AKRON, Ohio — Althea Thomas and Shelia Smith are long-time Akron homeowners who report they've had to deal with excessive dog barking, dogs running loose and excessive dog odors for years in their neighborhood.
Both Thomas and Smith are demanding the City of Akron move forward with a tougher dog nuisance ordinance, which city leaders report has been under consideration since 2018.
Smith told News 5 that she and other Akron Homeowners are in support of a new ordinance proposed by Ward 4 Akron Councilman Russel Neal, which requires dog owners to bring dogs into their homes if they are excessively barking late at night or into the early morning hours.
"Between midnight and 8 in the morning, if those dogs are barking, they should be in the house with their owner, not outside where they can disturb the residents,” Smith said. “Our privacy is being violated. When I talked to the prosecutor, they were saying this is a victim-less crime. We are victims in our own private property."
Thomas told News 5 she's been dealing with dogs barking at all hours and running loose in her neighborhood for several years.
“Our city officials, they need to take it seriously, if it was beside your home, what would you do, Thomas said. “With my nieces and nephews, they can no longer come to my home and be there unless someone is outside.”
Akron homeowners Marie Reed and Jeff Smith believe irresponsible dog owners are jeopardizing neighborhood safety.
“There are school buses that drop off and pick up school children daily. There is also persons with disabilities in the neighborhood,” Smith said. “We haven’t been able to use our backyard for picnics for family events for over five years because of the smell,” Reed said.
News 5 has decided not to name the dog owners who neighbors allege haven't been responsible with their pets. Within the coming weeks, Councilman Neal said he hopes to reintroduce the dog nuisance ordinance he helped to craft back in March of 2021.
Neal said he's looking into trying to add tougher penalties for dog owners who are repeat violators, which could include 30 days in jail and a $250 fine if the owner is convicted in court.
"We thought that if we increase the penalty that people would be more responsive to the complaints, the hope is to put something in place that is enforceable,” Neal said. “Imagine if you were living next to someone whose dog is barking constantly, doesn’t clean up after the dog so you have to smell the odor.”
Neal told News 5 that the city dog warden's office is doing the best it can with just two part-time wardens for the entire city.
Meanwhile, Thomas is hoping tougher penalties for violators will soon be on the way, even though she and her neighbors realize the vast majority of dog owners do an excellent job caring for their pets.
"Dogs don’t pay property taxes. We’re the ones paying property taxes, so again, it’s nothing personal about dogs, but when the owners do not take care of their dogs, that’s a problem," Thomas said. “So we can have a peace of mind, and we can rest, we can come out and I can garden in my yard, I can’t do that."
