First, a hypothetical. If you want to skip to the meat of the matter, scroll down to the **********.
Neighbor A and Neighbor B have known each other a long time. A has a teenager that has been vandalizing B's property. B goes to A and ask that the teenager not be allowed on the property, but A says it's not their place to control the kid. B says if A's kid vandalizes property again, they will call the cops. Later, A's kid goes to B's property, and breaks out a window, B calls the cops and A is furious that B would act this way, seeing it as a personal act against A. Is this strange behavior?
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Well, it's a sad day for us all, and also innevitable. First let me say that, this is a touchy subject. I'm sure it will offend many a reader and I apologize in advance. I'm writing this to get it off my chest, and to put the issue out so I can stop internalizing it. I'm an animal lover. I've got a dog, chicks, I'd raise a lot more if the wife would let me. I have no issues with anyone's animals, I just ask that people be neighborly to one another... so on with the show.
My brother and I have been close for years. So close that I bought a house 400 feet from his weekend home on the lake. My wife and I moved in, cleaned up, and bought a small flock to use for egg production on our 3 acres. Being a first time chicken owner, protection and safety of my chicks has been a learning experience.
Since I'm here full time, and my brother (and his dog) only come on the weekends, I thought nothing of putting my chickens in a run after they were about two months old. My brother's dog Lacey, being a bird dog, does what comes naturally; comes down to my property and wreaks havok. For a while it was dumping over my trash and dragging it around my lawn, and ended up with her jumping into the run and eating a dozen chickens.
So I bought lockable trashcans. I built a sturdier coop. I gently brought it up to big bro that his dog ate my chickens and dumped trash, and he said nothing. No apology, no locking the dog up on weekends, nothing.
Second flock. 12 more chickens and a much improved coop. During the weekend, I keep them in the coop, hopefully safe from would-be predators. Wrong. Lacey tore into the coop (no easy feat) and managed to destroy five more chickens. At this, I went to my brother and asked for help finding a solution. Locking up the dog, helping me with the coop, or buying new chickens.
I got the typical big bro answer of "don't shoot my dog or else." the "or else" was literally a threat to shoot me. Ok, overreaction... he's big bro and doesn't want to deal with little bro, I get it. He see's this as my problem having chickens, not his problem having a hunting dog run free in a residential area.
Here's where the drama heats up. We're in an HOA. No chickens allowed in the HOA. I'm a rebel. A chicken con. Getting rid of the chicks is an option, but its going to take some time. In the meanwhile, they are here and they are my responsibility. Fast forward another two weekends. Seeing a flurry of feathers outside the house, I go to the front door to see a dog, attacking my chickens. The next moment is pure instinct for this military man. I grab a .22, and shoot at the dog while it runs off, hearing a whimper and assuming I've shot it.
After the incident and another two dead fowl, I call the sheriff and report the incident. I'm outside of city limits, so using a gun isn't an issue here. The sheriff said even having chickens that I'm not supposed to have, I'm in the right protecting my land. Obviously though, that's not an argument I can win with my brother.
Now the details are sketchy, but I've gathered that I shot the dog somewhere that affected it's ability to walk. Surgery was involved. Now we've reached out to the family to say we need to get past this incident, but they seem to think I'm some kind of dog sadist with a vendetta against Lacey. I don't care who's animal it is, I'm just trying to protect my home. Now, being that it's my brothers dog, everything has been complicated 10 fold. Any other dog would have been shot the first time they came on the property and destroyed something. No warning, no debate, just dead dog. I tried to do the neighborly (and brotherly) thing and start a dialog to handle the issue, but with no 2 way debate... that's impossible.
I wish there could have been another solution. I wish my brother would have followed the leash laws and had his dog penned. I wish he could understand that I have a right to protect my property, and I wish that we could put this behind us but I just don't see it happening. It's an unfortunate event that was caused by us both. Him not following a leash law, and me having chicks against HOA policy. But if it's not the chicks, it's the trash, or a car, or a kid... at what point do we have to let family get away with murder, or set a line in the sand and stand firm?
