In this area the threats are many, coons, possums, hawks, coyotes, stray dogs, NEIGHBORS dogs, snakes etc! That';s why we never let them out under normal conditions, but with the rain and all, just thought we were being humane... NOT!! Our neighborhood is on the outskirts of city limits, the houses are on 2 acre lots or more. BUT I'm sure she heard the gun shot or the kids did, the dog itself never made a sound. Other than that I don't know how they knew to come/stop here. Maybe they saw us all out with flashlights looking for the chickens that were left.