Dog killed my chickens, I killed the dog

[LostMindPleaseFind]

My entire yard is fenced, however a female pit bull got in and attacked my older blue heeler. I only happened to see it because I was cleaning a bedroom and watched the pit bull hit my gate and it unlatched. She went straight for Bandit and got him by the foreleg. He was on the ground screaming. I ran out and started kicking her to get her off him. Then the lightbulb went off in my head and realized she could have taken off my foot. So I grabbed a downed tree limb as thick as my arm and started beating her with it. She finally let go and ran to my back yard. She was all smiles and wanted me to pet her!!!
Long story short...
No one in the area knew who owned her, but she had killed other dogs.
I found the owner's mother who showed me the dog and how the animal got out.
I told her I was taking my dog to the vet and they would be getting the bill!!

I was out of work at the time, so this wasn't and expense I was prepared for. I was afraid that Bandit's foreleg was crushed and I would have to put him down to having no money to pay for surgery.

Fortunately, the bill was only $200, small laceration and nicked bone.
I presented the bill to the mother of the dogs owner, and was told her son 31 years old was currently unemployed and going to school.
Later that night, I heard a gunshot.

Two days later and still no response from the owner. So I went over.... CALMLY!! Asked when he thought he could pay me.....blah , blah, blah, he hit me and threatened to get his gun if I didn't get off his property. Oh, and he told me he HAD to shoot his dog BECAUSE OF ME!

I went to the sheriff to report this(went no where as I had no bruise nor did I have a witness), then I went to the Animal Control and reported. Then I collected all the reports and went to file a small claims. The cost was $75 that at the time I couldn't afford.


So the outcome of all this was.....Loss of Time, Loss of Faith in any bureaucracy, Out $200, Evil Thoughts for Both the Owner and his Mother....such as repeatedly putting nails in their driveway!

If I had a gun, I would have shot that dog and hung it on my fence for the neighbor to claim!!!!!!

But that's just me!

 

[LostMindPleaseFind]

PS.... ss about your chickens. And if the neighbors came to you, they probably want to do the right thing by you.

 

[mjuenem]

I am sorry about your loss it must have been horrible. However, please don't take your neighbors to small claims court until you talk to them face to face. I heard they came to see you but you were alone so didn't answer the door. Get somebody with you and speak to them. They may have been trying to say they were sorry and trying to compensate you - who knows? Ya got to get along with your neighbors even IF their dog was to blame. Also please make clear that the phrase earlier in this post "they're just chickens" was not uttered by your neighbors but mentioned by a third party as a hypothetical statement. It looks as though some people posting later believed your neighbors said that.

Give the neighbors a chance to do the right thing, if they don't then take them to court.

 

[wishingbee]

It is their responsibility to keep their dog on their property, period, no ifs, ands or buts.

Agree, 100%. If you don't love your animals enough to keep them on your property, you should be prepared for the consequences of your negligence. Good for you for taking control of the situation.

I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through- what a horrible thing to have to experience.​

 

[HLAC]

Quote:
X2

Very sad situation all the way around.

 

[LadyAndHerPeeps]

What a terrible ordeal for you !! That is Exactly why I keep My dogs inside with Me and they are never out without supervision,I cant say that for my neighbors tho They allow theirs to roam all over the neighborhood.As soon as I moved in I also put up a fence,but I still supervise my girls/dogs when they are out, I happen to love mine enough to do that.I cant stand irresponsible dog owners.
I am so sorry you had to deal with such terrible neighbors and cant blame you whatsoever.I will do that same if I have to !!
If your ever down here in SE Ga I would gladly give you a few of my chickens to help rebuild your flock. I am a newbie here and have I guess what chicken people call teens,,LOL ,either way I love them and dont mind sharing .
Good Luck

 

[terrilhb]

I am so sorry for your loss. I went through a smaller scale of this last October. We found a dog in our coop and it just killed 12 3 month old babies. (they are all my babies even grown.) It got away that morning. If my DH had shot him he could have gotten one of our dogs. But he came back that night. It will never kill anyone elses. Like you if he had been hungry I could have understood a little. But it just killed them. I felt bad the dog had to die. Where we live there is no animal control and we did not know who owned the dog. But who ever it was should have control over their dog. I have 4 dogs and I watch them. We ended up fencing our property for them. They never bother my chickens or goats. Sending lot's of hugs to you.

 

[mkhenderson17]

Quote:
I get your point, however disagree. It is NOT my responsibility to keep my neighbors dog off my property .. period. I keep my OWN dog out of my chicken pen and out of my neighbor's yard .. but anyone elses animal that is on my property stalking my livestock IS A PREDATOR .. period.

It's an unfortunate situation, however I would have shot the dog also.

*hugs* to the OP for making a tough decision. I bet if neighbors get a new dog, you'll never see it in your yard...

I do have to agree some. No matter what, dogs will get out, and no matter what chickens can be at risk. The most we all can do is protect our hens (and roos too) the best we can and hope people can keep their dogs in. My border collie has killed 3 of my hens. he is trained to put them in at night but he got out one day when I was at work. The hens he got were free range. This is not a good situation the entire way around. BUT I still may have shot the dog if i was in her position and I was Not in city limits.

 

[kemclaughlin]

How devastating!! We have a really hard time keeping our dog in sometimes. If the kids leave the door open, she runs out. I can't chase her and she does not come back right away. I just wait for her and hope she does not hurt anything. She is not people aggressive, but she is a hound. She leaves our cats and chickens alone, so I am hoping it never comes to that. We keep her in the yard during the day so that if they do this on accident, she can't get out. If she attacked someone's pet and they shot her, I would feel really awful, but I would understand. People have to protect their property.

 

[cwmchicken]

I feel sorry for your loss. I do believe that it is the dog owners responsibility to keep their dogs in their own yards as well. However it makes me sad to see all these people that say they love their pets so much to show such hate toward someones pet. Kinda seems hypocritical to be so keen on killing the dog (someones pet just like hens). seems everyone wants respect for their chickens but most everyone seems to be saying " it's just a dog". I believe the OP did the right thing but there seems to be alot of dog killers out there. Remember the only thing hate and anger do is affect you and people around you.