Neighbor A and Neighbor B have known each other a long time. A has a teenager that has been vandalizing B's property. B goes to A and ask that the teenager not be allowed on the property, but A says it's not their place to control the kid. B says if A's kid vandalizes property again, they will call the cops. Later, A's kid goes to B's property, and breaks out a window, B calls the cops and A is furious that B would act this way, seeing it as a personal act against A. Is this strange behavior?
**************************************************************************************************************************************************
Well, it's a sad day for us all, and also innevitable. First let me say that, this is a touchy subject. I'm sure it will offend many a reader and I apologize in advance. I'm writing this to get it off my chest, and to put the issue out so I can stop internalizing it. I'm an animal lover. I've got a dog, chicks, I'd raise a lot more if the wife would let me. I have no issues with anyone's animals, I just ask that people be neighborly to one another... so on with the show.
My brother and I have been close for years. So close that I bought a house 400 feet from his weekend home on the lake. My wife and I moved in, cleaned up, and bought a small flock to use for egg production on our 3 acres. Being a first time chicken owner, protection and safety of my chicks has been a learning experience.
Since I'm here full time, and my brother (and his dog) only come on the weekends, I thought nothing of putting my chickens in a run after they were about two months old. My brother's dog Lacey, being a bird dog, does what comes naturally; comes down to my property and wreaks havok. For a while it was dumping over my trash and dragging it around my lawn, and ended up with her jumping into the run and eating a dozen chickens.
So I bought lockable trashcans. I built a sturdier coop. I gently brought it up to big bro that his dog ate my chickens and dumped trash, and he said nothing. No apology, no locking the dog up on weekends, nothing.
Second flock. 12 more chickens and a much improved coop. During the weekend, I keep them in the coop, hopefully safe from would-be predators. Wrong. Lacey tore into the coop (no easy feat) and managed to destroy five more chickens. At this, I went to my brother and asked for help finding a solution. Locking up the dog, helping me with the coop, or buying new chickens.
I got the typical big bro answer of "don't shoot my dog or else." the "or else" was literally a threat to shoot me. Ok, overreaction... he's big bro and doesn't want to deal with little bro, I get it. He see's this as my problem having chickens, not his problem having a hunting dog run free in a residential area.
Here's where the drama heats up. We're in an HOA. No chickens allowed in the HOA. I'm a rebel. A chicken con. Getting rid of the chicks is an option, but its going to take some time. In the meanwhile, they are here and they are my responsibility. Fast forward another two weekends. Seeing a flurry of feathers outside the house, I go to the front door to see a dog, attacking my chickens. The next moment is pure instinct for this military man. I grab a .22, and shoot at the dog while it runs off, hearing a whimper and assuming I've shot it.
After the incident and another two dead fowl, I call the sheriff and report the incident. I'm outside of city limits, so using a gun isn't an issue here. The sheriff said even having chickens that I'm not supposed to have, I'm in the right protecting my land. Obviously though, that's not an argument I can win with my brother.
Now the details are sketchy, but I've gathered that I shot the dog somewhere that affected it's ability to walk. Surgery was involved. Now we've reached out to the family to say we need to get past this incident, but they seem to think I'm some kind of dog sadist with a vendetta against Lacey. I don't care who's animal it is, I'm just trying to protect my home. Now, being that it's my brothers dog, everything has been complicated 10 fold. Any other dog would have been shot the first time they came on the property and destroyed something. No warning, no debate, just dead dog. I tried to do the neighborly (and brotherly) thing and start a dialog to handle the issue, but with no 2 way debate... that's impossible.
I wish there could have been another solution. I wish my brother would have followed the leash laws and had his dog penned. I wish he could understand that I have a right to protect my property, and I wish that we could put this behind us but I just don't see it happening. It's an unfortunate event that was caused by us both. Him not following a leash law, and me having chicks against HOA policy. But if it's not the chicks, it's the trash, or a car, or a kid... at what point do we have to let family get away with murder, or set a line in the sand and stand firm?
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