Permission to shoot neighbor's dogs

[whitetail98]

Haha I agree!!

 

[Michael Apple]

it's not being a lazy cop. It's called telling the livestock owner what the law says. I always ask for a police report (say you need it for insurance purposes!) and when the officer comes out I ask if he would inform the neighbors what the law says.

Here, there is no fine for allowing the dogs to roam - we have no leash law The only law concerning roaming dogs is that if it kills livestock the owner of the dog must pay damages and the dog can be shot.

You don't get it. It IS the job of the police officer to contact the offending party. Yes, you file a report. But you shouldn't have to ask the officer to do his job. That is what the taxpayer pays them for: to do his/her job.

 

[Michael Apple]

Seems as though Dkluck and whitetail98 here entertain the idea of shooting dogs rather than doing what is right. You have to wonder about people who think that way. I caught the same dog twice going after one of my pigs a few years back. I caught the large Husky, read his tag and took him home. I warned the owner to keep the dog under control for it's sake and his. The second time I took him back, I was very loud about my warning. It never happened again. I think some people forget it is THE OWNER who should accountable for what their dog does, not randomly shooting dogs simply because you can.

 

[farmersherrie]

Please remember this... it is NOT the fault of the animals... it is the fault of the OWNER. Perhaps you should get a local rescue involved- NOT Animal Control. A local rescue may have grounds for taking the animals away from their owner and re-homing them to good parents. Shooting the dogs does not solve anything and could cause you more problems in the long run. I've worked in law for almost 20 years... and while you think you may know your rights... you could find yourself very much in the wrong.

 

[whitetail98]

And just to let Michael Apple and everyone else know, I have contacted multiple officers and wardens about the subject and they said that if the animal(dog, cat, wild animal, etc) was on our property and being destructive and/or threatening, especially to children, you have the right to eliminate them. And like I said I don't shoot the first time and for stray cats I even trap them w live cage traps and ask around if it belongs to anyone. So don't think I don't give them a chance. So instead of burning Dkluck and I, think about what we'd have to loose. You'd need to have stuff like us to be able to understand not like only 5 chickens or something that's easily replaceable...

 

[Northie]

I haven't read through all the posts so I'm not sure if someone has mentioned this or not but you might be able to rent a large live trap if you're uncomfortable with shooting the dogs. If you catch them maybe you could turn them in somewhere? Unfortunately even if you do get rid of these dogs you won't fix the problem, the jerk neighbor will just buy new dogs and you'll be back to square one.

One of our neighbors shot a pack of 4 dogs this summer that were killing his sheep. They killed his guard llama too. The people who owned the dogs refused to take responsibility for their dogs or pay for the lost livestock. I don't know if the sheep owners ever took legal action or not but it was a messy situation. Ironically before the sheep guy had sheep he had pigs which always broke loose and destroyed people's yards/garden... Sigh....

My grandpa has a good saying:

It's better to be wrong than dead right.

You might have to dog proof your property with a sturdy (or electric) fence. You shouldn't have to because those dogs aren't your responsibility, but it might be the best solution.

 

[Northie]

Oops...

 

[Northie]

Silly computer triple posted that comment sorry...


Adding something useful, I read back about dogs coming onto people's property and show aggression towards people's kids... and seriously shoot on the first offence if there is a dog threatening children... It's just a dog, someone else's dog not even your own! It's not worth risking injury or death of a child waiting for a second offence or giving an irresponsible owner the chance to brain up....
I love animals, but I'm a mom...

 

[hungry]

Seems as though Dkluck and whitetail98 here entertain the idea of shooting dogs rather than doing what is right. ... I think some people forget it is THE OWNER who should accountable for what their dog does, not randomly shooting dogs simply because you can.

1) What's random about anything they (or anyone on this thread) discussed?

2) Using the word "accountable" shows a total miss of reality. Nobody is talking about holding the dogs accountable. They are talking about defending against an active threat. The best interpretation of "accountable" is that you think the dog should be allowed to kill livestock or family members and then the dog owner should pay and everything is OK. That's not a good approach to life. The alternative is that you think people are punishing dogs by shooting them, which is totally silly - the death penalty doesn't work on things that don't have a concept of death.

3) It isn't simply because they can. It's because doing so lowers the total harm (if you let the dog kill 10 chickens and the dog owner kills their own dog that's 11 deaths, vs shooting the dog which is only 1 death).

I personally have never shot a dog.

I have been around dogs that I would have shot if they ever came near me while I was armed. I had a neighbor years ago who had two rottweilers that killed anything they could. They killed a mated pair of wild hawks. They killed other dogs, and a lot of cats. They killed everything they could. I didn't like those dogs or their owners...but they stayed in their yard and never directly threatened me or mine so I never needed to take action.

I know someone who had a relevant experience recently. He and his wife - in their 60s or 70s - were walking their two mid-sized (40-50 pound) dogs (on leashes) when several free-running dogs attacked. The free-running dogs locked onto the leashed dogs and in the process the wife was pulled to to the ground. The husband wound up breaking several fingers (punching the attacking dogs), both wound up with cuts and bruises, their dogs were badly chewed up too. They live in a state where normal people are denied the legal ability to get a concealed carry permit so now they are scared every time they walk their dogs. The have little kubatons but the right answer would have been to shoot the dogs when the attack occurred.

I have no desire to shoot anything...certainly anything I can't eat...but a free ranging (or feral) dog that is threatening me or mine would not live long.

 

[thaiturkey]

Seems as though Dkluck and whitetail98 here entertain the idea of shooting dogs rather than doing what is right. You have to wonder about people who think that way. I caught the same dog twice going after one of my pigs a few years back. I caught the large Husky, read his tag and took him home. I warned the owner to keep the dog under control for it's sake and his. The second time I took him back, I was very loud about my warning. It never happened again. I think some people forget it is THE OWNER who should accountable for what their dog does, not randomly shooting dogs simply because you can.

Doing what's right? How many animals have you lost to dogs? Have your children ever been in danger from trespassing dogs? We have lost over 50 poultry and now the gloves are off. Since we laid poison, within our boundary, there has been no trouble from other dogs that didn't die. The gun will also be used if necessary.

We are entitled to protect ourselves to the full extent of the law. If owners don't keep their dogs in check what's the point in being nice about it and still suffering losses? Where I live, we can attack with any weapon we have any intruder, human or animal. That's the way we shall play it now.