So mad I could spit bullets (loose dog AGAIN) - Letter rejected

[Pathfinders]

You are just too nice.

SSS (shoot, shovel, and shut up) is my motto.

The problems with "going legal" on an idiot like that is, they may decide you are fun to harass in other ways.

If I have repeated problems with a dog, I'll just shoot it and bury it. Haven't had to do it yet (neighbor's dogs respect my Mossberg), but will do if need be. Then the owner won't know I'm the one who got fed up, and will not come over to threaten me or start stealing my stuff. His dog just disappears.

I feel you pain on this, I do, but I don't know that going legal is going to fix your problem. It sure is a good letter though!

 

[katkat92]

If an animal attacks or kills one of mine, then I shoot it. If it's just a dog running through my property, I'll give it a warning shot to scare it. If the dog continues to come thru my fence, then I dispose of it like any other predator that is a threat.

 

[Emzyyy]

The woman sounds like a ***** to me, and if she's spending that much time with the baby I don't think she should have the dogs, sounds like she really doesn't care what happens to the dogs. They could get hit by a car, or shot by a neighbor, or run off. I would get the dog's owners phone number too and call it a bunch and just hang up when the dogs are loose, until they get the idea her kid won't be gettin' any sleep. Its really not the dogs fault its the owners I think the animal control should just take them.

 

[gypsy2621]

make sure the letter is sent Certified and reciept requested, that way they can not say they never recieved it.

good luck.

 

[jjthink]

I'm in a small lot residential neighborhood. Can't be shooting guns, even if I had one and wanted to. That said, I am not at all sure that anything less than high drama will get through to people like this! We shall see.

I have been trying not to draw attention to my roo and hen yet may have now done so even with "just" a letter. In December when I had to have AC contact them to determine whether the RR that bit me had had its rabies shot (since they didn't answer my note asking same) rather than showing any remorse all they did was try to turn the tables on me by telling AC I had chickens (this is how I know they move unconsciously through the world). AC then called and asked me if I had chickens. Our AC person works for 3 towns and said she wasn't sure of the rules. I quickly said there are no rules against them and then told her not to let these people go off topic, that they were just trying to draw attention away from themselves and that that is unacceptable. The AC then dropped the chicken subject. She knows I've personally done a lot of homelsss animal rescues in town and funded their care and spay/neuter so I think is reluctant to bother me.

My town has an ordinance against livestock but does not include chickens in the definition of livestock. Worrisome is that surrounding towns are taking up the chicken issue and are including a prohibition against roos in their proposed language, if they allow any chickens at all. Since my town is covering for the guy whose development is flooding me out, and I have finally gone public about their bad handling of the situation, they could choose to make things difficult if they decide to get at me through my feathered friends, tho they should have enormous guilt about their screw up and not dare! The one good thing is that other than the Ditz's (RR and JRT owners) and the law breaking flooders, the other neighbors seem to love having the birds around so if I had to I could get support letters. Just could do without yet another project/battle............. Needless to say, I cringe when BJ crows - which is not often - and a shame it can't just be a moment of joy. The neighborhood dogs bark 1000x more. I even have an insulated coop so that there is no early morning noise. I have chickens not because I sought them - they just began showing up in my yard in the mid-90's and the odyssey and love affair began!

JJ

 

[Pathfinders]

I read somewhere about someone who was fighting having his chickens removed by a town. The town said it was a noise issue. So he rented a noise measuring device (not sure of the scientific name for same.) He measured the noise level outside his coop, then 500 feet away, and so on. Got the results certified somehow. Then he measured the noise his neighbor's dogs made while barking. Equally certified.

Turns out the dogs were something like ten times louder than the cock birds crowing. He took his results to the city council (or whatever governing board was in charge) and presented them to the board. They then relented and let him keep his birds.

Sometimes you do have to fight stupidity with logic, and sometimes logic wins. Best of luck with the whole situation.

 

[SpottedCrow]

When I was doing my research to keep Slifer, my crowing hen, another long story, I found out that a baby crying is louder than a rooster's crowing, so maybe we should ban babies???

Darnit, hit that send button too soon...
Judy, that letter is AWESOME!

 

[antlers]

Work with law enforcement. It can be slow but it protects you too. That said. last I looked a baseball bat was legal just about everywhere. The dog comes near youand it is an attack, go for a homerun to center field.

I like critters but I have no sympathy for those that are not controlled. If its your dog and its on my property, it is not controlled.

 

[mythkat]

Very good letter but I would change "my pets" to "my livestock" as livestock are considered more valuable than pets. In our state a pet is personal property while livestock is an investment and livelihood.

 

[jjthink]

Quote:
I wish I could have but livestock is not allowed in my town (while chicken is not included in the livestock definition in our ordinance, I try not to draw attention to them) so I use "pet" instead.

Thanks Brenda! Thanks everybody for your thoughts and experiences.
JJ