Who can I call to report this? (Baltimore: HOA, house)

[lucky_mom]

Okay, my next door neighbors don't take care of their property at all. I can't go outside without gagging from the stench. They have 2 dogs that look like they have never been groomed. The dogs poop and pee in the yard and the neighbors don't clean it. Right now they have a kiddie pool that has about 2 inches of pee/water in it and the "water" is a brownish green color. The heat is really causing it to stink! The yard has poison ivy growing in it. Their parking pad is full of junk so they park in the alley which makes it difficult for my husband to pull in and out of our parking pad. They had an odor of dead fish outside the back porch for a few weeks until we had a good rain which washed that smell away. They cleaned fish out there and left the guts to rot! So that brought on the bugs. There were millions of flies it was gross.

The dogs are neglected. They don't walk them, bathe them, clip their nails, take them to the vet, play with them and the dogs get loose all the time.

My husband has talked to them a few times about different things, they didn't seem to be too worried about it though. I don't have the nerves to talk to them about it.

I heard that they had recieved some violations or tickets last summer, I think the other next door neighbor on the other side called....

They also get bugs over there and last winter they got rodents. I don't want to get bugs and rodents in our house. That's the last thing we need. But I believe that if they keep living this way, than we will suffer the consequences right along with them.

Can somebody please tell me who to call/write/email? Think it will help?

[jonjj]

Off the top, I would contact the neighborhood association and ask for advice. If that didn't work, I would call a local agency, probably 311 to find the best person to speak to about it. I hate to see dogs suffer--maybe call the humane society on Falls Road for advice.
Have you spoken with them?? Sometimes (I know not always), that can do the trick.
Is this in the city or the county? Poison Ivy is a rarity here in Patterson Park.

[lucky_mom]

Hi, we live in the county.

There isn't a HOA here. So, I think it would have to be someone from the county/city whatever.

Yeah, my husband talked to them a few times. I don't think they care too much. They have this attitude where they are the only people on the planet and the world owes them for something. They seem to have think that they are a victim or something. I do believe that they know that they are doing wrong, but that they have the right to or something. Or maybe they are just being plain old lazy about it.

I sent an email to animal control about their dogs. I'm not a huge dog lover, but even I feel sorry for those dogs!!! They left them outside all day today and it is HOT out! They leave them out alot too. I think that the dogs aren't house broken yet, despite the fact that they are not puppies anymore.

I'm too shy to go directly to them to complain, but like I said my husband did talk to them about certain things a few times.

[GirlNextDoor]

This may help:

City of Baltimore, Maryland (http://www.baltimorecity.gov/services/ - broken link)

[jonjj]

So sorry to read all this. I guess I would contact the county you live in. There should be something similar to the city's 311 number for this type of issue. Good luck

[medfieldbum]

You didn't say what county you live in , but both Baltimore and Anne Arundel County take this kind of stuff seriously. While neither, to my knowledge have the equivalent of the city's 311 system, you probably can find some good places to start on their websites. If all else fails, I'm sure the county 911 systems operators can refer you.

[helenejen]

If you are in Baltimore County, contact Animal Control through the Department of Health. They deal with abused animals, which those dogs would be at the very least because of the unsanitary environment.
About.com: http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/health/diseasecontrol/animalcontrol/index.html

There is also a link on that site to register complaints about rats.

And here is the contact info. for Animal Control for Anne Arundel County, if you are there: Contact Us

Good luck!

[Robhu]

Do those people have kids?
If so, Child Protective Services might get involved. They are real picky about kids living in filth.
There should be some way of getting the local zoning commision involved about the condition of the property. Where I live they get on you if the grass is too high or the property is an eyesore.
I don't live in a HOA either. The health department would probably frown on garbage, dog feces and pee in a kiddie pool not being taken care of for sanitary reasons.

[lucky_mom]

Thanks so much for all the replies. I will keep this on record.

I FORTUNATELY didn't have to report anything! Someone else did, or threatened to... or maybe they just decided to CLEAN UP A BIT! When I got back from a walk yesterday I was sitting at the table and heard some noise, I looked out back and they were cleaning up the back area. Then not too much later my husband said "oh they are cutting their grass out front!" And, they parked both vehicles in the street as opposed to in the back alley!

I know they were reported for some similar stuff last Summer (before we moved in). Their other next door neighbor reported them. Maybe he got tired of it and called again or threatened to!

And yes, they have one child. About 18 months old.

Oh, and the dogs aren't left out today!

Thanks again!

[sbyman]

was this near Morgan state? this sounds like the rowhouse with the 2 tan mutts.