The American Dream-Owning a Home LOL

In My Humble Opinion
1

After talking with our neighbor about her cat using our front flowerbed as litter box which is tearing up my wife’s plants and flowers, the neighbor basically told us that we would just have to hope the cat decided to find another place to use the restroom or otherwise we might as well get use to it.

So wife calls animal control to ask about picking up a cat trap, animal control officer said she would get one out to my wife in a couple of days. Couple days later we didn’t receive a cat trap, but a picture of our dog taking dump in our own fenced in back yard along with a $500 ticket for a the violation of City Code 16-8:

Sec. 6-18. - Dogs defecating on public and private property.
(a) An owner, harborer, or other person having care, custody, or control of a dog commits an offense if he knowingly permits, or by insufficient control allows, the dog to defecate in the city on private property or on property located in a public place.

and a $500 ticket for the smell of the dog’s poop in violation of City Code 6-3:

Sec. 6-3 Keeping not to be nuisance.
(A)No person shall willfully or knowingly keep or harbor on his premises or elsewhere any animal, livestock, or fowl or any kind that makes or creates an unreasonable disturbance to the neighbors or the occupants of adjacent premises or persons living in the vicinity thereof. This includes, but is not limited to, animals making or creating noises by howling, barking, bawling, **or creating **noxious odors. A person shall be deemed to have violated terms of this section if such person shall have been notified by the animal control officer or any police officer of such disturbance and shall have failed or refused to correct such disturbance and prevent its recurrence. Such a continued disturbance is hereby prohibited and declared to be a nuisance.

Called DA about the situation and basically told if we contest tickets, which he stated we were free as Americans to do, he would have consider that a refusal to correct the disturbance and would have to have the animal picked up by Animal Control stating “and we both know what that means”.

Since this getting ridiculous can we sue in Federal Court for the City violating our dogs privacy, or maybe get Odor of Protection from the Court; wonder if the Feds might consider our dog for the Federal SHlTLESS protection program?

2

Not a lawyer or a dog owner, but this…

sounds to me like they can only cite you if they tell you about it, and then you do nothing to fix it. They just cited you. Granted, as the guy said, if you fight it they’ll take your dog and kill it, but that’s how I read that sentence.

3

Legal advice is best suited to IMHO.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

4

I am not a lawyer, but unless this law was written as an underhanded way of banning people from owning a dog at all, the only way this makes sense is if it only applies to other people’s private property.

Combined with the DA’s response, it’s pretty clear that this is a shakedown.

5

What city is this? There might be elements of the law prior to those statutes that better clarify what is meant. Also, if you decide to fight, go to court to get an injunction first so they cannot seize your dog while the case is being heard. Lastly, are you in a single party state meaning only one side of the conversation needs to know it’s being taped? If so, have your wife call the DA and ask the same question while you are recording it. Ask a follow up question like, “So we have to pay $1000 or you’ll take our dog?” Stuff like that. That would be great in court or you could send a copy to your state AG because I guaranty either

  1. He’s doing this to other people too.
  2. There is a connection between the neighbor and the DA.

NB: I am not a lawyer and good luck.

6

Something tells me, the OP is a whoosh. Also his screen name.

7

Odor of protection! Bahahaa!!

But seriously, where is a dog allowed to poop if not in its own backyard???

8

If I’m interpreting correctly, the dog can poop wherever it wants, provided the owner immediately collects and properly disposes of the feces.

Can’t find a city, but my Magic 8-Ball tells me the poster is in Texas.

9

Good catch. The lawyers are not too thrilled with the OP either.

It being Texas, the obvious answer is for the OP to use guns to protect his property rights. If it were real, I’d say get a lawyer and call the local paper. It would be a great story.

10

Honestly, that is from this City I live in Code of City Ordinances, while I the names and facts in the story were fabricated to protect the innocent, after a neighbor begins dumping stuff at the back of a lot I own next door to my house, and telling me the City is telling he can…and speak with the Code Enforcement guy and all I get a blank stare and cited for code violations.

I go to the City Code office and while they laugh at me at first-they see the pictures where the dump pile grows during the time period the code officer is monitoring the neighbor abatement for a violation on his place. But the pictures show what was going on even if the they actually show anyone doing the dumping.

But mysteriously a load of used asphalt is dumped at the front of my lot a few of weeks later now I am convicted of ILLEGAL DUMPING on the legal theory presumption of guilt since it was on my property then I must have put it there. As if being the property owner I would screw over my own property.

But at $2000 a day from whatever day the Judge says the Code guy says the violation began until it is abated, which means unless I can appeal and win then they put a big lien on the place and I lose all my equity and land that isn’t connected to my residential lot. The judge did give me some good advice, you might ought go and try to track down them guys that dumped it on your property, yeah thanks.

11

Well, there were no names in your first post in this thread, so there were none to fabricate. But if the “facts in the story were fabricated to protect the innocent” how do you expect to receive any real advice?

12

Which doesn’t seem to be online anyhere. Funny, that.

13

I take that back. It is online but apparently not indexed by Google.

Waxahachie, Texas, Code of Ordinances

14

Well, if that’s the right city, then the OP is off the hook for his dog defecating on his own property:
Sec. 6-18. Dogs defecating on public and private property
(d) It is a defense to prosecution under subsection (a) or (b) that:
(1) The property was owned, leased, or controlled by the owner, harborer, or person having care, custody, or control of the dog;

15

So, what did you do to piss off your city government? If the local paper is not their good buddies, call up a reporter. This could even hit the wire services, and the reporter would love that.