Police cited Deep Valley Road man for allowing a dog to roam after the animal urinated on a neighbor’s patio on a recent afternoon, the latest incident in a longstanding dispute.
The complainant had been working in his back yard on a Tuesday afternoon in late-November when he noticed the dog doing its business, according to a police report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a Freedom of Information request.
The man told police during a subsequent interview that he “became angry and began yelling at the dog,” then noticed the animal’s owner standing in his driveway, smoking, and told him to “Get the [expletive] out of here,” the report said.
The homeowner then “picked up a trash can filled with leaves in an aggressive manner,” as though to throw it at the dog, and the neighbor left his property slowly, it said.
Police learned of the incident after being called to the complainant’s home at about 4:08 p.m. on Nov. 21, the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week.
According to the complainant, the neighbor a few minutes after the blow-up came back to his (the complainant’s) house, without the dog, and was ringing the doorbell, the report said. The complainant didn’t answer the door, however.
It was “not the first incident” involving the neighbor and his dog, which has been reported to the Animal Control section of the New Canaan Police Department “on multiple occasions,” according to the police report.
The neighbor “never had the dog on a leash” and the animal “would regularly walk onto” the complainant’s property, he said.
The dog’s owner admitted as much when police confronted him about the situation at his home, according to the police report.
“He stated that they lived in the woods and it was not a big deal,” the report said. The man told police he hadn’t noticed his dog wandering onto the complainant’s property because he became lost in a phone call during their walk outside, the report said. When he went up the driveway to retrieve the animal, the complainant “became irate and yelled at them” and then “made a motion” as though he “was going to kick the dog,” though he did not, the report said. The complainant then made a motion as though he were going to throw a trash can at the dog, but did not, the report said.
The complainant was “very angry” and though the dog’s owner went home to get a bottle of wine and apologize for the incident, he could hear the man “yelling at his wife to not answer the door” while standing at the front of the house ringing the bell, according to the report.
The man told police that “the neighborhood used to be very nice” and that there “wasn’t any issues with other neighbors,” just the complainant.
The dog’s owner was “calm, polite and respectful” during the interview though he became “very angry” on hearing he’d be issued the infraction summons, according to the police report.
“He stated that we weren’t human,” the report said.
The man did calm down and accepted the citation, according to police.
An officer told the man he couldn’t go on the complainant’s property or he could face criminal charges, and that the dog must be leashed out for a walk, the report said.
The complainant and neighbor each were told to not have any contact with each other, it said.
Police also told the complainant that he “was not to threaten, in behavior or language,” anyone including his neighbor or the dog, the report said.
Try spraying a repellant, it should work.