15 dogs, 2 goats on half an acre of property, Elkhart County fed up

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. --- A handful of violations for a home that needs to be cleaned up. Neighbors along County Road 26 say they're fed up. 

It's a home many drivers pass when going from Elkhart to Goshen, and those living nearby say it's an eyesore. 

15 dogs. Two goats. Trucks. A broken down ambulance, and much, much more. 

All on less than half an acre of property.

"The house next door has a lot of debris, farm equipment, goats, 15 dogs in the yard," says Jeff Chupp. "We do hear a barking dog most of the time we're here."

Chupp and his son are renovating a house just next door for their friends. But they're worried about the view from the back deck, just steps away from the pool.

"People do not want to live next door to a nuisance," he adds.

It's a sight and sound the Chupps, and other neighbors are tired of.

ABC57 News spoke to Brett Haines, who lives in the home, about what was seen and heard. 

"[I was] never was aware there was a limit on the dogs,"  Haines says. "The goats out back I've had 15 years. No problem. Someone new moves in and then we get problems."

Problems that Elkhart County is also tired of dealing with. 

When ABC57 News asked Haines about the code violations, he replied. "I haven't seen anything on that yet."

ABC57 News also asked when he found out it was more than the original call of a noise violation. 

Haines said, "when you called me."

ABC57 News obtained letters and citations, dating back to March, indicating Haines was in violation of many codes, including raising goats on a residential property, operating a scrapping business, and keeping too many dogs in too small of a space.

The Elkhart County Code Enforcement Division threatens legal action if it's not cleaned up.

Neighbors and the county want it done soon.

"There's no excuse for one individual to get this far out of line with extreme zoning violations for years," says Chupp.

"It's a person property," says Haines. "They should be able to have what they want on their own property."