A woman was ordered to keep her three Pomeranian terriers muzzled after her neighbour lodged a complaint claiming that the noisy pets barked non-stop.
The Galway District Court last Tuesday heard that Mr Noel Kelly with an address at 151 Sean Bhaile, Doughiska, lodged the complaint of noise pollution, under the Environment Protection Agency Act, against his next door neighbour Ms Ellen Moran, of 152 Sean Bhaile, Doughiska.
Mr Kelly, who represented himself, told Judge Mary Fahy that the noise is being caused by three dogs who “bark all the time”. Under oath, he said: “I hear them whenever I am there, mostly at night. It’s been going on for two years now and I’ve been in and out of court. I withdrew the complaint in order to give her a chance but nothing was done. I’m now looking for an order from the court.”
When Ms Moran took the stand she retorted by stating that there were other dogs all around Mr Kelly who were “constantly at it”. She added that her three Pomeranian terriers were muzzled and that she only took them off when Mr Kelly was not around. However, Mr Kelly said that he has rarely seen the dogs muzzled.
The court heard that the two houses were connected and that there was a lot of noise. When Judge Fahy questioned the logic of having so many dogs Ms Ellen said that she had a big yard and took the dogs out for walks regularly.
Judge Fahy made an order for the dogs to be muzzled and that “in the interest of neighbourly relations” to keep the noise down. She added that “this lady knows that if there is any further complaint it could result in her losing the dogs”.
