It is not uncommon to be uncomfortable with the way your neighbor’s pet is treated or how it behaves. It happens and, in such situations, it is appropriate to have a conversation with your neighbor about the pet. When the neighbor does not seem to care or change what is wrong, it is best to call animal control.
When you call animal control on your neighbor, they will request you to explain the issue in detail with proof to further investigate the issue. If your report is valid, animal control will contact and issue a warning to your neighbor. If the problem continues persistently, your neighbors will be visited by animal control and issued a citation.
Table of Contents
What Does Local Animal Control Do?
First things first, what is animal control? Animal control is all about providing protection for pets and protecting wild animals from dangers they might encounter.
Animal control also means providing protection for humans and properties from the dangers posed by roaming, unrestricted animals.
Local animal control has adoption programs for unwanted pets. They also enforce laws and regulations in the locality. They educate the public to provide enlightenment on how to control their pets better. More on this will be discussed in the benefits of animal control.
What to Do Before Calling Animal Control on a Neighbour?
Before you call animal control on your neighbor,
1. Have a Discussion with your Neighbor
For instances like this, it is polite and civil to talk to your neighbor about the pet. Tell them what you do not like, maybe it’s the way the pet is treated or the way the pet behaves.
Discuss it in detail with the neighbor, two heads are better than one. You both might be able to come up with a solution to control the pet better.
2. See If You are a Reason the Pet Disturbs
If you notice that the pet behaves in abnormal manners when you do some things, you should watch those actions. Observe to see if you are the cause of the behavior of the pet. Your pet might be so close to your neighbor’s pet hence the disturbance.
So, you try to distance your pet from the neighbor’s pet. Just be on the lookout for what you do that might trigger that disturbance from the pet.
Animals are hardly noisy and unruly for absolutely no reason. Find out the cause of the pet’s noise by checking its living conditions, health, appearance, and everything else.
Be sensitive to its movement and environment. If you find out you are not the cause of the problem, or the neighbor is not cooperative, it is high time you involve a third party.
3. Get the Services of a Mediator
If you cannot resolve the issue with your neighbor, a mediator can. There are certain people who can mediate in this type of issue:
- The Landlord
- The Manager of the Building
- The Association in your Local Community
These people are in the best position to step in and resolve the issue by taking planned steps. If all these have been done and your neighbor can not keep the pet in check, you can proceed to place a call to animal control.
What Happens When You Call Animal Control on a Neighbor?
When you call animal control to report your neighbor, the officers will require you to describe the problem in detail. They will need the facts and the proof to carry out an investigation. Provided the information is valid and verified, the officers will communicate with your neighbor to issue a warning, If the problem persists after the warning, a citation will be issued to your neighbor by animal control.
How to Report Animal Neglect
It is important to note that animal control is a form of animal abuse but not all instances of animal neglect are deliberate. Some might occur as a result of ignorance of how to keep pets.
In that instance, the owner might be giving a warning and training on how to provide better care for the pet.
Before reporting for animal neglect, here are a few things you should check for:
- That the pet owner does not provide the basic necessities of life: food, shelter, and water. This condition can harm a pet severely.
- That the pet owner does not put in place, veterinary service for the pet, even when it is obvious that the pet is in need of great care.
A deliberate instance of animal neglect should ALWAYS be reported to control. I mean, consider the suffering of the pet too.
Now to the main point, how do you report animal neglect? As soon as you see a case of animal neglect, put a call across to animal control and state the facts. If you do not want your neighbor to know you made the call, you can send in an anonymous report.
A lot of animal neglect instances have been unreported to the authorities because people are afraid to make a call. Play your part in helping the pet by reporting to animal control. Remember that sufficient proof is required to make a case.
What Happens if you Don’t Answer the Door for Animal Control?
Nothing will happen unless they are with a warrant to check your house. It’s as simple as that. With a warrant, you can should your door to let them in.
What to Do When Someone Call Animal Control on You?
It must hurt being reported to animal control, I understand. Sometimes, disgruntled neighbors call animal control on you just to frustrate you and waste your time.
As soon as you get visited by animal control, let them in and discuss issues with them. You will get a warning for your misconduct if found guilty. But if you are seen to be innocent, nothing will be awarded.
It is not rare for animal control to receive merit-less complaints from neighbors concerning other people.
Can I Find Out Who Called Animal Control on Me?
In recent times, people have been hesitant to report cases of animal neglect to the authorities. No one wants to get into a dispute with the pet’s owner.
So, anonymous reports have been encouraged by animal control to provide help to these pets.
Animal control officers will not tell you who provided the report; it is confidential. You can only know who called animal control on you if the person tells you or someone else does.
What Happens if Someone Calls Animal Control on your Dog?
If animal control is called on your dog, it means you have neglected your dog. It is essential for pet owners to provide basic care to their pets and not let them wander around aimlessly.
When the officers from animal control arrive, they will question you and discuss with you why you neglected your dog. If you are ignorant of how to provide care for the dog, the officers will advise you and support you. But you will be issued a warning.
If you do not make the required changes, a citation will be issued to you. Remember the best time to make the call for noise and use it to your advantage.
Benefits of Animal Control
Animal control provides the following benefits:
1. Shelter and Adoption program
Roaming pets can turn into a nuisance in the community if care is not provided. Animal control provides shelter for unwanted animals.
2. Enforcement of Laws and Regulations
There are laws guiding the care of animals; animal control enforces the regulations and makes sure the pet owners take good care of them.
3. Provision of Investigations, Quarantine, and Rescue
When reports are made to animal control, a dutiful investigation is carried out to provide the best care to the animal. If a dog wanders away from its leash and bites a person, animal control will arrive at the scene when called and investigate the event. Animal control also provides quarantine services to animals with contagious infections.
4. Educate the Public
From time to time, the public needs to be informed about the best practices needed to manage pets. Animal control provides enlightenment on such topics.
Conclusion
If you notice your neighbor’s pet suffering from being neglected, you should inform the animal control. You can report anonymously to protect your identity but make sure you report. Animal control will investigate and provide care to the pet.
