I've been on both sides of the problem dog issue. A few years ago I got frustrated trying to keep my two escape artist Siberian Huskies penned in. I gave up, and let hem run. I'm on 40 acres, and have many acres of farmland around us, so I figured there would be no issues. Boy was I wrong. Two pet rabbits killed, one confirmed cat killed, one cat MIA, llamas harassed, chickens harassed, etc. I had three neighbors, including the one with the rabbits, come to my house, on the same day, and tell me that if my dogs were seen on their property that they would be shot. I was glad that they warned me, and I told them that I understood and would take care of the problem. I did offer to replace the rabbits, or do whatever I could to make up for the problem. I contained my dogs, and I would have certainly understood if a neighbor had shot one or both. Fast forward a few years, Both of my Siberians are dead (one to old age, the other to an accident), and two dogs come onto my property and kill my kids' cat. My girls were so upset that they really could not describe the dogs other than "Brown", so I can't do too much about it. Just a few days after I got my first chickens, a neighbor's chocolate lab come onto my property and goes absolutely ballistic trying to get at my birds. He tore the ground down to bare dirt around their run in a matter of minutes. We called the owner, as well as animal control. We didn't see the dog again for several months, but he showed back up about 3 weeks ago. This time, my birds were still locked in the coop, so he didn't see them. When I took the dog back to its owner, she asked, nervously, if he had gotten into anything. When I said no, she seemed re-leaved. He came back again two weeks ago, but this time he did get into my birds while they were ranging on my property. My oldest daughter got him by the collar, called the owner, and then called me. At this point, he had not killed any chickens, but only because he had not seen them yet. On my way home I stopped at the neighbors house to give them a final chance to get their dog. While I was on their front porch (no one home), my daughter called me again, this time crying, and told me that the dog saw the chickens, went ballistic again, and had attacked two, probably killing them, and the rest scattered into the woods. When I got home, the dog was laying at the edge of the woods, chewing on something, with feathers all around him and falling out of his mouth. I also saw several trails of feathers across my yard. I sent the girls in, got my shotgun, and shot the dog, killing him quickly. One of my hens was presumed killed as I have not found her body. Another hen was bitten pretty bad and did not come home until dusk. She has three punctures from the canine teeth, a decent size tear in the skin at the base of her tail, and a patch of missing skin about the size of a 50 cent piece. She is recovering well after several hours of cleaning and doctoring. Why should my animals suffer and/or die because a dog was "doing what dogs do"? I did not enjoy killing the dog, and I really did not want to, but I was well within my legal rights to do so. It's not a "Macho" thing, and I hope that I never have to do it again. My daughter had already called the dog owner and left a message on their answering machine that the dog was out again, so I knew that I could not SSS. When the owner called, I calmly told her what had happened. She was not happy about it, but said that she understood why I had shot him. When she came over to pick him up, we stood outside and talked for at least 15 or 20 minutes. She raises miniature ponies, and said that if the roles were reversed that she would have done the same thing. She did say that it was their fault for leaving him out essentially unsupervised, and offered to replace any killed or missing chickens (at the time, most of my 11 birds were still out in the woods somewhere). What it comes down to is responsibility. It was not the dog's fault, it was the dog owner's fault. I know, I've been there too.
Having a domesticated dog come onto my property and attack/maim/kill my animals IS different than a wild animal doing the exact same thing. There are laws prohibiting letting dogs run loose around here, and a great many other places as well. A domesticated pet does not kill for food, it kills for fun (strays and/or abandoned animals excepted). A wild animal kills for food. When I let my chickens free-range in my yard I know that I am taking chances with the local wildlife. I should not have to worry about an irresponsible dog owner's pet roaming onto my property and killing my animals. Granted, the end result of dead chickens would be the same, but both situations would be handled the same way. If I have a clear shot, I'm taking it.
I don't completely agree with your stand, and you don't agree with mine. That's one of the things that makes this country great. The freedom to have and express your own opinion about things. We don't have to agree, and that does not make us bad people. We can agree to disagree, and move on with life.
Having a domesticated dog come onto my property and attack/maim/kill my animals IS different than a wild animal doing the exact same thing. There are laws prohibiting letting dogs run loose around here, and a great many other places as well. A domesticated pet does not kill for food, it kills for fun (strays and/or abandoned animals excepted). A wild animal kills for food. When I let my chickens free-range in my yard I know that I am taking chances with the local wildlife. I should not have to worry about an irresponsible dog owner's pet roaming onto my property and killing my animals. Granted, the end result of dead chickens would be the same, but both situations would be handled the same way. If I have a clear shot, I'm taking it.
I don't completely agree with your stand, and you don't agree with mine. That's one of the things that makes this country great. The freedom to have and express your own opinion about things. We don't have to agree, and that does not make us bad people. We can agree to disagree, and move on with life.
