‘They are a danger,’ say neighbors fighting to move rescue dogs from Fickling property

More than a dozen residents of the Ingleside area wore earplugs to Macon Municipal Court Tuesday morning.

The neighbors donned “Move It” buttons in protest of a dog rescue operation run by Kerri Fickling at 2929 Ingleside Ave.

After years of complaints, the neighbors were hoping to tell a judge about excessive barking at all hours of the night and aggressive dogs getting loose and running in packs.

Fickling was scheduled to face a nuisance barking citation, but her attorney asked for a continuance.

Judge Bobby Faulkner addressed the neighbors at the start of court and explained that Fickling would not be appearing Tuesday.

The case is scheduled to be heard May 24, a court clerk said.

Fickling’s attorney could not be reached for comment.

Phil Comer, whose property on Hillandale Circle backs up to the Fickling estate, said neighbors will continue to complain until the Save Our Souls Rescue has been relocated.

Comer said the neighbors will do “whatever it takes” to restore their neighborhood to its peaceful state before SOS Rescue opened a few years ago.

“The dogs coming into our yards are so unsocialized to humans that they are a danger,” he said.

Another Hillandale neighbor, Nancy Mitchell, explained how an elderly woman nearly 90 years old was threatened by dogs about 15 feet from her home.

“She was frightened, literally, thinking she was about to die,” Mitchell said. “That shouldn’t happen to an 80-something-year-old lady.”

The neighbors also voiced concerns for the tourists who visit the Fickling estate during the Cherry Blossom Festival.

The former home of the late W.A. Fickling Sr. is on the Cherry Blossom trail, as Macon’s first Yoshino cherry tree was discovered in that yard.

During an impromptu news conference outside the courtroom, Comer explained that last month’s citation for nuisance barking was the first filed by Macon-Bibb Animal Welfare in spite of neighbors’ complaints.

Comer couldn’t say why it’s taken so long for the neighbors’ complaints to be heard.

Mitchell said after contacting the Ficklings repeatedly, her patience has run out.

“They have been such nice neighbors, we have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt,” she said. “So, finally, we’ve had enough.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 1:48 PM with the headline "‘They are a danger,’ say neighbors fighting to move rescue dogs from Fickling property."