Barking Dogs

The Ventura County Department of Animal Regulation (VCARD) enforces local ordinances prohibiting the ownership or maintenance of animal nuisances in the unincorporated areas of Ventura County and in the cities of Ojai, Fillmore, Port Hueneme, Moorpark, Ventura, Camarillo and Simi Valley. The ordinances, while different in varying degrees, all address certain animal activities that can be construed as nuisance behavior such as excessive barking, infliction of injury to a person or other animal, destruction of property and vicious or threatening behavior. Please see the ordinance for the area in which you reside for the actual prohibited behavior and the requirements for filing a nuisance complaint. The most frustrating problem for most residents is the barking dog. Regrettably, this is a frequent complaint, which is very frustrating for those who are being deprived of the comfortable enjoyment of their homes by noisy animals. While VCARD will make every effort to help resolve these complaints, we cannot do anything without the assistance and cooperation of you and your neighbors. As the person initiating the complaint we ask that you read the ordinance for your location in its entirety before proceeding further. Once you have determined that your situation falls within the parameters of your location, please download the Preliminary Nuisance Complaint Form, fill it out completely and fax or mail it to the VCARD.

The process for resolving nuisance barking complaints is as follows:

  1. The complaining party initiates the preliminary complaint by mailing or faxing in the completed form. VCARD will verify all information provided, check on the license and vaccination status of all animals involved and send written notification of the receipt and nature of the complaint to the owner/keeper of the alleged nuisance. At the time you submit this complaint we strongly urge you to begin maintenance of a “barking” log detailing the date, time and duration of the barking.
  2. The owner of the alleged nuisance dog(s) is given up to 14 days to resolve the situation.
  3. If the problem continues, you must file a Formal Complaint with the VCARD. In order to do this you will need to contact the Complaint Desk by phone at (805) 388-4341 extension 8893 to request that a Formal Complaint packet be mailed to you.
  4. Once you and your co-complainant(s) have completed the forms they should be mailed back to VCAR. In order to process this complaint and proceed towards the next step we require that you and your qualifying co-complainants keep and submit a log on which you have recorded dates and times of nuisance barking over at least a 14 day period. Please see the Ordinance for your City to determine how many co-complainants are required.
  5. Upon receipt of the completed Formal Complaint Forms and your corresponding "barking" logs, a formal notice will be sent or delivered to the owner/keeper of the alleged nuisance dogs. This letter defines the nuisance laws and outlines the legal proceedings that will follow if the nuisance is not abated.
  6. The owner/keeper of the alleged nuisance dog(s) is now given another 14 days to resolve the situation. If the problem persists you must notify the VCARD complaint desk again at (805) 388-4341 ext. 8893. At that time you must request that the process go forward and that a hearing date be set.
  7. Notices of the date, time and location of the hearing will be served upon or sent to the owner of the alleged nuisance and to all parties involved in the complaint.
  8. If any party in the action is unable to attend the hearing at the date/time scheduled, they should immediately contact the Department to request a postponement.
  9. If, at any time during the process the situation is resolved and you wish to withdraw your request for a hearing, please contact the Department immediately. Your complaint will remain on file but inactive for a period of 1 year. Should the situation reappear you will need only send in an updated barking log and a written request to reinstate your complaint. After 1 year the case will be considered closed and the files purged if we do not receive any further correspondence or complaints from you.