A San Juan Bautista woman was left stunned after receiving her
mail this week when she opened a letter from the district attorney.
The letter warned the woman, Tonya Talavera, that criminal charges
had been filed against her and she is required to book herself into
custody
– because of her barking toy poodle.
A San Juan Bautista woman was left stunned after receiving her mail this week when she opened a letter from the district attorney. The letter warned the woman, Tonya Talavera, that criminal charges had been filed against her and she is required to book herself into custody – because of her barking toy poodle.
A neighbor filed his complaint five months ago with the sheriff’s office, but the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office filed its related complaint for the first time on Tuesday. She was issued a notice to turn herself in and go to court – much to the surprise of Talavera and the neighbor who issued the original complaint, Sal Galvan.
Galvan admitted he was surprised Talavera was required to turn herself in.
“In her mind and in my mine it was taken care of,” Galvan said.
“Nobody ever told me she would need to go to court,” he said.
Talavera has been equally confused, going from neighboring home to home to see if anyone hears her dog.
“I went around asking if they heard my dog, and they all said ‘no,'” Talavera said. “It’s just, there is one guy that lives 200 feet from me.”
On file with the sheriff’s office is one complaint stemming from an incident in November of last year, Lt. Roy Iler said. The report doesn’t go on to say how many complaints were called on the dog.
Galvan said it’s somewhere between five to eight.
Talavera lives in a house in the first block of Church Street. It is adjacent to two apartment complexes and a trailer park that run along Third Street in San Juan Bautista. Galvan lives in one of the apartment buildings.
Talavera said the rest of her neighbors support her – including Galvan’s own landlord.
“They are all writing letters for me,” she said.
District Attorney Candice Hooper when reached Thursday said she would need to look over the file before she could make statements regarding it. The district attorney’s office was closed Thursday for a furlough day.
The complaints started in early June, just a month after Talavera moved into the San Juan home. And since that time, she has received a steady number of sheriff’s deputies knocking on her door at all times of the night and day, she said.
To help quell the complaints, Talavera has reached out to the neighbor, installed a dog door and now keeps the poodle in a cage while at work.
“I have to keep the dog in a cage so it doesn’t bark,” Talavera said. “She is in there 10 hours now when I’m at work.”
The dog rarely goes outside because a complaint quickly comes.
“I yelled at my parents – who I never see – when they let her out one day,” she said.
Galvan, who works at night, complained that he couldn’t get sleep. When he finally settled into his bed around 4 a.m. – constant barking would start hours later.
“I was getting sick at work,” he said. “It took a toll on me.”
But since November the barking has stopped.
“It stopped so I thought this was all done with,” he said.
Talavera, who has two kids, said she never experienced an issue like this before and wonders why the district attorney would file charges.
“I don’t get it – don’t they have other things to worry about?” she said.
The charge is considered a misdemeanor and is taken from the city’s municipal code.
Talavera hopes to avoid having to go to court, and Galvan hopes so as well.
“Back then when I first complained, yeah I thought she should (go to court),” he said. “But now, no.”
Talavera is expected in court April 19. She has to book herself into jail before then.
From the San Juan code:
Habitual barking – Declared a nuisance – Abatement.
No dog owner shall permit or allow his dog to habitually howl, bark or in any other manner disturb the peace and quietude of the community or of any person within the City. Such conduct on the part of any dog is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. It shall be the duty of the poundmaster and every police officer of the City to take whatever steps they may in their discretion believe to be necessary, to abate any such nuisance and in seeking to abate any such nuisance occurring in the presence of the officer, any such officer may enter upon private property and take any such dog into custody and impound the same; provided, that such dog may not be taken from any dwelling house or other building. In the event of the impounding of any dog as provided in this Chapter, all applicable provisions of this Chapter shall apply.
