I heard there is a small war going on in Palmetto Bay, right on SW 72nd Avenue, and it would be a doggone shame if the residents can’t manage to work things out.
There are lots of rumors, lots of accusations, lots of unleashed anger out there. Some folks are snarling mad, and this could turn into a big issue in the November elections. Here’s the straight poop as I heard it.
One resident, who is running for public office, has dogs that bark at all hours, day and night, keeping the neighbors awake.
This has been going on for more than a year and a half and finally prompted a meeting hosted by the village manager to give both sides a chance to air their grievances. There’s an audio recording of that, plus more than 50 recorded nonemergency calls to the police, and lots of emails sent to city officials.
Doesn’t sound like it helped. Although the resident said in the meeting that he wants neighbors to talk to him about the dogs, neighbors say he threatens lawsuits for harassment when they do. The resident promised to build a fence and has a permit, but how will a fence keep the noise from straying?
Some of the neighbors tell me that when they complain to the resident about the barking he tells them to come handle his dogs, then calls the cops on the neighbors for trespassing when they try. One source said he even called the police to have them arrest a neighbor who has special needs, though he knows this neighbor and his parents, and could have gone directly to the family instead. Some neighbors say they have medical conditions and need their rest. The resident, they say, then demands medical proof and claims they’re lying.
Neighbors also claim this resident tries to muzzle their complaints by filing false accusations against them with the police, then tells the neighbors that’s what they get for messing with him. Except “messing” isn’t the word he uses. A woman across the street says he uses both the “f” word and the “b” word to describe her. And right after she complained, she said her car was vandalized, covered with mustard and an obscene drawing on the windshield.
The battle gets weirder. I heard reports that this resident charges money for tennis lessons on his property, which sounds like an illegal business and competes with the village’s tennis center. And other reports that his detached garage, permitted as a “meditation room,” houses a hydraulic lift and is being used for car repairs that create noise and smog.
The police tell us they cannot help because the village’s noise ordinance is poorly written and the resident refuses to open the door when they knock in hopes of speaking to him about the constant calls.
There seems to be no end in sight for this canine controversy and the candidate who is “raising the woof,” so to speak. If attempts by our elected officials haven’t worked so far and public fears of “anti-dog laws” add to their dilemma then what is the solution?
Can’t someone negotiate peace in the village’s war on SW 72nd Avenue and help these neighbors?
Social Etiquette is non existent in miami. Everyone thinks they have their right and is very inconsiderate of others. That’s why I’m moving out of this 3 rd world country and moving north,… back to the United States of America.
wow… unreal thats all i can think of to say… if u have dogs be sensible to your neighbors and bring them in the house at night… i had a big dog growing up that would bark at night and we let him in the house at night and put him in the utility room with a dog bed, water and closed the door so he would go to sleep… if you cant do something as reasonable as this then you shouldnt own a dog i mean honestly leaving a dog outside all night isnt fair to the animal either… what if it rains or theres lightning would u as a person like to be left outside with no where to go in a lightning and rain storm? its not right
Then everyone wonders why this escalates into violence. People are trying to abide by the law and settle this in the correct manner.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T! R-E-S-P-E-C-T! R-E-S-P-E-C-T! IS SUCH A LONELY WORD!