Important News Story About Dog Attacking Raccoon

[calista]

Folks, I think this news report is important for backyard chicken owners with pet dogs to read carefully.

What concerns me is the possibility of prosecution if your dog is guarding your flock and kills a raccoon with witnesses watching and/or filming it:

Excerpt: Seth Foster, 23, said he found his family garage in disarray last summer and sent his dog in the building to investigate.

Grizz, a blue heeler, returned with the culprit, a young raccoon.

As two teenage boys watched, one of them filming its actions with a cell phone, Grizz killed the coon, Foster said.

Now, Foster is facing a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty resulting in death, which is punishable by a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. A jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 25 in Jackson County District Court.

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2011/02/man_faces_misdemeanor_charge_o.html

PLEASE REFRAIN FROM PASSING JUDGMENT SO THIS THREAD DOESN'T GET LOCKED DOWN. Instead, let's talk about what it means to send your pet dog after a predator of any kind that is a threat to your flock, possessions, children, or whatever with WITNESSES. What should you do if the problem has to be addressed immediately with them watching you?

Should this man be prosecuted?

 

[terrilhb]

No I do not think he should be prosecuted. I do not condone killing anything. But if my family, flock, or any other animals on my property were in danger no matter who is looking I would do what needed to be done. In Oct I had a dog break into my coop and kill 12 of my 3 month old hens. My dogs alerted me to this. He got away that morning. But he came back that night. He ended up SSS. Broke my heart. But it also broke my heart to know it killed my babies. Hope and pray he gets off.

 

[theFox]

No, the prosecutor should be.

 

[Stacykins]

So the one getting prosecuted was trying to get the coon away from the dog, succeeded for a bit, before the dog snatched it back. And it was not the one getting prosecuted who were egging on the dogs...but the kids filming it. Yep, something is wrong here.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I would be surprised of the grand jury lets that go to trial.

 

[Ivywoods]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yee gads! I'm sure glad nobody lives around me to watch my 3 great pyrenees in action. Raccoons, possums, coyotes, stray dogs... they don't care. They protect our livestock and they protect us.

 

[sheila3935]

A dog protecting his property the owner should not be in trouble. Thats just crazy. That doesnt make the dog vicious. Or the owner irresponsible. I know my dogs would go after a raccoon or other wild animal that came into their domain. So if the man had killed the raccoon would he still be in trouble? Cause if I had a raccoon trying to get my chickens he wouldnt be alive to tell the tale to his raccoon friends.

 

[onthespot]

I wonder if I'm in trouble every time my poodle kills a mouse....

I think I'm up for twenty to life by now...

 

[Jess N Jeff]

My dog just killed a skunk about a month ago after finding it around the chicken coop. Not only did my dog get sprayed...soooo grosss...but that skunk tore a HUGE chunk out of her nose. I had to take her to the vet to make sure she doesn't have rabies...which was an expensive test, but the vet also told me that if its positive then I have to contact the city and they will charge me for having to put my dog down along with city fees because she is a public nusance.

GGGRRRRRR.......

Thank gosh it was a negative result.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Read the comments... After a few pages it becomes clear that the prosecutor won his election campaigning from a mental institution.