Habitual howlers may soon find themselves behind bars in Prairie Village.</p><p>The city recently passed an ordinance that will authorize police and animal control to enter fenced backyards to impound barking dogs. But police officials say the law will be enforced only as a last resort.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to be the barking police,&rdquo; said Prairie Village Police Captain Tim Schwartzkopf. &ldquo;We understand that dogs bark at neighbors and squirrels. But when that dog barks nonstop all night, that&rsquo;s when it becomes a nuisance.&rdquo;</p><p>If complaints are made about barking, the police will go through with their usual procedure of contacting the owner to see whether the pet can be brought inside.</p><p>In most cases, the pet owner complies without a problem, Schwartzkopf said. But if not, Animal Control will try to work with the pet owner the next day.</p><p>If the resident doesn&rsquo;t cooperate, the dog is seized and placed at the Animal Medical Center located near 75th Street and Wornall Road. To get their pets back, residents will need to pay a boarding fee of $20 per day and appear in Municipal Court for a violation of the city&rsquo;s noise ordinance. They may or may not be issued a fine, depending on the circumstance.</p><p>&ldquo;This ordinance will affect a very, very small percentage of Prairie Village residents,&rdquo; Schwartzkopf said. &ldquo;It would have to be a drastic circumstance before one of our officers would impound a dog. Most of the people in the city are good pet owners.&rdquo;</p><p>While the procedure may seem drastic to some, Schwartzkopf believes it is necessary.</p><p>Police staff initiated the ordinance because of recent uncontrollable pet owners.</p><p>In the past four to six months, numerous phone calls have been made to the Police Department about excessive barking at night. In most of those cases, the homeowners had been refusing to cooperate.</p><p>After some brainstorming, the staff realized impounding pets would have to be an option.</p><p>The City Council supported that decision on Monday, putting the ordinance into effect immediately.</p><p>Schwartzkopf believes Prairie Village may be the only city in Johnson County to have such an ordinance.</p><p>Most other cities in the county have confirmed their police officers do not impound pets based on noise complaints.</p><p>&ldquo;If a dog is barking excessively in the middle of the night, we usually have an officer go to the home to find out what is going on,&rdquo; said Lieutenant Mike Fleming of Fairway. &ldquo;Sometimes dogs just bark at other dogs or perhaps they are neglected. But in that case we just contact the owners about it or refer the situation to Animal Control &mdash; our officers do not impound for barking.&rdquo;</p><p>Overland Park is the same.</p><p>&ldquo;We only impound dogs if they are in danger,&rdquo; said Jim Weaver, the public information officer for Overland Park. &ldquo;Other than that, we just contact Animal Control.&rdquo;</p><p>Police officers in Kansas City do not impound dogs for barking, much less respond to animal-related complaints, unless there is physical danger involved. Animal Control is in charge of animal-related noise incidents.</p><p>&ldquo;If dog barking is disturbing a neighbor, we can&rsquo;t even issue a ticket,&rdquo; Mike Schumacher, assistant to the director of Animal Control for Kansas City. &ldquo;Usually the neighbor is asked to write an official complaint and take that pet owner into court.&rdquo;</p><p>He has never heard of another city with a similar ordinance.</p><p>&ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t think what Prairie Village is doing is bad,&rdquo; Schumacher added. &ldquo;Every city has their own way of handling things.&rdquo;</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> </div>