We lost Mildred, my Marek's survivor. We didn't see it happen, but a neighbor saw another neighbor's dog running loose through the yard. Since it was hot, most of the the chickens were lounging under the cedar, in the lilacs or in the coop. Mildred likes to hide her eggs and was in the tree line. We found the awful sight of feathers strewn everywhere right next to a little hidden clutch of eggs. The dogs were running on anothers neighbor's property too. He took at shot at one but missed. These dogs used to be a problem but have not been loose since last year. They finally got the message from the law that they had to keep the dogs in. The dogs were loose at least 3 times last year and during those times they killed a pomeranian, seriously injured a mixed breed (4 digit vet bill) and were caught attacking a Lhasa Apso. The attack on the Lhasa was stopped soon enough that his injuries were not life threatening. He had two bad bites and bruising that took a long time to heal. In Nebraska that qualifies a dog as dangerous, and requires the owner to maintain it in an inescapable fence and have warning signs posted. The people have done well keeping the dogs in since then. However, they have an adult daughter that seems to think that the dogs' rights are some how violated if they are confined, and she is just sure that they are so good they can be trusted now. It appears she was visiting. It's too bad the dogs weren't shot or caught. It's a felony offense if a dog already deemed dangerous is running at large. I have made my feelings known. I can't prove that their dog killed Mildred, but all stray dogs I catch on my property will be shot.
And before the "chickens only belong in a pen" crowd comes along and says that the dogs were just doing what comes naturally, please be aware that I don't think Mildred would have lived as ling as she did confined. She pulled through Marek's, and I honestly believe that being able to run loose in the grass and sunshine when she was in remission was the best medicine for her. She limped, but she was strong and healthy. I think she would have died a long time ago if she had spent her days penned up.
And before the "chickens only belong in a pen" crowd comes along and says that the dogs were just doing what comes naturally, please be aware that I don't think Mildred would have lived as ling as she did confined. She pulled through Marek's, and I honestly believe that being able to run loose in the grass and sunshine when she was in remission was the best medicine for her. She limped, but she was strong and healthy. I think she would have died a long time ago if she had spent her days penned up.
