Muffling Missy : Oxnard: Woman sues after being ordered to ‘debark’ terrier that has disturbed neighbors. She says surgery would be cruel.

An Oxnard woman is suing county animal control officials for ordering her to permanently muffle Missy, a 10-pound terrier that neighbors say barks too much.

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The dog’s owner, Ann Perez, said she filed the lawsuit in Ventura County Superior Court on Thursday to block an order that Missy be silenced through a surgical procedure known as “debarking.” The suit describes such an operation as criminal cruelty to animals.

“I feel it will inflict more fear on her and pain,” Perez said. “She will not be able to be our means of protection.”

But Kathy Jenks, director of the Ventura County Animal Regulation Department, refuted that charge, saying the surgery is a humane and accepted last option for dogs that won’t stop barking.

“Every dog on the dog show circuit is debarked,” she said.

Missy was formally declared a nuisance by Jenks in October during a hearing at which several neighbors testified about the dog’s relentless barking. Perez was ordered to keep the 11-month-old mixed-breed terrier inside and have the canine evaluated by an animal expert.

Jenks issued the “debarking” order Feb. 8 after Missy continued to annoy neighbors and a dog trainer recommended surgery or an electronic collar as permanent solutions to the problem. The surgery would involve cutting the dog’s vocal cords; the collar would zap the dog with a small electrical charge to discourage barking.

The dog trainer wrote that Missy’s barking arose from a combination of fear and protectiveness that “causes her a great deal of stress, which apparently she releases by barking.”

The lawsuit, which names Jenks, Ventura County and the Oxnard Police Department, also contends that Perez and Missy did not receive a fair trial before the terrier was ordered silenced. And it says Perez was never notified that the surgery was an option.

In response, Jenks said: “She had a hearing. She had all the opportunities. As far as I’m concerned, she’s filing a nuisance suit.”

A court hearing is scheduled Monday on Perez’s request for a temporary restraining order against the abatement order issued by Jenks. The abatement order said that if the surgery was not performed by Feb. 11, Missy could be impounded and destroyed.

But Oxnard Police Chief Harold Hurtt said nothing will happen until the lawsuit is resolved.

“I can understand someone’s love for their pets and animals. At the same time, people . . . should have some respect and understanding of the peace and quiet of the neighbors,” he said.

Neighbors who live near Perez on West Robert Avenue in north Oxnard said they’ve suffered enough.

“We’ve attempted to talk with Ann Perez reasonably,” said Justin Du Pont, 44, who lives next door. “She has refused any responsibility for controlling her animal.”

Du Pont and others say Missy’s high-pitched yapping has caused them to lose sleep and peace of mind for the past six months.

“The dog would bark relentlessly day and night,” said Steven Lee, a teacher who lives next door to Perez and does paperwork at home in the afternoon. “It has a very penetrating, piercing bark.”

Du Pont, a plant operator who worked a hospital graveyard shift in the fall, said the barking even caused strife in his marriage.

“My wife didn’t get sleep at night. I didn’t get sleep, so we would fight,” he said. “When you don’t get sleep, life is hell.”

Perez, 38, sees it differently. She believes that the complaints against Missy are exaggerated, and that her dog’s barking is no worse than the other pooches on the block.

“I feel it’s a two-way street,” Perez said. “I feel they have not been sensitive to my being here also. I moved in in September and a week later, they’re writing me letters and notes.”