again, someone turned me in to animal control??!!

[MasseyWV]

yep.. in a 'innocent until proven guilty society'.. it's odfd to see a sign that says 'YOU ARE IN VIOLATION' when in fact.. the officer had not had a chance to inspect the animals up close.. end result was no violation.. yet I still get the red tag..

Exactly!

And what do you think people will assume when they see that big red sign "He's the innocent homeowner who is being harassed" or "That's the guy who hurts his animals"? In fact, the sign probably makes things worse by causing other people to make similar complaints, thus making it look like there is a problem when there really isn't.

Innocent until proven guilty is nice in theory but it doesn't quite work that way in reality.

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. the red tag is part of what bothers me.

each time they complain a tag shows up till I can get out there... / meet/talk tot he officer.

I would think the average citizen would ASSUME there is a problem at my residence seeing those...

it fosters pre judgement in the minds of others.. when in fact.. all it should signify is 'under investigation'

soundguy

 

[Artisan]

If indeed your running a tight ship and there are no issues simply write (send sig requested or certified) the Animal Control HEADQUARTERS and nicely tell them your a victim of a crazy dime dropper and it must stop. Cite the past w/ case numbers and explain there has never been any citations or warnings either written or verbal when authority arrives to investigate.

I would ask them to flag the address and demand names and contact info from all dime droppers, VERIFIED, not just, THE CALLER SAID SO, I mean VERIFIED! Tell them it wastes there time and yours.

If it persists use the Freedom of Information act on them demanding info on the dime dropper, drag his behind into court and let the judge have a crack at him. If you use the FOIA THEY WILL PROB MAKE IT STOP because the FOIA act is a VERY powerful tool. They do NOT want to deal with it. IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME. They will probably start scrutinizing calls to your address much more and if it is always the same person they might just take the call and do nothing.

I had a similar situation. After 2 trips by code inforcement they saw it was all bullogna and I have not seen them since.

ALSO, if the RED TAGGER is writting unsubstanciated RED TAGS he needs to explain themselves to you and THEIR boss in a sit down.

 

[Soundguy]

FOIA is gonna be useless for them.. they are simply NOT asking names apparrently.

can't demand / force to provide something they don't have.

all tis talk about writing lettars and asking this to stop is all well and good.. but I think you guys are forgetting thios is more or less a law enforcement branch of the county govt.

it would be like writing the county sherrif and asking him to stop makeing a certain kind of traffic stop.

I doubt that type of approach is actually going to do anything except get me alienated with the code enforcement people... then i WILL have a problem...

 

[QRTRHRS]

I don't know how your govenmental "chain of command" is set up but this is what I would do if it happens once more. At that point, I would contact my lawyer. Barring that, I would be looking to speak with someone in authority about this. That's just plain nonsense that a repeat complaint about you without basis is not raising eyebrows. These animal control people need to be held accountable for their time too. Any chance of an inside deal?

This situation is crazy! Usually, ligitimate cases of abuse often go begging for intervention.

 

[KubotainNH]

Put a big picture of your one eyed horse in plain sight saying "yes that is a one eyed horse, nothing else to see here". They'll get a chuckle and move on. Good luck with this.

 

[beppington]

What would happen if you just ignore the sign ...

... or rather take it down & put it in the garbage.

They would issue a warrant. You can't just ignore their red tag notice and hope the problem goes away. That would be rather foolish I think.

ditto that for sure. it's a civil infraction not unlike a traffic ticket. ignoring it would have significant penalties...

I mean, if you're not actually breaking any law, would it matter if you ignore the sign & not bother calling them?

Why give in to this, what we all know is crap?? IF they ever pursue you further, you could either deny ever seeing any such red sign, or take a higher road & say, "Yes I saw a red sign saying I was in violation. In violation of what?? I knew with absolute certainty that I operate completely within the law & chose to respond accordingly, that is to not respond at all."

What penalties would there be?? You're not breaking the law!

Besides stating that "you're in violation", what did this sign tell you to do?

Maybe I don't have enough info.

 

[SandburRanch]

Your veterinarian may very well have experience in these situations since they are often called on in some of the actual abuse situations. If you have a good relation it may pay you to have a visit to see if a solution can be developed.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Soundguy, you may want to make a FOI request anyway and have it on record. Sometimes code enforcement has info that they don't want to give out, so they shade the truth.

Also request in writing that they obtain the name, address, etc., of anyone making a future call to code enforcement, based on the fact that there have been two bogus calls already. File a complaint with the sheriff, and request that they file charges on the party that is harassing you. You might ask if it is a federal crime to use the phone and leo to harass someone.

 

[Willl]

I'd be pissed too. Highly pissed.

But it's 'only' the second time. Give them time to react. Surly they are starting to see 'somethings' up.

If somebody is doing this to get 'you', I wouldn't be surprised to see at least 2 more red tags. Hopefully not.