PETITION FOR CITY OF SAN JOSE

The reason for this Petition is because we all want San Jose City to have mandatory steps for the “complaining party” to follow before any notices/fines get sent out for 7.40.010 - Public Nuisance. For example;1)  What dog 2) What house 3) Who it belongs to & contact surrounding neighbors to confirm that it is that animal or address 4) Make contact with owner either by person or by certified mail so you have proof of contact 5) Give dog owner 30 days to fix the issue (if any) 6) If nothing has been fixed than contact the city 7) The City investigates or sends out Animal Control to witness the “event” 8) If the city finds anything they send a notice 9) Send notice to go to court 10) Go to trial.

 A few weeks ago someone decided to file a "false complaint" with the city of SJ against our dogs. Saying that they keep barking "excessively".When my wife and I first got the notice we were really confused and shocked because someone was always watching our dogs 24/7 and our neighbors confirmed that its not true about the complaint. Of course we knew it was a lie so we called city of SJ and were told that they don't have any mandatory steps for the complaining party to take before they file the complaint. Which was a shocker to not just us but our family, friends and our neighbors. Meaning anyone can just call and "complain" without there being an investigation. Example; if someone doesn't like you and you DON'T have any dogs the city will still send you notices and fines, than its up to you to prove if you have a dog or not....not right? We had to give Ruger away and found him a home in Napa, CA because we had no where to keep our dogs and where they were staying the people were concerned that the complaining party can lie again and it'll just get worse.This is to protect everyone and let the city know that they need to do something about it. The steps can be modified by the city as they see fit as long as it makes sense and protects both sides, it's not right for just someone to pick up the phone and lie because either they don't like you or your dog. They need to follow some steps and the city should investigate before they mail anything out. We personally do not want this situation to happen to anyone. The shelters are so full and mostly because of the notice issue that a the dog owner gets and has no choice but give the dog away. It's not right. That's why we ask you to help us make a difference!

Sincerely,

Mersiha Hrnjic