“In response to your complaint regarding an animal nuisance at (fill in the blanks), the department has issued a notice to the resident advising of the alleged noise and requesting that immediate steps be taken to abate this condition”
One year ago, our neighbors brought home a poodle. The dog is left outside for hours and continuously barks. We asked them to bring her inside, but the response was “go close your windows and turn on your TV.” So we wrote a letter to the city and now are waiting to write our second complaint.
It is one part of life in Los Angeles that makes the city uncivilized. There is noise from so many sources: leaf blowers, midnight LAPD helicopters, bass blaring car stereos, barking dogs, the constant freeway drone.
We don’t live in a metropolis where our police have the time or resources to just drop in and ask the neighbors to be neighborly. Instead, we must go through those bureaucratic steps to insure our mental sanity.
If anyone in Van Nuys or the east San Fernando Valley is bothered by a barking dog, please forward your complaints to:
Field Supervisor
East Valley Animal Care Center
13131 Sherman Way
North Hollywood, CA 91605
888-452-7381 Press 1-4-5
Here in Van Nuys 
There are a lot of assumptions made in the barking dog issue. For one thing, as a dog trainer I can assure you that there are a lot of well cared for dogs with barking habits. Most often, the owner of the dog is as troubled as the neighbors and would give anything to cease the barking without having to give the animal up. . .or worse. No one WANTS trouble with their neighbors and barking when the owner isn’t home to correct the dog is a tough habit to break. I’m not saying the problem should be ignored, just that it isn’t always a case where the owner doesn’t care or is neglectful. Neglected dogs typically are very used to being on their own. It’s the over coddled/over loved ones that tend to cry in your absence. Cant we all be patient and work with these people to solve the issue so these animals don’t lose their homes?
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I must leave very near the person who gets the leaf blowers. I have a real hatred of them myself.
I hope they do something about the dog for the dog’s sake as well as yours. A poodle needs a dog door and a caretaker with a working brain.
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Andrew: Thanks for the tip. I sent you an e-mail.
Anon: Gosh, how I hate those things. Unfortunately, they’re fairly common in my neighborhood here in Portland. Even though I’m on the 11th floor, I can hear them loud and clear when they’re used on the parking lot down below. I guess the asphalt causes the sound to bounce upward. I don’t know about their legality here in Portland, but I can say I’ve heard them at 8:00 on a Sunday morning.
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can we talk about the leaf blowers? you know that there is a ban on them right? due to not only noise pollution but the microscopic dust that they blow around that one lone leaf from your neighbor’s property to yours. Every tuesday morning at 6.59.59a my neighbor’s lawn maintenance workers start their engines uder MY bedroom window……
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That is a good question Socrates. I can’t specifically say that there is ANYWHERE free of noise. The suburban areas have the dogs, while the hipster areas have dogs and parties.
I lived in Studio City for six years, along Valleyheart Drive between Fulton and Coldwater Canyon and found it generally peaceful. The “LA River” runs along one side and this makes the street quietier than most.
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It is one part of life in Los Angeles that makes the city uncivilized. There is noise from so many sources: leaf blowers, midnight LAPD helicopters, bass blaring car stereos, barking dogs, the constant freeway drone.
This is of concern to me, since I’ll be moving to LA this year and have some noise-sensitivity issues. (I used to live in noisy NYC but didn’t have the issues then.) So a determining factor in where I’ll live will be the noise level of both the area and the building. I’ll probably be avoiding “hip” areas, as those tend to be noisier by nature.
Any suggestions as to quieter areas in LA that aren’t too far away from the show-business goings-on? I realize this is a relative question, of course, and am not expecting to find rural-like quiet down there.
I hope your neighbors get a clue, or at least get one handed to them by the city. Lately I’ve been dealing with various unpleasant smells from neighboring apartments and know what a bummer such things are.
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