Had to shoot a dog - WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT!

[creekside2012]

You have chickens where you are not supposed to....your brother lets his dog roam free when there is a leash law...but the dog is the one who was shot just for following his instinct.

I think the only ones who lost in this battle were the chickens and the dog.

But I am not judging you, I was not there and I have never been in that situation so I cannot sit here and say how I would handle it. My apologies for sounding harsh.

I am honestly just sorry it had to happen like this all for everyone involved.

Edited due to sounding rude in original post.

 

[Kalenth]

Trust me, I did everything I could besides setting a trap. And the end-goal here wasn't to harm the dog, that was an unfortunate outcome. Setting a trap means I would have actively been trying to get at the dog, and that was never my intent. I love my brother dearly, and I wish talking through this and coming to an understanding would have been an option, but this was typical big brother syndrome, "i do what I want, deal with it".

I haven't thought about charging him for the chickens. It's not an option for me. I know he's hurt by the whole thing, and I'm sure in his mind he's completely in the right and thinks I should have just left his dog alone... but attacking any of my property over and over isn't bearable, and shouldn't be for anyone.

Also, outside of Granbury, Texas, animal control isn't available on weekends, when this always occurs. That would have only been an option on a weekday.

I understand UK gun laws. We have the same in some of our states and cities, but that's also a big reason why I live in Texas. I don't own guns to harm anything, I own them to protect my family. If a burglar was in my home, I'd protect my family just the same. Here in my neighborhood, we're known for the huge amount of meth production, thereby tweakers (meth addicts) who break into homes, and wild dogs and cats. It's not a jungle outside, but we're not afforded the same security of 1. living in the city. or 2. living far enough out in the country to have no real neighbors. (closer than the horizon).

The thing that spoils this all is that it's not just some guy's dog. It's my bros. I crossed a line that I can't go back on, and I wasn't given a choice in the matter. That frustrates me. All anyone with a homestead deserves is peace, and neighborly conduct, and I feel for anyone that has to come to terms with protecting their home, especially when it ends up involving so many family members.

 

[judyc]

While I enjoyed the analogy comparing a teenaged boy and a dog, it is comparing apples and oranges. 1. It is illegal, even in Texas, to shoot teenaged boys for vandalism, and 2. Even a teenaged boy is marginally smarter than a dog. You can comunicate with them better.

When big brother showed you the first time that he did not respect your property, the second episode of the dog would have been it;s last.

I have no problem with taking out a livestock predator on my property, but you forgot the third S in SSS. The dog would have been buried or carried off to some lucky buzzard, and when big bro came looking for his free range predator, I haven't seen it for awhile. "Did you check along the road?" Because once that dog left his sight, there's no telling what happened to it, as LONG as YOU don't TELL.

Now, once you both get over this, maybe your brother will think enough of you to keep his next dog home. Otherwise, it would disappear too.

I have no patience with people who let their livestock killers run, even after being warned. They always want to portray YOU as being the bad guy, for shooting Rover, instead of manning up and being responsible for their dog. So, now that this big ugly mess is out there, maybe it will show big bro that he needs to respect you and your property. I doubt that he is listening, though. I REALLY doubt that you will see any money for the damages the dog wrought.

Another (kinder gentler) way I've used in the past is to carry the &^*%$#@! dog to the pound. It will cost big bro a fine to get his dog back. This generally doesn't fix the problem though, so now it;s the three SSS rule.

 

[baldessariclan]

This may sound a little harsh, but at least partially lies at the root of the matter --> it's pretty hard for us to expect other people to "follow the rules" when we're not willing to follow them ourselves. Consider it this way -- if you had been living up to the HOA agreements to begin with (i.e. no chickens allowed), I suspect you wouldn't be having a heartache with your brother/family at the moment.

But -- none of us are saints, and I understand that. We just have to live w/ the consequences of our actions sometimes, and sadly there often aren't a lot of options once we've "jumped off the cliff", even if we're nominally "in the right". Been there & done that personally, too many times... *sigh* Time generally helps to heal things, though, and the good news is that we can usually learn from this sort of stuff and make preparations to avoid that next potential "cliff" in our future.

One idea in this particular case would be to go all out and build a truly dog-proof chicken coop/run for the future. I'm basically thinking "dog kennel" style construction here -- chain link fencing and steel posts or heavy wooden beam framing members. If that sort of thing can hold a dog in, it ought to be able to keep them out as well. I'm a big fan of strong "passive" defence measures like these, since although they may require a little more time/$$$ up front, they generally lead to a lot less effort and more peace of mind down the road. The old saying goes something like "luck and fortune favor the prepared"...

 

[ChickNhood]

This may sound a little harsh, but at least partially lies at the root of the matter  -->  it's pretty hard for us to expect other people to "follow the rules" when we're not willing to follow them ourselves.  Consider it this way -- if you had been living up to the HOA agreements to begin with (i.e. no chickens allowed), I suspect you wouldn't be having a heartache with your brother/family at the moment.

But -- none of us are saints, and I understand that.  We just have to live w/ the consequences of our actions sometimes, and sadly there often aren't a lot of options once we've "jumped off the cliff", even if we're nominally "in the right".  Been there & done that personally, too many times...  *sigh*   Time generally helps to heal things, though, and the good news is that we can usually learn from this sort of stuff and make preparations to avoid that next potential "cliff" in our future.

