The case wended through the bureaucracy for months. Eventually, Animal Services ruled against the dog owners.
Yet nothing changed. Lopez says Animal Services officials today let the barking to continue in Highland Park. Lopez concludes that Barnette, who moved here from Seattle in 2010, suffers from an illogical fear of being perceived as "anti–pit bull."
ILLUSTRATION BY JIMMY GIEGERICH
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As far-fetched as that sounds, this is Los Angeles, where city officials are widely viewed as inefficient and often absurd. In 2005, an American Staffordshire terrier, similar to a pit bull, seriously bit someone. Animal Services declared it a "dangerous dog" and ordered it euthanized. The owner, who was on vacation during the incident, fought relentlessly to save his dog.
"This guy was real agitated and a very assertive personality," says Jim Bickhart, an aide to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "And the case became a cause célèbre. He called it an injustice — and got all kinds of animal groups involved."
Today, Bickhart says, "The Board of Animal Services Commissioners is always bound to bend over backwards in favor of the dog — and the dog owner."
Where do the seemingly sacred rights of uncontrolled pets end? "The main thing about the hearing process is how long it takes to get them scheduled or to get a hearing," says Bickhart, who claims the city is trying to add a hearing officer.
Yet even with the new fine, Los Angeles takes a fairly lax approach to silencing its incessantly barking dogs.
Houston and San Francisco are tough, sending the police to intervene; New York City sends a warning letter and, if that's ignored, a noise inspector who can issue a fine (of up to $175); Dallas noise inspectors must investigate within 72 hours.
L.A. is more like Chicago and Dallas, where barking must be proved (generally on tape by the victimized neighbor) to be ongoing for 10 or 15 consecutive minutes, respectively. Phoenix is even tougher on neighbors who complain, strongly recommending "mediation" — with the dog owner.
City Councilman Paul Koretz insists the new anti-barking fine and law are patterned after an "administrative code enforcement" approach that will dispense with a tortuously drawn-out hearing process by quickly issuing a ticket fine to the offender — as with traffic or parking.
"Residents in L.A. have always complained about the city's inability to do a good job on quality of life issues," he says.
But Animal Services officer Karrie DeMacio says she still doesn't know "how the new fines are going to be implemented or whether or not Animal Services officers will be out in the field issuing citations."
In Los Angeles, it seems, the best way to shut up 2,000 barking dogs is the rarest of events: "If an [Animal Services] officer sees it," DeMacio says, "that's gold."
Reach the writer at groptimum@yahoo.com.
