Decision to ‘Debark’ Dog Is Overruled : Courts: Owner accepts judge’s compromise. The noisy canine will be fitted with collar that zaps her with an electric charge when she is too boisterous.

Missy, a 10-pound terrier who was ordered to undergo surgery to quiet her noisy bark, won a victory of sorts in a Ventura County court Monday.

Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Lane ruled that the order calling for Missy to be silenced through “debarking” was not valid.

A county animal regulation official issued the order without giving Missy’s owner a hearing, Lane ruled.

The judge then listened to arguments from attorneys on both sides of the issue and suggested a compromise. The attorney for Ann Perez, Missy’s owner, agreed to have her client fit Missy with an electronic collar that an expert said would help quiet the canine.

The collar, which has to be ordered from Arizona, would zap the dog with small electrical charges whenever she became too boisterous.

Lane gave Perez, who didn’t attend Monday’s hearing, two weeks to get the collar.

Elizabeth Winslow, representing the dog, told the judge that Perez is prepared to spend the estimated $150 it costs to buy the collar.

Until the device arrives, Perez is also willing to abide by an order from the Ventura County Animal Regulation Department that allows Missy outdoors only if the dog is accompanied by an adult.

Lane ordered both sides back in court April 11, when the judge can determine whether the compromise worked.

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Last week, Perez filed a Superior Court lawsuit against Kathy Jenks, director of the Animal Regulation Department, and other officials in an attempt to have the debarking order blocked.

She also requested the hearing with Lane for a temporary restraining order against the debarking order, which was issued by Jenks.

Missy was formally declared a nuisance by Jenks in October during a hearing at which several neighbors testified about the dog’s relentless barking. At that time, Perez was ordered to keep her canine inside and have the 11-month-old mixed-breed terrier evaluated by an animal expert. The expert suggested that Missy either get the collar or have the surgical procedure performed on her vocal cords.

After more complaints from neighbors, Jenks on Feb. 8 ordered the debarking without the benefit of another formal hearing for Missy, a decision that Lane said Monday violated Perez’s constitutional rights.

In court, attorney James F. Rupp Jr., representing the city of Oxnard, conceded that the hearing at which Jenks ordered the surgical procedure was invalid.

Lane told the parties she would rather they mediate the dispute than litigate it. She said the case could wind up costing Perez $10,000 to litigate.

But Rupp said he doubted that the collar would work. Winslow said that if it doesn’t work, she believed that Perez would look for another home for Missy.

Winslow and Rupp said they were satisfied with the judge’s action.

“We just don’t want a noisy, barking dog disturbing neighbors,” Rupp said.