the health of people everywhere."
- Dr. William H. Stewart, former U.S. Surgeon Gerneral

Barking Dogs Are a Health Hazard in California

PUBLICATION: San Francisco Chronicle
DATE: MARCH 26, 2000
SECTION: Editorial; Pg. 9; Open Forum
BYLINE: Merrill Joan Gerber
DATELINE: San Francisco

A guest editorial in the San Francisco Times about barking dogs, health and personal responsibility is a compelling argument for anyone wishing to lodge a noise complaint and important information for anyone writing local noise ordinances.

The editorial begins by acknowledging the dog's elevated position in our society--companion, protector of children, our friend--but calls to immediate attention that repetitive barking is more than an irritation, it is a health hazard and preventable. It is also, the editorial says, the complete responsibility of the dog owner.

In a careful tone, the writer allows that dog owners who do not take steps to prevent this repetitive barking are perhaps inexperienced. He admonishes that pinning or tying a dog up is like putting the animal in prison. Like us, dogs must be able to be occupied and expend energy or the barking becomes its mode of expression for everything--rendering a watch dog useless because no one would pay attention and the barking would make one crazy.

The writer cites a noted dog expert in the book "No Bad Dogs" regarding owner behavior and a study on noise by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the impact of noise on our physical health.

The editorial discussed some of the serious adverse affects of noise on the human body, including heart disease and a lowered resistance to disease. The article goes on to state that an overexposure to noise can render an adverse impact on our emotional health, turning annoyance into extreme reactions.

The article charged us to pass laws about repetitive barking in the same vein that we pass ordinances against other noise hazards such as leaf blowers and jet noise, warning us that the history of "barking" ordinances and enforcement is "weak."

Claiming most of us ignore barking dogs, except for those who are victim to their endless noise, the writer draws an analogy of the barking dog to an individual who would begin playing the drums loudly in the front yard. If we played the drums, we'd get cited. But the careless or inexperienced dog owner? Not too much happens.

The editorial asks whether there are more victims of the incessantly barking dog than we realize, and ends with a good quote from former Surgeon General William H. Stewart regarding noise: "Those things within man's power to control which impact upon the individual in a negative way, which infringe upon his sense of integrity, and interrupt his pursuit of fulfillment, are hazards to public health. Calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience."

I would like to see tougher controls on barking dogs. I would like to see stiffer fines for negligent owners. Maybe they can do this when they revamp the whole pet policy within city limits. I am tired of not being able to sleep with my windows open due to ignored animals. I am sure many others are too. Chime in if you agree.

I have addressed this before- much like a car alarm going off, music which is blasting outside, and other noise nuisances are not ok, and should be handled. Dogs are no exception.

You bring up great points. Nothing ruins a lovely quiet nieghborhood than a dog barking all hours of the day and night.

Dogs are made crazy and bark all the time from no contact, nothing to do, made to be left alone outside day and day, night after night.

Great post, very thought provoking. This SHOULD be a priority.

Further, dangerous dogs attacking people IS a health and safety issue. Barking dogs keeping neighbors from sleeping is a problem as well.

YOu can call the police about a barking dog and file a complaint.

I have barking dogs on both side of me. The people are never home and half the time I don't think they have water. I have asked them to bring them inside at night but they refuse because one says they don't have the room and the barking echos in the garage and keeps the family awake.
The other says the dog poops and it makes a mess.

I say tough cookies. You bought the muts now take care of them. I have called and was told there needed to be three different neighbors complaining besides me. Well they have and nothing.

I know none of the dogs are tagged. One got his at a flea market. So I guess the next recourse would be open the gates and let them go. Then call the humane society to pick them up. No tags, no addresses and hopefully no dogs.

Sometimes you just have to get creative.

The dog ordinance needs to be changed. Why do you need 3 neighbors- 2 is enough- Why dont you put your car in front and press the panic button throughout the day. Noise pollution is noise pollution.