Dog Shot For Killing chickens Article

I just read another post on here about a neighbors dog killing her chicken and although I originally just ignored this news article I changed my mind and wanted to post it here. The article itself is what it is, it's the comments to the article that SHOCK me...... It shocks me because this is rural Maine, I would think people would be more understanding. I love dogs very very much. I have 2 and they are my kids but this guy that shot this dog had every right and had to do it to protect his animals. I have a couple dogs in my neighborhood that come into my yard and so far have left my chickens alone. I hope to God I never have to shoot them. I don't want to kill some poor childs loved pet but what am I suppose to do if the owners can't do what is right? Should I have to pay the price? Of course not......

Anyway, I am posting this here in hopes that although the article is a little dated that people from here will leave comments and support the mans actions for protecting his flock. I don't know this guy from a hole in the wall but I do know the area. For all I know this guy may in fact be a jerk but I digress......

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/29/news/mid-maine/no-animal-cruelty-charges in-dog-shooting-case/

Since it's dated, I'm not going to post on the article site. What stood out to me was how so many people kept referring to the dog as being "just a puppy," and also that the dog hadn't even killed a chicken yet when it was shot (won't even address the "it's just a chicken" thing).

While I agree that most large breed dogs aren't fully mature until about 2, that dog was no "puppy." I doubt the chicken owner's view while watching a 70 lb dog going after his chickens was "Oh, look at that cute little puppy frolicking among my birds." It's not like the dog was carrying a driver's license with his date of birth on it???? It was just a big dog going after chickens.

And it's laughable that (according to some statements) the man was supposed to wait until a chicken was actually killed... ("let me just hang back to see if he actually gets that bird he's chasing in his mouth") to justify his actions. Besides, we all know that even then, to many it still would not have been justified (refer back to "it's just a chicken").

If a dog is just snooping around the fenceline, or off in the distance, I can see yelling, throwing rocks, getting out the hose, etc. to spook it away, but if a dog is actually going after your own animals, then that's a whole 'nother story.

That being said, I love dogs, and know it would grieve me horribly if one of mine was shot/killed - so I do feel for the woman and her family.

Yeah, in the earlier comments she had her family on trashing the chicken-owner - apparently he'd shot her cousin's husky in his yard earlier. It gives me this awful vision of the poor man surrounded by irresponsible, vindictive neighbors.

I own a dog and chickens. If he runs off and starts harassing someone else's livestock, I may never see him again. It would break my heart, but I'm not the center of the universe - other people have a right to have their animals unmolested.

I get fairly steamed at this kind of drama queen act

That is a troubling situation. In Alaska, we deal with all sorts of critters. I wouldn't shoot any of them with the intent to kill unless a human life was at stake. There are other things that can be done, like shooting in the air.

Quote:
Shooting in the air to scare it off until one day it comes back when you aren't home and kills several of your animals. Yep, that sounds like it would work.

Well hmm... where to begin?
1 - a 1 year old lab is no puppy in SIZE, mentally yes still puppy, but then again so is an adult with mental disability that hurts someone else.... Just because they look adult they may not be but they still have to be treated with some adult type response.

2 - the chickens can be a pet just as much as a dog. Mine and my daughter ARE pets

3 - I have both a under 1 yr old black lab and chickens. We have been training her to leave the chickens alone ....BUT... she did attack and kill 2 of my chickens when she broke her tie out and got loose while we were gone and the chickens were free ranging

Did I shoot her NO, she is our daughters pet but did I discipline her and tried other ways of keeping them apart (chickens and dogs)
She again got loose and attacked and kill another chicken. There is no training that out of her PERIOD.. So another fence went up to keep them separated.

Would I use deadly force on a strange dog killing my chickens ABSOLUTELY....
On my own dog, DEPENDS on temperament of the dog at the moment, if it spins around and starts in on my or my family - YES- if it stops and cowers because it knows it was wrong -NO

Again This is only MY personal opinion. I have neighbors and relative that would be only pro dog, that is their right to feel that way BUT if your dog come to MY yard and hurts MY animals and or god forbid MY children do not expect me to be happy. By the way MY yard is completely fenced in so for your animal to be in my yard it had to try really hard to get in there.
And on the flip side if my animal gets loose and is endangering the life of one of your pets or god forbid you child feel free to do what needs to be done.
BUT don't just go off half cocked shooting for the sake of shooting.

I just wanted to add that in the original news article when this happened, the man said he shot the dog while it was in the coop. Now, I have no idea what the exact facts are and this guy does seem kind of like jerk but it's his actions that are being ripped apart and to me the actions he took are the right actions and the same actions I would have taken as well. It also bugs me that people think of chickens as just livestock but hold dogs to a higher standard. As I have learned from this website, chickens are different things to different people. These chickens were where they were suppose to be. The dog on the other hand, was not. To me it's that simple. It's a very sad situation for the dog owner but hopefully this will teach them to be better owners in the future. There have been a few people that have traveled that road and seen those dogs loose more than once. Also, it is not a slow traveling road, I believe the speed limit is 50 and it's a fairly busy road for being rural Maine.



Here is the original article:

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/28/news/da-investigating-case-of-dog-shot-in-henhouse/

Same old stuff, isn't it? It's like a record skipping on a turntable, same story, different players.

As for shooting in the air someone mentioned, that bullet has to come down somewhere. Can't do that here where it may hit a human being or damage property. Maybe you can do that in the wilds of AK or similar remote locations, but most folks don't live far enough away from others to take the chance. Better to be safe, I'd think. Not to mention, most dogs aren't scared by the sound of shooting anyway. We've shot into the ground at their feet and it doesn't phase most of them. Phases the owners, though, who suddenly start whistling for the roaming dogs.

I can remember being 10 or so when a mans two dogs attacked my aunts sheep. she had 6 in a pen with the ram. All but 1 were killed. My uncle shot the 2 dogs and left them at the end of the driveway for the owners to come pick up and there was a huge argument over who was right my uncle for shooting the dogs after they attacked and this man being upset his childrens pets were killed. I do strongly agree if your livestock are being attacked its ok to shoot the offending animal. I love our lab/ husky mix who even at 4 is still very high energy but if she starts killing our other animals its not acceptable we will have to send her to another home. She does run loose and our chickens are kept in a pen and she doesnt bother them so far but I know she can be unpredicatable shes an animal and its in her nature to be a predator.

I use to raise Dobermans and Arabian horses. I had chickens and a few other animals. I had my grump kill one of my one chickens. I did find a way to make her stop and it never happened again. But I had to shoot a few of the neighbors dogs for going after my horses. I told the owners to keep their dogs home or I would have no choice. They didn't and I did. I also told them if my dogs ever caused a problem on place, they had my blessings to do away with the dog. All I asked is they dispose of it also. I never lost a dogs. I had 56 acres and I don't know that she ever left it. But I had strange dogs all the time show up. Point is if a dog is causing a death on your property it is you legal right to stop it. My local sheriff told me what I do on "my" place is my business. It is my right to protect all property within its boundries.

I know farmers that have lost their entire goat herd to wild dogs. Sheep to dogs. It never ends. Pet or no pet, if it kills there is a price to pay. In the pet world and ours.

That's what I do.