James and Phyllis Walters live close to the Knox-Whitley Animal Shelter in rural Whitley County where hundreds of animals arrive each month.

And they claim in a lawsuit that the noises the dogs are making are simply too much to bear. They wouldn’t talk on camera, but they say in the lawsuit that the barking is persistent both day and night.

Deana Myers with the shelter says dogs are kept outside during the day..but at night it’s limited to only two areas.

“I don’t see how it could be that big of a problem. We do have an outside kennel. We house one outside animal. We do have an intake where we house up to 4 animals in the evening,” she says of the “quarantine area” where dogs are kept before they are ruled healthy enough to join the rest of the pet population.

The Walters claim in the lawsuit that the constant barking is causing them “severe insomnia,” injuries to their mental health, and loss of their property value.

Court records show that the Walters have lived in their current home since 1976. Whitley county officials say the animal shelter is less than 10 years old. The lawsuit claims problems began in January 2008. But shelter officials say if they can’t keep some animals outdoors..there’s really only one solution.

“We could do away with an outside kennel that we do have, that would mean another dog would have to be euthanized,” said Myers.

If they win the lawsuit, the Walters want an injunction that would stop the dogs from being housed outside and to be paid for compensatory and punitive damages.