JOHNSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — Johnston Mayor Joseph M. Polisena Jr. plans to submit a proposal during Tuesday night’s council meeting after he received a call from a resident who was confused about a complaint that her dogs were “excessively barking.”

Tanya Rocchio, a dog mom of three, had just finished playing outside with them back in June when Animal Control showed up at her home.

However, when she read over the town’s Barking Dogs ordinance , it was unclear what exactly qualified as “excessive,” so she decided to take it up with the mayor.

“As a dog owner, it’s kind of frustrating because you want to have your dogs outside, but you have to now be wary if, like, ‘Oh, they’re barking. Now I have to bring them in because I don’t want to upset my neighbors,'” Rocchio explained.

Polisena discovered that the ordinance needed some updates and clarification.

“The penalties before were really archaic,” Polisena said. “It talks about destroying the dog. I’m not going to do that to anyone. Nobody is going to put their dog down.”

Adopted in 1979, the ordinance currently states that any dog “disturbing the public peace” must be removed or destroyed within 24 hours of the notice and imposes a $5 fine for each day the owner refuses to comply.

“I think that’s barbaric and I don’t think that should happen anymore,” Polisena added.

He is proposing an amendment that would modernize the ordinance while protecting dog owners’ rights.

In the amended ordinance, Polisena defines excessive barking as “continuous barking for 10 minutes or intermittent barking for 30 minutes, occurring three times over 24 hours.”

“Now that it’s quantified, there won’t be a disagreement over, ‘That was excessive to them, but it’s not excessive to me,'” Polisena said.

If approved, the penalties would also be changed to a written warning on the first offense, a $50 fine for a second offense, and a $100 fine on the third and subsequent offenses.

Johnston residents like Sherry Arlia-Puhacz believe it falls on the owner.

“If it is a nuisance to your neighbor, you should try to curb it,” she said.

As a former dog owner, Arlia-Puhacz said that barking at someone walking by a house is normal, but barking all day or night is excessive.

“I feel that having a dog is the owner’s responsibility, however, excessive barking is difficult to control,” she told 12 News.

The amendment will be read during the town council meeting at 7 p.m. and will be open for public comment. The council will then vote on it during their next meeting in September.

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