Trevor Turner, B. Vet. Med., MRCVS

First published in September/October 2004 Edition

Crufts this year was just as busy as ever for me and other members of the twenty strong team of vets and nurses who ensure that on site veterinary facilities are available for any dog on or within the precincts of the show. Nonetheless on the Saturday afternoon I managed to creep away to listen to a presentation entitled Dog Emergencies.

The speakers were Trevor Cooper, a solicitor specialising in dog law, and Sylvia Wilson, veterinary surgeon.

Trevor Cooper gave a fascinating legal overview of the various problems that could be encountered in relation to dogs. These range from barking, dangerous behaviour, damage claims to ownership disputes, claims against vets and problems of contracts for both buying and breeding.

It was obvious that many of these legal problems by their very nature can become emergency situations. Dangerous or aggressive behaviour immediately springs to mind. Others could soon become so if the warning signs were unheeded. For example, inappropriate noise, constant barking from nearby dogs or a problem with which I am not infrequently consulted, so-called inappropriate soiling by neighbours’ dogs, as is becoming increasingly more common where properties share a communal garden.

Trevor gave a brief indication of some of the deteriorating situations. Barking complaints, for example, are usually made by neighbours and the complaint will often be dealt with initially by the local authority via the dog warden. It was emphasised that we should be aware of the differences in people’s tolerance both to the noise and to dogs in general.

Other relevant factors are the time of day, the volume and the duration of the noise in question. Those who dislike dogs will be far more sensitive to barking noise and so assess the nuisance entirely differently from dog folk. Often dog owners will probably never even notice the noise!

The local authority has a statutory obligation to investigate but will not disclose the complainant nor time of complaint. If a Noise Abatement Notice is served, you have twenty-one days in which to appeal. Here indeed is an emergency in the making. That notice is enforceable so don't do nothing and hope the problem will go away. It won’t!