LINCOLN PARK — Some neighbors say they're fed up with the unpleasant odors and ruckus from a Lincoln Park dog kennel that's been open since 1999, while the kennel owner contends he has made plenty of compromises and that complaints now amount to "harassment."
Tommy Gawenda says he has been dealing with noisy, smelly neighbors for 16 years. He owns the property next to Dogs Day Inn, a dog kennel at 1719 W. Wrightwood Ave. When it opened, it was one of the city's first cage-free kennels, which means dogs roam freely as they would at dog park.
Gawenda said the boarded dogs — usually about 20 to 30 on a given day — are taken outside three or four times a day, where they bark and howl loudly, sometimes joined by the shouts of Dogs Day Inn employees. On a recent afternoon, DNAinfo Chicago heard dogs barking in the middle of the day.
David Kennedy (l.) and Tommy Gawenda standing between Gawenda's home and Dogs Day Inn. [DNAinfo/Mina Bloom]
Gawenda, who started building his home right before the day care moved in, argues that the noise, combined with the foul odors, puddles of dog pee in the alley and dog poop smeared along the sidewalk, hurts his quality of life. He says he will file a lawsuit if things don't change drastically. A few other neighbors agree that the business doesn't belong on a residential street.
"Why am I suffering from their business?" asked Gawenda, who runs a commercial audio video sales and installation business from his home. "I have my own business and I would never do that to somebody. I wouldn't put my shop next to somebody's house. Why can they get away with this?"
Similarly, David Kennedy, who lives a few doors down and spends a lot of time at home, said the sounds of dog fights and employees yelling are inescapable whenever he's outside.
"Anytime I go outside, I'll hear these [dog fights] start and 'Hey!' [from employees.] They're louder than the animals. It's kind of disturbing," he said.
But William Pedriana, who owns the dog day care with his wife, said he's been nothing but accommodating over the years. He said he's split the cost of a $6,000 fence to help contain the noise, installed a drain in the alley and has taken in fewer dogs.
"We've taken a $1 million hit over the past six years in income because we've tried to be in tune with the fact that we're in a neighborhood," Pedriana said. "It's gotten to the point of harassment."
Pedriana said his customers, most of whom live on the block or in the surrounding area, rely on his business. An employee, Trish Kupiszewski, said some dog owners are so devoted to their operation that they continue bringing their dogs there even after moving far away.
"Our intention is to keep it open because it serves the community and customers love it. And when we have a complaint, we try to be responsive," Pedriana said.
Yet Gawenda isn't satisfied with Pedriana's attempts to fix the problem over the years. He said the drain Pedriana installed is too small, and there was talk of installing a tent but it never happened. He said he's tried to set up meetings with the owner and Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) to reach a long-term compromise, but either the meetings never happen or the conversations never result in long-term solutions.
Waguespack didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition to loud noise and foul odor, neighbors say the dogs are ruining their grass and shrubbery. Kennedy wrapped burlap around the patch of grass in front of his home to protect it from dogs who use it as "their toilet."
Susan Wagner, who has lived in a house next to Gawenda for three years, said her ideal outcome is for the business to close.
"I want them to close down. They don't belong there, and they never did. They abused it. Now close it down," Wagner said.
Pedriana, who now lives out of state, said no one but Gawenda has reached out to him with complaints.
"It's unfortunate. I understand [Gawenda's] dilemma. He has a very expensive property next to a kennel. But he's trying to damage our business because he wants to maintain his property value," Pedriana said.
Kupiszewski called the complaints "horrible."
"People who own dogs ... if they're not using a facility like ours, they're locking them in crates all day when they're at work," she said. "What's the point of even having an animal if they're locked up eight hours a day?"
"I have people who say, 'If I didn't have you guys, I don't know what I'd do,'" she said.
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