barking dog

My neighbor has a large, loud barking dog. I think the dog is neglected (i.e., left alone in the backyard all the time), and that's why it barks.

I'm a little reluctant to talk to the neighbor directly, since a) the place looks like a crack house, and b) someone who neglects their dog like that probably doesn't care what the neighbors think.

Any advice on how to deal with this?

That sucks. How often is all the time (in terms of it being left outside)? Can you see if the dog has food and water regularly? If you are sure that the dog is being neglected it might be a good idea to get the humane society involved.

Not sure, but you couldn't go wrong with calling 311. Everyone I've ever talked to there was helpful.

call the aspca. i think they do have some sort of investigatory function for animal cruelty cases.

however, if that dog's barking suddenly turns into instructions for killing people, time to get yourself checked out. (ok, bad bad bad, i just couldn't resist)

Yes, the ASPCA will show up, check it out, and call you with an update. They're awesome.

You have to keep on calling the ASPCA if you want them to come. Also keep track of when the dog barks, etc. In this heat the dog should not be out there without a proper dog house - its the law. If the dog is neglected you should definitely get involved.

I think you should try talking to your neighbor before siccing the ASPCA on them.

Laura, you wouldn't happen to be in Clinton Hill, on Washington, would you? I lived next to a crackhouse looking place over there with a barking dog problem for four years.

Not that there couldn't be two run down houses in Brooklyn with barking dogs....

311 is your friend here. We (and neighbors) ended up calling the city noise complaint line so many times that they actually did something and started sending the cops out on a regular basis. Given that the owner of the dogs was obviously an addict this freaked her out and for a while at least she would make attempts to shut the dogs up.

311 is useless for barking dog complaints. they basically refused to act when I called about a barking dog complaint recently. the ASPCA, far from being sic'ed on someone, simply comes, checks things out, and if there's anything untoward happening, they will deal with it. they're really very nice. don't any of you watch Animal Planet? There's a great show that actually documents NYC's ASPCA force. I called them about a stray dog in a lot behind my apartment building, that I was worried wasn't being fed. Officer DiGiacomo (who is often featured on the show) called me, and was so sweet. she felt the dog was being fed and cared for, so she didn't do anything else, since that satisfied my concerns. they really have the best interests of the animal at stake, which is really the issue: when a dog is left alone to bark and bark for hours,, it is being mistreated and the ASPCA is the right agency to deal with animal cruelty.

In defense of 311, on an ENTIRELY different issue of course, I had a pretty amazing experience with them. One bitterly, bitterly wet and cold day last winter, I noticed two homeless people huddled in a cardboard refrigerator box near my office on 20th Street in Manhattan. It broke my heart. I immediately called 311, gave them the location, and when I went out there to check an hour or so later, the people were gone, their boxes nicely folded up (for future use, perhaps). I think 311 got the homeless advocates/agencies activated on that particular situation and I was so very relieved and impressed. Assuming, of course, the two people were taken to safety against the weather, which I assume they were. And the fact that their "home" --- the boxes --- were respected, was touching to say the least.

I hate to sound cynical, but they probably got EMS to take them to the Bellevue ER.

That's not cynical. At least they got out of the cold, which could have killed them. I certainly had no grand illusions that they were placed in a comfy apartment somewhere.