Wahnfried der Feststehend: Sounds of the City

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Sounds of the City - ABQ

Ah, there's nothing like a barking dawg tuh send yuh scrambling tuh Pandora. One of my favorite stayshunz is: Barkin' Mad Radio.

Seven days a week the dog at 10005 Los Arboles Ave NE barks from 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Albuquerque's noise ordnance requires complainants to identify themselves. The info is available to the dogs' owners who, although they couldn't have cared LESS about their neighbors BEFORE, are amazingly swift at post-complaint "discovery."

Their vengeance is swift too. Over-the-years I've admired their stealth: flattened tires, keying (an awl-time fav) and dents that mysteriously appear in otherwise vacant parking lots. And over-the-years I've grown increasingly curious about who decided the City & State should aid-and-abet dog owners' criminal actions.

On January 17, 2015 I wrote all the city councilors asking why city policy requires disclosure. Now, after more than a week only one, Trudy Jones, has responded.

Below is my email to the Councilors:

From: mfh
Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2015 12:28 PM
To: Sanchez, Ken; Benton, Isaac; Pena, Klarissa J.; Winter, Brad D.; Lewis, Dan P.; Garduno, Rey; Gibson, Diane G.; Jones, Trudy; Harris, Don

Subject: Barking Dogs

Dear Councilors:

I'm writing to ask about the history of the noise ordnance pertaining to barking dogs. Can you tell me how it evolved, especially the requirement that complainants identify themselves?

In an earlier effort toward enlightenment, I spoke to an Enforcement Officer. He said disclosure was required in case the complaint went to court. I can understand that at some time disclosure might be necessary, but his answer does not satisfy the question of why it is required to file a complaint. Nor does it address the begged question of why the complainant's name is available to the dog owner.

I look forward to a better understanding.

Sincerely,

MFH

Here is the one reply (with my name misspelled)....

To: mfh - Jan 21 at 1:11 PM
CC : Jones, Trudy

Hello Mr. Hermann, please see the email below from the Animal Welfare Department. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Aziza Chavez
Policy Analyst-Councilor Trudy Jones
Albuquerque City Council District 8
Phone: (505)768-3106
Email: azizachavez@cabq.gov
www.cabq.gov/council/councilors/district-8

From: Ludwick, James W.
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2015 12:05 PM
To: Chavez, Aziza
Cc: Bruin, Barbara
Subject: Barking Dogs

We encourage mediation as a first step toward dealing with a barking dog problem. Obviously, mediation is out of the question if the person making the complaint is unwilling to come forward.

Barking dog cases can be difficult to prosecute. It is not unusual for a case to be dropped because an officer has not personally heard the dog barking. We need cooperation in these cases right from the beginning, and normally we do not check on anonymous complaints about barking dogs.

As I said yesterday when we discussed this by telephone, nearly all of our records are open to public inspection and we are not allowed to withhold them from people who want to see them. This is a matter of state law. Our department receives many requests from dog owners who want to review complaints about their barking dogs. We provide copies of those records in accordance with New Mexico law and city government policies. END OF MSG

I know I'm not alone in this. In fact, I've heard complaints from people throughout the West. After all the years of barking you'd think our politicians would've come up with a better response than the bureaucratic one above. I mean, we do Rocket Science in this town...it's not as if there's a lack of brains.

Perhaps they, like the dog owners, just don't hear it.

You can find out who your District Rep is here. Or you could, like me, figure it's something they ALL should be interested in and email your suggestions to each of them. Their emails're below.

Ken Sanchez - District 1 - kensanchez@cabq.gov