Brisbane woman complains over receiving council-provided barking dog letter

A fierce debate has erupted on social media after a Brisbane woman criticised her neighbour for giving her a council-provided letter in relation to her barking dogs. Was it the right move?

A Brisbane woman has taken to social media after receiving a council-provided letter in relation to a complaint that her dogs are allegedly barking excessively.

A Brisbane woman has taken to social media to criticise her neighbour for giving her a council-provided letter in relation to her barking dogs.

An Albany Creek woman took to social media after receiving a City of Moreton Bay Council-provided letter from a neighbour regarding allegations her dogs are barking excessively.

The formal council-provided letter exchange follows a string of informal, abusive notes swapped between neighbours across Brisbane over barking dogs.

A council-provided letter a Albany Creek woman received in relation to allegations her dogs are barking excessively. Picture: Facebook

A Sherwood woman recently shared two notes from a neighbour calling out her dogs for their supposed non-stop barking that referred to her canines as “stupid brainless mutts” and “stupid mongrels”.

An Eagleby resident also recently took to Facebook after receiving an expletive-laden note from her neighbour which stated she must “shut up her f**kin’ dogs”.

The social post shared by the Albany Creek woman. Picture: Facebook

In the most recent exchange posted to social media, which has since been deleted, the Albany Creek woman criticised the complainant for “hiding behind these anonymous letters”.

“Please don’t hide behind these anonymous letters,” the woman posted.

“If you live this close and are obviously aware we’re not home, find a time when we are and talk to us.

“Unfortunately, for you they do have collars but collars aren’t always effective.

“Also, looking at these times it’s around school pick-up/drop-off.

“We live on a very busy street in Albany Creek right near a dog park, people and dogs are walking past all the time and not only are my dogs protecting their house and their family, one dog is still a puppy and can smell dogs coming close and wants to play.

“I also can’t just leave them inside.

“Please come and talk to us instead of leaving a note.”

There has been a number of notes exchanged between Brisbane neighbours in relation to barking dogs in recent weeks.

There was a mixed reaction to the posting of the letter online, with some residents praising the complainant for their non-confrontational approach to the matter.

One man commented that the council-provided letter is “better than an abusive note or chat on the doorstep”.

“What they’ve done here is provided you with a detailed description of when this is happening, to give you the opportunity to sort the situation before they report it officially,” the man commented.

“Better than a knock on the door from the council.”

Another man highlighted the fact that the anonymous resident appeared to want to give the woman a chance to rectify the situation, before making a formal report to council.

“Next time, anonymous member should just report it to council instead of doing the right thing and avoiding confrontation with a council provided letter,” he commented.

Meanwhile, other residents slammed the complainant for making a fuss over what they believe is a relatively trivial suburban occurrence.

“Welcome to the burbs champ,” one woman commented.

“Get over it,” a man commented.

The council-provided letter is one of many measures Moreton Bay Regional Council has on its website to resolve neighbourly disputes related to barking dogs.

A City of Moreton Bay Council spokeswoman said that the letter was created to assist with the volume of complaints.

“The reason for creating this letter was to assist with addressing the volumes of complaints received and assist residents in resolving any concerns with their neighbours in the first instance,” the spokeswoman said.

“We encourage City of Moreton Bay residents to engage with their neighbour first about any noise complaint.

“Your neighbour may not realise the noise from their household is affecting other persons.

“Dog owners are responsible for the making sure their dogs don’t bark too much and cause a noise nuisance.

“Barking dogs are the most common animal behaviour problem Council is asked to deal with.

Council provides a template for residents to share their concerns with neighbours so they can manage the issue before it becomes a Council complaint.

“This letter has been available since November 2017.”

In addition to the provided letter that can be found on council’s ‘Barking Dogs Fact Sheet’, City of Moreton Bay Council, also has communication cards for owners of dogs that may be particularly noisy, as well as an ‘Animal Noise Nuisance Diary’.

An 'Animal Noise Nuisance Diary' template on City of Moreton Bay Council’s website.

The ‘Animal Noise Nuisance Diary’ is a document that allows residents to record 14 days or more of information related to “how the noise disrupts or inhibits your ordinary activities”.

Brisbane City Council also has similar letters on its website, while Ipswich City Council also has a sample letter to resolve neighbourhood disputes related to barking dogs on its website.