Law Regarding Pit Bull dogs in Public

What is the law regarding pit bull dogs in the DR? We have a rich German neighbor who owns a hotel nearby that continues to walk his two pit bulls in public on the beach and deliberately passes in front of our hotel just to molest us, disturb our guests and tease our dogs. We have complained to the local minister of tourism and to Politur but to no avail. We have also asked that local minister of public health do something as these dogs are kept in the lobby of his hotel, a clear violation of the law regarding animals in public places. We have dogs that are kept chained up and a year and a half ago his dogs came up into our restaurant and attacked our dogs. One had to be taken to a vet in Sosua, some 80 miles away. With the attack and the continued harassment, my dogs go bonkers every time he passes in front, with or without his dogs.

Before that, one of his pit bulls ripped open the face of one of my colts and that required 20 stitches and 2 weeks of daily treatment by a local vet. Being a good neighbor we did not complain or file charges, but now enough is enough. The dogs also attacked other dogs in the village and killed several and another required extensive treatment to save him. These dogs are public nuisences and should be dealt with accordingly.

HB, don't get your hopes up because it's him. This is just the latest skirmish in his ongoing campaign to aggravate us. Some of the local Dominicans are even starting to question his sanity. And your right, it's not the dogs' fault.

"The dogs of the 'rich neighbours' were attacked by the dogs of the author because his habitude is to chain them up that they can always run out of the property and have access to the public raod and make it impossible to walk out of our property on the road..."

Bernard (or Bernie k, or whatever), this is absolutely false and you know it. I have pictures of you passing directly in front of our place rather than you proceeding on the road directly out from your property to the beach. Next lie?

This author's dogs were chained up in the author's restaurant, up the stairs and some distance from where you walk your dogs in the street out front. You were walking your dogs UNLEASHED and they came up the stairs and entered the restaurant to attack my chained-up dogs. There were witnesses, including the Swiss couple we had tending the hotel in our absence and you're damn lucky that I was out of the country when that happened as when I returned I just decided to be a good neighbor and swallow the $100usd vet charge and not press charges against you. The next time will be different.

The tourist police did not say the dog was chained "on the street" but did say that I should shorten the chain so the dog would not venture more than 3 feet outside the open garage door (instead of 6 feet) where he's kept during the day to guard the contents of the garage. We IMMEDIATELY complied even before they left to go have a talk with you and to advise you to quit walking directly in front of our hotel and for you to try to avoid further teasing our dogs. The area that the property owner in front of our hotel is trying to designate as a street is directly in front of the garage and not used by anybody. As it is fully planted with grass with NO vehicular traffic, it is essentially a front yard. The real street is some 20 feet further away and on the OTHER side of a wall. Again Bernard, tell it like it really is.

I too visited the Ministery of Public Health and they advised me that you are in violation by keeping your dogs in the lobby of your hotel, which is considered a public place. And at that time of our visit, ABSOLUTELY nothing more was said about our pet pig, Miss Piggy, being temporarily kept on the land behind our hotel, the land we are in the process of buying. She was moved immediately after we were advised to do so by the authorities (and not by you and the French goatboy when you came over to harrass me about this).

Now that we've cleared this up, would you like me to tell everybody the REAL reason you are at war with us?

First, we are still in the process of buying the land even after you've done everything to screw that up. I know all about it. And Miss Piggy was only there temporarily while we could find another home for her. We weren't breeding pigs there. And frankly, with the daily bath that she got, she smelled less than your dogs. Look in your own house for the source of the odor.

Second, the road in front that has been in place for some 16 years is on the master plan in Santo Domingo. It is now a public road and cannot be moved or closed. It has also been surveyed by several surveyors and is part of several official property deslindes. So is the "unofficial" road that is not a road and the wall in front of our property.

Third, our dogs have been kept in the house next door since November with the one chained in front of the garage. In the last two days I've just put the one in the back of the restaurant to keep him away from you and your dog on your twice-daily forays, one at 7:15am and one late in the afternoon.

Fourth, we advised the owner of the house you are renting to take a lawyer to settle his claim and then immediately backed out of the process. You know that. As a licensed real estate agent I have all kinds of people wanting me to sell property for them.

Fifth, I don't particularly want any war, messageboard or other. And "Chivo" is a French goatboy and doesn't have the balls to tell you what he said about you and your dogs.

Sixth, good. Enough has been said.