Supervisor Bob Ullenbruch, the driving force behind the proposed ordinance, explained that the lack of complaints about barking dogs drove the decision to drop the ordinance idea. “We were going to pick three or four specific areas to try out [the ordinance] but basically animal control has had virtually no complaints in the last six months that weren’t handled immediately,” he said. “We just couldn’t find three areas that made it necessary to do something that large at this time. And animal control recommended that we not do it.”
Patrick Wood, one of the county’s two animal control officers, confirmed that his office doesn’t receive many calls about barking dogs outside of Lake Monticello, which has its own rules already in place. “Outside of Lake Monticello there’s enough land where it’s generally not an issue,” Wood said. He said he receives complaints “once in a blue moon” and generally does not receive repeat calls.
If someone outside of Lake Monticello does experience a dog barking issue, Wood said that calling him or Paul Sheridan, the county’s other animal control officer, is always an option. But since there is no ordinance, he noted that there is no enforcement action they can take. “I happily talk to people and explain that they can try to civilly work it out with their neighbor,” he said.
