Dog Under Court Order Not to Bark Becomes Facebook Hero

The dog who was ordered not to bark by a court in Croatia has become somewhat of a social media hero…

A Facebook page of support for Medo, the only dog in Croatia currently under a court order not to bark, has attracted over 32,000 fans since it was set up after the case hit the headlines. Dog owners have sent in hundreds of pictures with their dogs offering solidarity with Medo – with many ‘barking’ their support. Even the odd cat has declared their support for Medo.

Dogs all over the country are with Medo

To recap, a District Court in Pula made an interim order that Medo be kept inside the house of his owner Anton Šimunović between the hours of 8pm and 8am after a neighbour had complained that the dog was ‘effecting her health’ with excessive barking. If Medo barks he could attract a fine of 2,600 euros.

“We first asked our neighbour to stop upsetting our dog, but she didn’t. We spoke many times with her, begged for her to stop annoying Medo. In the end she took us to court. Medo does not bark much – only if he sees a cat or someone unknown comes close to his territory. At night he hardly barks,” owner Šimunović said, adding that he believes the case could be a first for Croatia.

Barking mad

The woman’s lawyer said that the dogs behaviour has effected his clients health and that there is evidence that the dog barks all the time, and that his behaviour at night is even worse. He is seeking 10,000 kuna (1,300 euros) in damages for his client and for the dog to stop barking.