ST. MARY'S COUNTY, Md. — Editor's Note: We've updated this story to reflect that the dog kennel was operating without a permit.
A woman in St. Mary’s County Maryland is voicing concerns about a neighbor's dog kennel and training facility.
For eight months now, a woman who does not want to be named, said she and her family have been dealing with an unlicensed dog kennel operating across the street, along Chaptico Hill Lane in St. Mary’s County. The woman claims the barking coming from the home/facility is non-stop. She also said there is a pungent smell of dog feces and she is worried her water may have been impacted by dog waste runoff.
“We can’t even sit outside and enjoy the weather, we have a pool and can’t sit outside without the noise and smell constantly,” she said.
St. Mary’s commissioner Mike Alderson told WUSA9 the county has received complaints about parking, traffic, noise and environmental concerns, especially when it comes to the burning of animal feces.
Alderson said Code enforcement officials with the Department of Land Use & Growth Management determined that the business, Kloud K9 Boarding LLC was operating without the necessary permits.
WUSA9 spoke to the owners, Kaitlyn Arant and her husband. They claim they’re only missing one permit.
“We are missing the St. Mary's County permit to operate out of home, nothing to do with a dog kennel and we’ve been working with the county to get that permit,” Arant said.
Arant tells WUSA9 she currently has about 17 dogs, who are almost always indoors early in the morning and late at night. As far as the barking, burning feces and polluted water:
"The videos she took were from one night where we cleaned at 11:30 at night and that was my fault. We told the commissioner we do burn feces sometimes, but it is very rare. We're not actually out here burning piles of stinky poop. We live here! Why would I want to smell that,” Arant said
Commissioner Alderson told WUSA9 the business owners were notified of their requirement to come into compliance and have been cooperating. However, the kennel owners tell WUSA9 they have decided to move the business out of state and will close at the end of August.
"In all of this we ended up selling our house. We are set to move August 30th,” Arant said.
WUSA9 spoke to other neighbors who say they’ve never had any noise or odor issues whatsoever.
This case has been forwarded to the St. Mary’s County Health Department, they are investigating the environmental concerns and any possible impacts.