ROUND HILL, Hanover – German Ambassador Volker Schlegel said yesterday that if his Jack’s Hill neighbours fail to respond favourably to his written request to stop their dogs from barking between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am, he will be forced to report the matter to the police.

In a February 5 letter addressed “To all neighbours” of his residence in Jack’s Hill, the envoy said that the incessant barking by dogs in his neighbourhood has caused him to consider leaving the island.

“I will have no recourse but to go to the police, and if they say they are too busy fighting crime to do something about, it then I will have to leave the island,” the diplomat said yesterday from the Round Hill Hotel, where he met with representatives of the Hanover Chamber of Commerce and the Hanover German Committee to discuss avenues of assistance for the parish.

But the police say there is really nothing they can do, under the law, except to appeal to the ambassador’s neighbours to try and lessen what has become a serious nuisance for him.

“By law there really is nothing we can do,” said Senior Superintendent of Police Jasmine Tomlinson-Brown.

“We can’t put them [the dogs] under the Noise Abatement Act,” said the senior policewoman. “The most we could do is advise the neighbours that such a complaint had been made, and ask them, as good neighbours, to fix it amicably,” Tomlinson-Brown added.

Yesterday, Schlegel said he was appalled that his neighbours in Jack’s Hill had found the situation funny, as for the past six to seven months he had not had a good night’s sleep.

“I have not had four good hours of sleep,” he said.

“Every night, for long hours, the dogs keep barking and barking; big dogs, little dogs…”

The ambassador said he had even consulted with experts on the subject, who informed him that it was unusual for dogs to bark incessantly for such long periods. He suggested that the owners consider immediate training for the animals, even for their own sakes.

“I have a German Shepherd and he does not bark unless somebody comes to the door,” said Schlegel.

“How can they sleep at nights, and how do they know when it’s a case of emergency if the dogs are always barking?”

Schlegel said he had refrained from going to the police initially, as it would have been seen as a hostile move and he wanted to maintain good relations with his neighbours.

“I wanted to live in peace with my neighbours,” said the ambassador, noting that moving was not an option as the premises was the official residence.