Danged ole do good neighbor killed my chickens!

[patman75]

So Sorry.

Did you find out who it was or did the dogs figure out the garage door opener?

 

[jaimepowell]

So sorry to hear about your chickens

We live out in the country and have a few neighbors. Once we let our chickens start free ranging I went door to door to let them all know. Luckily our dogs get along great with the chickens but our neighbor next door has 2 hunting dogs that would love to gobble them up I'm sure. I just tried to politely let everyone know that if they had a problem with the chickens to please call me before doing anything themsleves and if I had any extra eggs I would be sure to bring them by

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

 

[rufus]

Quote:
Or maybe it is. Looks to my like a burglar opened the garage and found two angry dogs, and then lit out. The dogs then did what dogs do.

Rufus

To reiterate. Nothing was taken from the home. Even if there was the cops couldn't really do much of anything. I've had my house robbed, it's pretty much pointless to file a report unless something extremely valuable was taken. HOWEVER reporting how many birds died and what their value was could definitely be helpful if it was a nosey neighbor.

Upon finding the dogs, the burglar probably was disinclined to take any thing. They were probably pretty anxious to get out of there.
Now that they know the dogs are confined in the garage when you are away, they will concentrate on the house.

It has been my unfortunate experience that once they hit your house and find good stuff, they will return with a certain regularity.

I suggest you keep on good terms with the neighbors. The best security is a nosy neighbor. Also, remember that they are probably the ones that will call 911 when you have a heart attack.

Rufus

 

[ranchhand]

I'd like to know the resolution to this. Very weird situation, pretty scary and awful.

Wonder if the 4 "kids", i.e. 3 boys and DH were perhaps involved? My DH is notorious for letting the dogs out, even after I have specifically said the chickens are out, the dogs need to stay in. He always says oops, I forgot.

 

[Pele]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your birds

I'm not trying to play the devil's advocate here, but it kind of sounds like there were mistakes on both sides here. I know if I personally heard/saw a dog locked in a garage during a scorcher day (90 to 100+ degrees), I would be deeply worried for the dogs (and I don't even like dogs as a general rule). I have never lived in a place here air-conditioning is a standard issue for garages, and would assume the worst. And I don't know about everyone else, but I can't keep several large dogs from getting loose if I open a door to them even a crack. By the time they felt the AC, the dogs were probably halfway to timbucktoo.

If you have a close relationship with your neighbors, you might want to put up a sign reading something along the lines of "Air Conditioned Garage, do not let dogs out". That way there's no worry on either side.

Secondly, it's an unfortunate but concrete fact that leaving your doors unlocked in modern times is asking for trouble. You might want to consider this a warning of what could happen in the future should someone other than your neighbors notice that you've taken no effort to secure your home. Burgulars are lazy as a general rule, and love love loooove people who leave their homes open. This extends even to people who don't lock the house door leading into the garage. Remote control garage door openers only come in a limited number of frequencies. If you drive around pressing the button long enough, you'll get the welcome mat to someone's house if they didn't take the time to lock the garage entrance to their home.

I hope that this never happens to you again, and I hope that you take steps to make sure it doesn't. The next break-in could be one that leaves your family without valuables. And I never want to see a BYC member go through that

We're too nice.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
I fyou are concerned about dogs (or other animals, the proper response is NOT to let them out, but to CALL THE POLICE. My current garage has evap cooling, at the old house it did not. BUT, in BOTH cases, the garages ALWAYS are/were FAR cooler than the outside on a scorching day.

 

[Randdee]

wow that really sucks, i am sorry for your loss.

 

[Pele]

Quote:
I totally see where you're coming from, and I personally wouldn't have done it myself since I am very frightened of dogs. I was just saying that I wouldn't blame my neighbor for doing it if they didn't know about the garage being cooled. Not only that, but I highly doubt that most people on this board (since we're mostly animal lovers) would be comfortable with just sitting and waiting while an animal suffered nearby.

Actually, I wonder if anyone here has police/emergency responder background, and if they can tell us what hte response time to a call like this would be. I'd like to be prepared in the future to take the best action if I do find an animal that needs emergency help (like, should I wait for them, or should I do whatever I can to save the animal. If it's an hour to two hour wait, it's a no-brainer).

Sorry, didn't mean to pull thread off topic, but it would be nice to know.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
I totally see where you're coming from, and I personally wouldn't have done it myself since I am very frightened of dogs. I was just saying that I wouldn't blame my neighbor for doing it if they didn't know about the garage being cooled. Not only that, but I highly doubt that most people on this board (since we're mostly animal lovers) would be comfortable with just sitting and waiting while an animal suffered nearby.

Actually, I wonder if anyone here has police/emergency responder background, and if they can tell us what hte response time to a call like this would be. I'd like to be prepared in the future to take the best action if I do find an animal that needs emergency help (like, should I wait for them, or should I do whatever I can to save the animal. If it's an hour to two hour wait, it's a no-brainer).

Sorry, didn't mean to pull thread off topic, but it would be nice to know.

Response time can vary dramatically based upon location: response in a city should be pretty rapid; response for someplace way out in the country could be quite a long time. Also, local weather conditions would likely play a big role in how serious it is viewed. 60 or 70 degree weather is very different than 110 degree weather. Also, if you can see the dogs, their behavior is likely to indicate whether they are distressed or not. These are all things a 911 operator or police dispatcher is likely to ask.

 

[spacecowgirl]

Whoever did this had no right whatsoever, no matter what their motives were. Honestly, I don't think their intentions were honorable at all. I'm kind of with the poster who brought up minor burglary, or teenagers out for some fun.

I would absolutely find out who is responsible and file a police report!!!

I'm so sorry for your loss.