One idea in this particular case would be to go all out and build a truly dog-proof chicken coop/run for the future.  I'm basically thinking "dog kennel" style construction here -- chain link fencing and steel posts or heavy wooden beam framing members.  If that sort of thing can hold a dog in, it ought to be able to keep them out as well.  I'm a big fan of strong "passive" defence measures like these, since although they may require a little more time/$$$ up front, they generally lead to a lot less effort and more peace of mind down the road.  The old saying goes something like "luck and fortune favor the prepared"...

Well put!

 

[Appylover]

I am not going to get into the having chickens in a HOA or a loose dog. But here lies a problem. Unless the laws have changed you can legally be charged with animal abuse in Texas. Not for shooting the dog but for not killing it with the first shot or making sure after it was shot it was dead. We came into this problem when my horse was attacked by a neighbors dog. Said nieghbor decided to fix the issue himself. He shot the dog and it escaped into another neighbors property. The dog was taken to the vet by the owners of the property. The dog being microchipped was traced back to the dogs owner. The dogs owner admitted to shooting the dog and why. He ended up with a $200 fine and community service. Granted this was 10 years ago. His crime was not in the shooting of the animal but in making sure it did not suffer.

i have no issues killing anything that is a danger to my birds, home, or children. Chickens are a time consuming venture. You can lose months of raising in chicks for eggs, money and just shear trauma in finding your beloved birds dead.

Look into some of the kennel structures at animal control. The guage wire is usually heavier than what you would find in the every day dog kennel. They are made to hold truly aggressive breeds. We will be using my dog kennel for my meaties when I order some soon. Its the only thing I can think of to use that can be moved around the yard and big enough to hold the little guys.

 

[bobbi-j]

I believe the responsibility is two-fold here. Your brother needed to control his dog. If she runs loose, there are other dangers besides angry chicken owners that could harm her. But (HOA rules aside), you are ultimately responsible for the safety of your chickens. Obviously the run was not secure enough to keep the dog out. And if one dog can get in, so can a coyote, raccoon, or another dog. Rebuild your run - again. Make it even stronger, put a cover over it, put electric around it. If you want to make things right with your brother, suck it up and offer to help pay for the vet bill. I know, you shouldn't have to. How important to you is your relationship with your brother? He doesn't seem to have much respect for you, but if you want to try to "fix" things, this could be a step in the right direction. One more thing. I'm not buying your claim of "I didn't want to hurt the dog". If you didn't want to hurt the dog, you would not have pointed a gun at her and shot her! You don't fire a gun out of anger, and definitely if you aren't sure of your target. The only reason, in my opinion, that you would shoot a gun at something is to kill it. Period. So please. Put the gun away or get rid of it. You're not a safe gun handler.

ETA - I'm not saying it's wrong to shoot AND KILL a dog that's harming your chickens. I'm saying it's wrong to shoot at something and then say you weren't trying to hurt it.

 

[enel 1]

It sounds like the dog cant walk any more but it still alive so...problem solved the dog wont come get your birds any more and you brother wont have to worry about it running off! Now go slap your brother for being an a** the first time you told him about the dog!

 

[AshleyW]

I think you handled the situation the best you could. I love my chickens and if a dog came on to my property and killed any of them I'd shoot them too and I wouldn't care whose dog or whatever kind of pet it may be. My chickens don't leave the my yard and thankfully no other dogs have came through any of the fencing I have up.

 

[War Chicken]

Unless the laws have changed you can legally be charged with animal abuse in Texas. Not for shooting the dog but for not killing it with the first shot or making sure after it was shot it was dead. We came into this problem when my horse was attacked by a neighbors dog. Said nieghbor decided to fix the issue himself. He shot the dog and it escaped into another neighbors property. The dog was taken to the vet by the owners of the property. The dog being microchipped was traced back to the dogs owner. The dogs owner admitted to shooting the dog and why. He ended up with a $200 fine and community service. Granted this was 10 years ago. His crime was not in the shooting of the animal but in making sure it did not suffer.

The law in Texas is definitely different now though I doubt it was ever as you described. A common misconception is that animal cruelty laws are meant to ensure animals are killed humanely. A glance at the statutes of several states, including Texas, reveal that animal cruelty is defined as unjustifiable neglect, injury, or killing of an animal. It no longer (or never did) turns on whether the animal suffered.

Most states only allow veterinarians or euthanasia techs to euthanize injured animals. If you shoot a dog and that stops its attack on livestock, you cannot finish it off nor are you under any legal obligation to do so. In fact, it's possible you will go to prison for doing so. While it may seem like the ethical and traditional thing to do, it's not legal. If you don't believe me, give your state statutes a careful reading and do it with a clear mind.

The Texas statute:

Quote:
Both killing AND injuring an animal fall are considered animal cruelty in Texas. A clean kill exposes you to a charge of animal cruelty just the same as injuring it.


Disclaimer: I am a lawyer but I don't practice animal law. This is not to be construed as legal advice. If in doubt, read your state's laws and consult a local attorney.