Do you ever feel like calling it a day? *Just caught a dog*

[Northie]

Good job hopefully he finds a new home with a good fence!

 

[bobbi-j]

He is kind of a cute little bugger, even though in my family it wouldn't be called a "dog" (it has to be bigger than a cat for that title

). Glad you didn't SSS him - especially since he was friendly. Hopefully he'll find a home far away from your chickens.

 

[Krayfish57]

Wow! That is just so irresponsible of the owner of the dog and its not fair to the animal to let it roam around the neighborhood. Hope this ends your problem.

 

[Krayfish57]

Thank you very much!!

 

[PeterNaomiGray]

MontanaDolphin: Yep, I agree. I'm not eager to kill someone's dog, either, but we've been told the same thing by the local cops, and I'll shoot a dog if I find it after our chickens and can't catch it any other way. If I can catch it I might take it to the pound - without a collar. A couple years ago our neigbors let the dog loose and it killed a beautiful rooster and almost killed a hen before it kicked it away and it ran back home. I called the neighbors and told them that if I ever found their dog on our property again, it would not come home alive. They were quite apologetic, took responsibility, offered to pay for new chicks (what good is that, what can you say?). And they put chicken wire all along their side of 400 feet of fence.
We had to sue another, more distant, irresponsible neighbor, but only got payment for vet bills, not any other damage, heartache, etc.. We also spent $500 plus a weekend of our labor adding and beefing up our fences. Even though the law is on your side, self-defense is the first essential step. In our experience, by far the worst predator has been the family dog.
Coralie: Like you, we see our chickens as members of the family and beloved pets. Don't give up, and realize that many people won't get it and might think you're crazy. That's life, and you're not likely to educate your callous, irresponsible neighbor. The only message she will understand is a bullet through the head of one (or more) of her dogs, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it. You've gone above and beyond by even contacting her about the first incident.

 

[PeterNaomiGray]

Oops, typos. I meant "neighbor" and "before I kicked it away."