A magistrate has urged squabbling Perth residents to be better neighbours following a bizarre courtroom clash over barking dogs.
Kevin Taylor raised a civil action against couple Kenny Wilkie and Joyce Clifford claiming constant yapping and baying noises from their home had caused him sleepless nights for the last two years.
He said German shepherd Aslan, boxer Bailey, Jack Russell Scrappy and collie Eli barked around the clock, even in the early hours of the morning.
“It’s reached boiling point,” he said.
“It’s just been driving me daft.”
However, Mr Wilkie produced as witnesses other neighbours from Dunsinane Drive to counter Mr Taylor’s claims.
They argued the dogs were not a nuisance and said claims they could be heard “10 times a day” and “for 15 minutes at a time” were exaggerated.
At one point, a neighbour accused Mr Taylor of being “vindictive” by raising proceedings against Mr Wilkie.
Eventually, Perth Justice of Peace Allan Robertson called for calm but declined to impose the order Mr Taylor craved.
Instead, he asked Mr Wilkie and Ms Clifford to find a way to reduce the times they let their dogs out at night.
‘I want no nastiness’
JP Robertson said: “I can understand that if there are dogs barking a lot, then that would cause an issue.
“But I’m not sure whether that is the case.”
He said he found it “slightly disturbing” the dogs were barking in the early hours.
“Whether it be little or a lot, that is something that shouldn’t be happening.
“More needs to be done to avoid that.
“Just don’t open the door and let them go, because that’s going to cause an issue I imagine.”
He added: “I have had dogs all my life and in my experience, if they are let out last thing at night, they should be fine until the morning.”
The JP stressed these were “guidelines” rather than official orders.
“At the end of the day, we all have to live as neighbours and we need to get along.
“I don’t want any nastiness or name-calling from either party.
“If there’s any discussions, it should be ‘hello’ or ‘how are you?’ and that’s all it needs to be.”
Two bad neighbours?
Mr Taylor, 52, told the hearing he had recordings of barking on three dates, between 1.40am and 4.45am.
However, the audio evidence was disallowed because there was no way of proving it was Mr Wilkie’s dogs.
Mr Taylor, who lives three doors down from Mr Wilkie, said: “Unless I take a sleeping pill, I will be woken up by them.
“In the summer, we can’t open our window because it’s just too loud.”
His wife Florentika, 28, said the barking could go on for 15 minutes.
This was challenged by solicitor Linda Clark, representing Mr Wilkie, who told her: “Maybe you’re making this up.
“Maybe you’re just a bad neighbour.”
‘You’ve done this for nothing’
Mr Wilkie said all four dogs slept in cages in his bedroom and “very occasionally” whined to be let out through the night.
“It’s over in a matter of seconds and then they’re straight back in the house again,” he said.
Ms Clifford, 70, said there was “not a chance” her dogs barked through the night.
“We are aware that we have neighbours and we don’t want people to be disturbed, so we will get them in as quickly as possible if they’re barking.”
Nearby neighbour Elizabeth Marley told the hearing the dogs were not a problem.
“They occasionally bark, but nothing that would disturb you,” she said, before adding: “Unless they see a cat.”
Mr Taylor said to her: “I can’t believe you’ve said that after taking an oath.”
Ms Marley, 70, responded: “I can’t believe you’ve done this for nothing.
“You’re just a vindictive…” before she was cut off by court officers.
Ian Swan, who has stayed in the street for 35 years, also insisted the dogs were not a problem but said he had heard them barking at night.
“It’s improved in the last two months,” he said.
JP Robertson asked Mr Taylor and Mr Wilkie to return to court in March to review the situation.
