A dog killed 9 of my chickens...

[ChickenGoesRuff]

That is cruel, and I am disgusted to read that. I support shooting a dog or any other animal that is on your property terrorizing or killing your pets/livestock/etc, but to hope you injure a dog to the point that it makes its way back home, dying, is sick. It isn't the dogs fault the owner is irresponsible. Why would you want it to suffer, just to be vengeful towards the owners? If you're going to shoot it, shoot to kill.

I don't think what @Bamafansince86 meant was that the dog should be tortured and in excessive pain. I do agree that animal cruelty is bad, but I think the post you quoted meant to be interpreted as "If it doesn't die right away after being shot, It would be almost kismet if the owners (neighboring property so not a far distance) had to deal with it as well, because it is an awful situation." I'm just saying this because I have posted things before and had it misinterpreted, and when someone replies to what you didn't intend to say, it gets awkward. I also want to kinda keep the peace on this thread, because everyone who took the time to on BYC is probably against animal cruelty/undue pain and suffering.
@mobius My dad talked to the local law enforcement, as we had the time before, and they just confirmed what we knew of the Iowa dog code. We also documented everything with photographs.
A side note about my dog: Apparently the owners of his dam didn't want the puppies, and the shelter workers (and my family) believe that the owners abused them. He's part lab, but he is terrified of water to the point where he will hurt himself to get away. He is (or at least was, we've worked on desensitizing him) also freaked out about metal noises like keys jangling, his metal bowl scraping on the deck, and he used to be afraid of his tags. He barks like he'll rip your leg off, but anyone who enters the yard is in no danger of anything but being licked. He's never tested the fence since we trained him to it 5 years ago. (That's why the notion (previous post) of him leaving our yard was preposterous. Our previous dog, Travis, would go through the woods behind our house all the way to the river and beg for treats from boaters and partyers. He'd take down bucks that came onto the property, but never touched any of us kids or neighbors.)

 

[ginger7]

If this does go to court and/or there is further dialog with the neighbor, in addition to the obvious financial loss, if you are planning to go to college, perhaps it should be pointed out that this could affect what kind of 4-H scholarship you get.

If you're competing, this affects your ability to compete.

if you're breeding them, this affects your breeding program.

Obviously it affects the egg output.

I'd be tempted to take Barbie to an avian vet an, if she lost the leg, get her a 3-D prosthetic - on the neighbor's dime. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chicken-to-get-3d-printed-prosthetic-leg-tufts/

Hey, $ talks.

And play up the rarity of the Iowa Blue, especially since you're in Iowa.

 

[ChickenGoesRuff]

@ginger7 I had to put Barbie down, the leg was infected. However, the prosthetic is quite neat. Thanks for the input!

 

[Ayriad]

My neighbors are all responsible dog owners except one.
To appreciate the following you have to know I am terrified of people! Well their dog kept getting loose and jumping into my fenced yard. It even jumped the gate on my deck and came in the house. I called animal control twice, my husband took it home numerous times. I couldn't let my Dane out of the kennel building to play unless I stayed out with her. She would have killed the dog in a minute flat. I use to show dogs do have a lot invested for the care of my dogs. The kennel has a sky light, climate controlled, a raised tub. They have a kiddie pool, and a deck in there fenced 3/4 acre exercise area. She came to my house looking for her dog one day. She was in her car and my husband was talking to her. I ran outside screaming at her like a mad woman, some really bad words came out and a few references to bodily harm. They got rid of the dog. I own their cat now. They didn't feed it and it moved under my deck to eat with the ferals. It lives in my house now and is spoiled rotten! I'm not giving it back. People not caring for their animals makes me furious! When I get chickens and a dog comes in my yard it is going to be caught and taken to the shelter across town.
Sorry for venting. I don't like those people, lol.

 

[Ayriad]

I hope y'all don't think I'm nuts for screaming at that lady, but this went on for months and months. The dog was jumping into my yard 2-4 times a day everyday. One of my dogs cost $7000 for me to import. I finally had enough.
Irresponsible pet owners don't care about the hardships to others. I don't recommend anyone else doing what I did.
I hope the op gets justice for her birds, legally.

 

[Bamafansince86]

That is cruel, and I am disgusted to read that. I support shooting a dog or any other animal that is on your property terrorizing or killing your pets/livestock/etc, but to hope you injure a dog to the point that it makes its way back home, dying, is sick. It isn't the dogs fault the owner is irresponsible. Why would you want it to suffer, just to be vengeful towards the owners? If you're going to shoot it, shoot to kill.

Don't go all democratic on me. I wish no animal pain. I'm sure my chickens had a slow and painful death by the dogs that attacked them. All I was trying to say is if it doesn't die immediately, then maybe it can make it home and get help. I never wanted it to go down like that.

 

[poodlechicks]

So sorry for the loss of your flock! The dog's owners should be responsible for paying for all damages caused by their dog and might even be responsible for paying for pain and suffering due to your loss. You might want to research this possibility as well.
I agree w the previous posts suggesting you
research the actual price of your birds from breeders as well as estimates for the repair of your coop from a professional.
Best of luck with everything.

 

[Ayriad]

Don't go democratic on me. I'm a democrat and thought that was hilarious!
When our pets are hurt or especially killed, we all say or do things we don't mean. I'm sure I terrified my neighbor. I regret that, but it worked. I don't regret that.
I could have let my Dane kill it, but cared more for her dog than she did. So let's not judge each other

Keep us posted on how things turn out. I agree with a post above, talk to animal control.

 

[JanetMarie]

If you don't hear from your neighbors, take them to court. You have the evidence, and I would not put it off. If they were concerned you would have heard back from them by now. They're just hoping you back down and go away. Also sue for court costs.

 

[Bunnylady]

So sorry for the loss of your flock! The dog's owners should be responsible for paying for all damages caused by their dog and might even be responsible for paying for pain and suffering due to your loss. You might want to research this possibility as well.
I agree w the previous posts suggesting you
research the actual price of your birds from breeders as well as estimates for the repair of your coop from a professional.
Best of luck with everything.

If you don't hear from your neighbors, take them to court. You have the evidence, and I would not put it off. If they were concerned you would have heard back from them by now. They're just hoping you back down and go away. Also sue for court costs.

This is the realm of small claims court - the plaintiff shouldn't have any court costs to sue for. There won't be a jury to tell a sob story to, and the judge is going to want this case in and out of the courtroom as fast as it can go; I don't think they will want to hear anything about "pain and suffering" over a bunch of chickens. Cost of repairs, value of the chickens, possibly loss of revenue from sale of eggs, chicks, that sort of thing is fair game, but emotion is most likely going to be shown to the door.