Barking guard dog sparks ongoing legal battle for Howard County family

A Mount Airy family claims they are being harassed by a neighbor who lodged numerous dog barking complaints against them. 

The Davis family says this has been going on for nearly a year, and it has evolved into an ongoing legal battle. 

The family argued they needed a guard dog to protect their home, but in court documents, their neighbor contends the dog's bark has been too much to handle.

A guard dog's bark

Jennifer and Steven Davis moved to Mount Airy in 2022 for the space.

"Where we lived before, it was a townhouse. The driveway was about as long as [our] table, and then you were in the street," Steven said.

They also wanted to become self-reliant, starting their own orchard and a poultry operation in their backyard. To ensure their animals and children can stay safe, they got their dog, Suki, last summer.

"If you want to do free-range, you have to have a livestock guard dog," Jennifer said.

The family had Suki trained, and they also put up new signs warning passersby she would bark.

However, in December, and for the next few months, Howard County Animal Control posted numerous citations on the family's home. They all charged Jennifer with disturbing the public peace, because of Suki's barking.

"I was confused and angry," Steven recalled. "We're not the only people to have dogs in this neighborhood, and dogs bark all the time. There are a lot more that bark more than ours did."

The citations were made off of complaints by Eileen Stewart, one of the Davis family's neighbors.

Stewart did not accept an interview request from CBS News Baltimore, but in one of her affidavits, she claimed Suki was "observed barking day and night." Her complaints also had a detailed log of all of the times she claimed she heard Suki barking.

All complaints to Howard County Animal Control need to include evidence, according to a county spokesperson. Animal Control doesn't need to investigate before citing someone, but if it's contested, the Animal Matters Hearing Board listens to the case.

Going to court

Jennifer decided to contest the citations when she saw the video evidence that Stewart had submitted.

In one of the videos Jennifer shared with CBS News Baltimore, Stewart was filming Suki barking in the Davis family's front yard behind their fence. It appears Stewart was filming from the yard directly across the street.

"Filming our dog, our guard dog, barking at her," Jennifer said. "That was her evidence of our dog barking excessively."

The Davis family has since found Suki a new home, but they're also arguing the state and county's Right-to-Farm laws should have protected Suki's barking.

Jennifer has a trial scheduled for two of the citations in January. She was found guilty for one of them earlier this year – which is something she's also trying to overturn – and one of her citations has been dropped.