FWIW - I do not go around willy-nilly shooting dogs on my property. I do know most of the dogs in a two mile radius of our home as far as who they belong to, their basic temperament, etc (because we seem to be the ONLY people in that radius who take any sort of steps to keep our dogs on our property - or see anything wrong with letting them roam to their hearts' content). There is one pack of dogs that will be shot on sight due to previous experiences with the dogs and the owner - and, yes, it would be SSS because there is no being "neighborly" with this particular individual (put it this way, we were warned about this person before we even bought the property we now live on - warned by others in the neighborhood - and have had a couple of run-ins with him that have affirmed those warnings to the point where I will have NOTHING to do with him for fear of personal safety).
Dogs caught on my property not actively in the process of attacking/killing my animals in a way that I am unable to intervene with anything less than deadly force are sent packing by whatever means I can employ (example, recently chased most immediate neighbor's dog out of the run which was open while the birds ranged with a sound lashing from a lunge whip - he has not yet set foot on our side of the fence since) - and the owners are given ONE notice of what happened and my willingness to take whatever steps necessary to protect my animals on my property. When possible, strays are caught, contained and turned over to A/C (which, in this county is a whole other adventure usually resulting in me having the animal for 3-5 days while we wait for them to be able to p/u). I do not *want* to kill anything - but when it comes to a choice between my animal and the one putting it's life in danger, I will choose my animal every time. I have had to make that choice in the past when two dogs who had previously been warned off (and owner notified) were caught mauling a lamb to death - it was not pleasant, I got no joy from it and I was left angry at the dog owner for having failed to take steps to keep their dogs home KNOWING that they had already been caught harassing livestock from my previous conversation with them. Lethal force is my LAST resort, but one I am willing to employ.
Dogs caught on my property not actively in the process of attacking/killing my animals in a way that I am unable to intervene with anything less than deadly force are sent packing by whatever means I can employ (example, recently chased most immediate neighbor's dog out of the run which was open while the birds ranged with a sound lashing from a lunge whip - he has not yet set foot on our side of the fence since) - and the owners are given ONE notice of what happened and my willingness to take whatever steps necessary to protect my animals on my property. When possible, strays are caught, contained and turned over to A/C (which, in this county is a whole other adventure usually resulting in me having the animal for 3-5 days while we wait for them to be able to p/u). I do not *want* to kill anything - but when it comes to a choice between my animal and the one putting it's life in danger, I will choose my animal every time. I have had to make that choice in the past when two dogs who had previously been warned off (and owner notified) were caught mauling a lamb to death - it was not pleasant, I got no joy from it and I was left angry at the dog owner for having failed to take steps to keep their dogs home KNOWING that they had already been caught harassing livestock from my previous conversation with them. Lethal force is my LAST resort, but one I am willing to employ.
