My Roo is dead ( stupid neighbor dog)

[ozark hen]

Quote:
So sorry about your chickens. What did you find out from the animal control? Keep us posted, please.

 

[fallenweeble]

first of all, i'm so very sorry for your loss - it's quite horrible. i'll say a little prayer for your roo.
as a big lover of all animals i can't say i can encourage killing the neighbor's dog (perhaps you can just try shooting the neighbor's themselves?) ha ha (just kidding, please no one call the fbi okay . . .)
but here's an interesting sort of twist on this seemingly familiar story:
i got my first chicken because my neighbors don't always keep their chickens in their yard and occasionally they come over into ours (their is a really high fence but the chickens roost in the trees). well, one of our dogs got a hold of a chicken and did some significant damage. we rushed the chicken to the emergency after-hours vet and one surgery and $1200.00 later (no, that isn't a typo - that's twelve hundred dollars folks!) she was stable and on the way to recovery. unfortunately she did suffer nerve damage in one leg and the neighbors (who see the chickens as a food source only and not as pets) were not interested in taking care of a handicapped chicken. instead they offered to give me some more chickens on top of that one! ha ha. well, i fell in love with her so she's here to stay, "bad" leg or not.
so, the moral is that not all dog owners are insensitive to the plight of chicken guardians. some of us can sometimes even be indoctrinated into the oh-so seductive world of chickens!

 

[hsm5grls]

Well the update is animal control drove by there house....Yes drove by there house that's it. They have there gate shut and I haven't seen the dog for 2 days. They have not responded to my letter and I have a loaded be be gun by the front door just in case. That's about it. I'm not sure why animal control isn't doing anything. But they never have with these people. I did learn from my chicken neighbor that the back house on the property was banned from ever owning dogs because a dog in their care hung itself and was hanging for awhile before anyone noticed. There are about 3 or 4 small homes on that property and I can only guess which family actually owns the dog. They are all family though so I am sure word spread quickly and you would think someone would come and at least apologize. I have been searching and still the soonest I can get another partridge roo is March 2008. I feel like the yard is empty with no roo. I am not really sure where to go from here as they are very vengeful neighbors and I would hate for my animals to be harmed over this. They have taken revenge on other neighbors who have called animal control by setting there trash can on fire. We live in the dessert and have grassy weeds it is just nerve wracking to me. I am not sure what to do if anything. I'm not sure how they will respond and DH says it is better to try and keep the peace. That boils my blood but I do fear for my other animals if these people become angry.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

So, basically what you're saying is, you live next door to psychotic, property destroying, criminals.

I'm really sorry. You can call animal control to ask for an update on what actions they are taking. That will often nudge them into doing their job. I understand about not wanting to stand up for your rights, if they are disturbed individuals and you may not have adequate law enforcement. If you want to pursue this, I would consider chatting with the police and asking them just how much danger they think you will be putting yourself in and what they think you should do.

I'm a law abiding citizen and normally go the legal route when trying to resolve these types of situations. I also prefer the owners to be punished for their negligence, not the dog, since it is totally the owners fault. That works in areas with good law enforcement and with people that aren't seriously disturbed. In your case, I'm thinking some of the other advice you've received would be much safer for you. Be careful, no matter what you do.

 

[Alleyoops25]

Since other nieghbors have had bad experiances with these people you could ralley the nieghb or hood against them. I still say the three s's, or take the dog to a out of county shelter. Either way you would be doing the dog a favor. You could take them to small claims court. If they start threats get arestraining order. then if they come near your property line call the police. If they go and set something on fire you really would have the problem taken care of, since they would be charged with arsen.

 

[chickbea]

I'd say $50.00 for an average trio is a fair price, but yours was NOT an average trio. They were hand reared, tame, and you had started them at the time you wanted so that they would mature at the right time for you to breed from. I'd tack on an extra $25.00 for that. If you are having to shop around to replace a specific breed, I would record all expenses related to that as well (phone calls, mileage, etc.). Plus, as someone else mentioned, you need to repair your coop. Keep the receipts for the repairs for proof.
Do you have a local police force in your town? Since animal control isn't getting the job done, I'd insist on a police visit (remember that only the squeeky wheel gets the grease in cases like this). Be very clear with them that you are afraid the neighborhood dynamics will deteriorate further if something isn't done soon.
If all else fails, I would put this dog in my car, bring it to the shelter (maybe even one a few towns away...), and say it showed up in your yard and you can't imagine where it came from. If its owners can't understand anyone else's pain at losing a pet than I doubt they will miss their pet too much.
My sympathies. I've only lost one chicken to a dog, and luckily for that dog and his owner, I never saw the dog again. I've never been so mad and sad in my life. I sicced my own dog on it and was very proud when she almost ripped its ear off! If only I had managed to get my hands on the owner, they probably would be missing an ear also!

 

[chickbea]

Quote:
I haven't had a dog loss since I electrified everything - expensive but worth every penny. I've never tried bottle rockets (I don't think we're allowed to have them in VT), but I have had a surprising amount of luck scaring raccoons and dogs away from my trash can with those little popper things. If you throw a handful of those in their face and at the ground right in front of them, they run like the wind! I didn't think a coon would get so frightened by such a little thing, but they sure seem to. It usually buys me three to four days before they try to come back.

 

[fallenweeble]

i just want to add that i think the idea of taking the dog to a shelter a few counties away is a very very good one! much better than anti-freeze!!!
that way the dog is out of your life and also has a chance that a good, RESPONSIBLE person may adopt it.
good luck and, once again i'm so sorry for your loss. i hope your little roo is up in chicken heaven eating big fat worms and romancing all the hen-angels