Gulf Meadows Civic Club

i have an issue with my neighbors dogs as they let them out to run the street. these dogs are entering my front yard only to defecate each time. The owners obviouly dont care. what can i do? im tired of irresponsible owners.

There are very strict laws in the city of Houston about stray dogs and especially about owners who do not keep their dogs on leashes.You should Google the "City of Houston Leash Laws" and read up on what you can do.  One of the links is:

http://www.houstontx.gov/health/quicktips/leash%20law.htm

Dogs that bark incessently (ie: Not the occasional bark or a short period of barking like a minute or two) is also not tolerated in the City of Houston.  Although it is normal for dogs to bark - some dogs just can't seem to stop themselves and go on for hours.  The owners of these dogs can be given fines up to $500.00 PER BARK.  Usually though - the person is required to send their dogs to training school so the dog can learn not to bark.

There are also laws against even taking your dog, on a leash, to poop or piss in someone else's yard.  The owner is required, by law, to clean up any messes a dog does in someone else's yard.  (Note though that if a dog urinates in your yard - no judge is going to make the owner clean it up as it will soak into the ground.)  Still, if you know who the person is - you can call the Police and they are supposed to come out and have a talk with the offending person.

Last, but not least, in many cases, when the Police come out they will do nothing about the problem.  They ARE supposed to have a talk with the offending person - but many times they will not even do this.  A friend of mine had a neighbor who's dog barked continuously at everything.  He did some research and he found out that when the Police come out, if they refuse to take any action, that you can ask them to call their sergent and ask the sergent to come out.  That person WILL make the police officers go and talk with the person who is doing this.  The next time he called the Police out to his house the officer said "It's not that bad" to wit my friend said to the officer "I'd like to speak with your sergent".  The sergent was called, he came out, listened for a moment and ordered the officer to go have a talk with the neighbor.  The dog was quieted, an my friend got a good night's sleep for once.  The neighbor came over the next day and agreed to send the dog to training school.  They haven't had any problems since.  This isn't to say you won't have problems dealing with your neighbors but a lot of times people just don't know the law or they just don't think about what their favorite pooch is doing to everyone else.  Like driving them insane with the constant barking.  I've been over to my friend's house several times since this and the dog now just watches you through the window - but he doesn't bark.

Call 311 they will put you with the right people to contact or pick up the dogs.