During the summer of 2004 a flap erupted in a Euless subdivision over flying the American flag.  I wrote about the situation and the resolution.  Various factions within the homeowners association were upset at being exposed under the harsh glare of the media spotlight, but it appeared that Mrs. Martin had won the battle.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned, the people that run these associations are often petty little tyrants who don’t like having their power challenged.  Since the flag flap, the Martins have been subjected to a campaign of harassment by the former president of the Heritage Place homeowners association.

A year ago, two beagles, Tara and Toby, watched from their Euless back yard as a squirrel climbed a tree. The dogs barked at the squirrel. Hearing this, the dogs’ owner, Kenny Martin, called them inside.

City officials say next-door neighbor Margarita Montelongo called Euless police to complain about the barking.

“Upon arrival,” a police officer later wrote in a report, “there were no barking dogs.”

An everyday occurrence in suburbia: Dogs go outside. Dogs bark. Neighbors get upset. Sometimes, neighbors even call police or animal control.

But for two neighboring homes in the Heritage Place subdivision in Euless off Texas 10, this is no everyday occurrence. A search of public records shows that police officers and city Animal Services staff members have knocked on the front door of Kenny and Linda Martin’s house more than two dozen times in the past year. The reason? Complaints about barking dogs.

At least that’s what city records available under the Texas Public Information Act show. Actually, Euless’ animal services supervisor Larry James says, many more calls about barking dogs at the Martins’ home were handled by telephone and did not result in written reports.

Most reports describe the outcome of the visits similarly: “No violation witnessed. Dogs were in the house.”

Although some of the complaints were called in anonymously, James says, “Everybody knows who it is.”

Montelongo’s name appears in some police reports, and city officials in three city departments confirm that Montelongo is the complainant.

Montelongo is former president of the Heritage Place homeowners association. She and Linda Martin battled last year in a public squabble about whether Martin could fly an American flag in front of her home.

The situation has reached an absurd level, with complaints being called in at times when the dogs aren’t even there.

Police and animal services reports show that city staffers visit the Martin home to investigate complaints, but they do not hear any barking.

The feud places city officials in a quandary. Police and animal services officers are stretched thin in the city of 50,000. Yet all police calls must be answered. Animal services, which has two full-time officers, responds to most calls, but not all, depending on other duties.

“There’s been a few times we go to the house and on our way back to the shelter, we pass by where Linda Martin works and the dogs are at her place of work,” animal services boss James says. “They are not even at home.”

Linda Martin showed a letter from a pet day care center she often hires to care for the dogs. The letter states that her dogs were at the center on a day when a complaint was called in about barking at her home.

At this point, it appears that Montelongo has gone off the deep end.  The city has tried to get her involved with some sort of mediated solution, but she is uninterested.  In an effort to curb the misuse of city resources, the city is now going to have to get tough and try legal means.

City officials say they have attempted several solutions, including peaceful mediation.

Assistant Police Chief Bob Freeman says: “We’ve tried to meet with both parties to see if we could work out the issue. Miss Martin has met with us several times. Margarita doesn’t seem interested in doing that.”

Deputy City Manager Gary McKamie says: “From what I recall, there’s no strong evidence that would tell us absolutely that the calls are false.”

David Montague, a spokesman for the Tarrant County district attorney, says it’s a crime to make a false report to a peace officer. Upon conviction, the Class B misdemeanor calls for up to six months in jail and $2,000 in fines.

The city is trying a new strategy. Because animal services officers are not peace officers, police accompany animal services officers to answer complaints at the Martin home, James says. The police officer could act as a witness and file false report charges.

Not that I’m vindictive or anything, but I wouldn’t feel sorry for Montelongo if she were to have to grace the city jail with her presence for a while over this sillyness.