I live in Southern California and here is what my city did.
We decided to leave our big dog home for a few days while we traveled north to visit relatives - our neighbors walk the big dog every morning for an hour (they asked US if they could do this, lucky us!!). They graciously offered to not only walk our dog but feed our him while we were away and make sure he had water, etc.
When we returned, we received a voice message from the city stating that there had been a complaint that our dog had been barking all night non stop while we were gone. We were told the next complaint would merit a fine of $1000.
Needless to say, the big dog now goes to a kennel - a no-cage kennel with massive play yard and a shallow pool for the dogs to play in.
Not that you were irresponsible, it seems like you had no idea that was going to happen and you took care of it when you found out it did.
Now that they build on 7,000 square foot lots, the days of having an outside dog are over. Here in Phoenix, it's ridiculous, they go out and impulsively buy 2, 3 and 4 of these yippy bark machines. The novelty wears off and they try and throw them out in the back yard.