Court: Oregon Couple Must Cut Dogs' Vocal Chords After Noise Lawsuit

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Oregon Court of Appeals has ruled that a couple must have their dogs' vocal chords surgically altered after a lawsuit revolving around their incessant barking.

According to a report by The Oregonian, Debra and Dale Krein lived next door to Karen Szewc and John Updegraff and their dogs for nearly two decades.

They first filed a suit more than a decade after they say the barking first started in 2002.

After an April 2015 trial, a jury ruled that Szewc and Updegraff had to pay the Kreins $238,000 in damages. Judge Timothy Gerking also ordered the debarking.

This week, the appeals court upheld that verdict and the judge's ruling. The three-judge opinion is 14 pages long.

The opinion also details a lengthy legal history regarding the dogs on the property and their barking.

The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association says devocalization of dogs is inhumane.

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