This Time, Punky the Dog’s Noise-Sensitive Neighbor Barked Up the Wrong Tree

Slurping on a plastic water bottle and rolling belly up in the grass, Punky has no clue about the trouble he’s caused.

But his neighbors have a pretty good idea.

They’ve been watching, bemused and annoyed, during a long neighbor-against-neighbor battle over Punky’s barking.

The most recent salvo came this week when a Superior Court jury awarded Punky’s owners $12,000 after finding that they had been wrongly prosecuted for their mutt’s high-spirited yaps.

The dogfight, however, is far from over.

It all started two years ago when Thousand Oaks resident Calvin Gregory complained about Punky, a mixed-breed shepherd belonging to Joe and Genie Flores.

Gregory lives next door to Punky, and often works at home. He says the dog howled and moaned at every noise. He says he could hear Punky with the windows closed and the television on. He says the dog woke him up at night and disturbed him during the day.

So Gregory sent a barrage of protest letters to the Flores family. He had no trouble thinking of what to write--he says he has filed at least seven complaints against dogs in the neighborhood since he moved to the Wildwood area 15 years ago.

With this most recent problem pet, Gregory said he received no response. So he made a citizen’s arrest of Joe Flores in August, 1993. And he asked the city of Thousand Oaks to prosecute Flores for a misdemeanor: violating a noise ordinance. The city did so.

The case of the barking dog made it to Ventura County Municipal Court a few months later but ended in a mistrial. And the city decided not to press the case.

No one was satisfied.

“You could feel the tension in the neighborhood,” said Bruce Meredith, who lives across the street. “I thought the whole thing was ridiculous.”

Determined to clear Punky’s name, Joe and Genie Flores decided to fight back in court.

They filed suit in Superior Court, accusing Gregory of malicious prosecution. They asked the jury to order Gregory to pay their legal fees plus compensation for stress and wages lost when they took time off work to deal with the case.

And Monday, after a weeklong trial and several hours of deliberations, the jury awarded the couple $12,000--$8,000 for punitive damages, $3,000 for attorney’s fees and $1,000 for lost earnings.

Gregory vowed to appeal.

Meanwhile, Punky continues to run 10 miles a day with Genie Flores’ father, nuzzle up to Joe Flores’ knees for a cuddle and slurp passersby with a raspy, goopy tongue. Being a canine, he also continues to bark.

At least a dozen neighbors have testified in court that Punky barks no more than the average dog, certainly not enough to annoy a reasonable resident. To bolster the case, Joe Flores kept a voice-activated tape recorder in his house for five weeks last year and found only 11 brief periods of barking.

“I never even hear it,” said Sam Mizuno, who lives two doors away from Punky.

“You get used to a little bit of barking,” Darrel Priebe added. “It’s part of a suburban neighborhood.”

But Gregory insists that Punky’s bark is intolerable--or, at least, it used to be.

The dog mysteriously quieted down earlier this year, he said, and he claims credit. “We have really helped the animal,” Gregory said, suggesting that the owners take better care of Punky now. “I’m sure the dog is a lot happier today.”

If Punky’s happy, so are Joe and Genie Flores.

They can’t quite understand how a barking-dog case could take so much time, but they’re pleased with the court’s recent decision. And they’re thrilled that Punky has been vindicated.

“He’s a good boy,” Genie said, scratching Punky between the ears. “We’ve never had problems with him.”

Correspondent Matthew Mosk contributed to this story.