The dog owner called me... WWYD?

[fowlweatherfriends]

Animals at Large
It is unlawful for any owner or keeper of an animal other than a cat to willfully or negligently allow the animal to run at large on any public property or on any private property of another without permission of the property owner.

Nuisance
It is unlawful for your animal to:

Disturb the rights of, threaten the safety of, or damage a member of the general public or interfere with the ordinary use and enjoyment of their property.
Damage the property of anyone other than its owner, including turning over garbage containers or damaging gardens, flowers or vegetables, or repeated defecation upon the property of another.

Dangerous Dogs
You may not allow you dog to chase, snap at, attack, or bark at pedestrians, joggers, dogs walked on a leash by owners, bicycles or vehicles.

All Violations Are Subject To A $525.00 Fine Or 30 Days In Jail!

My local laws-period.
They obviously take dogs at large seriously.

You should get a written report, and try to have your neighbors that lost chickens report it also. Yes, the woman was apologetic and offered some recompence for the damage. But, if you do not make a report NOW, for this occurance, you may be facing a huge situation in the future. And nobody here has a crystal ball to know where this is going to end up. Let your neighbor lady know you appreciate her willingness to accept responsibility for her negligence, but still cover yourself and your family.

 

[herechickchick]

Quote:
Do you live in an incorporated area? If so what are your leash laws? I would find out and then deal with the problem by contacting the authorities.

 

[sundance]

Please report her to animal control if you have one in your county. we do NOT, and the dogs up on the hill behind our house have killed my first Yorkie, jumped on my Pitt bull (she doesnt know she is supposed to take up for herself as she has always been treated like a baby)Killed my cat and now i"m beyond MAD if they come near my property again my husband will SHOOT them without any regrets. ria

 

[herechickchick]

I think that we have to keep in mind a dogs mentality. All dogs have some sort of "prey drive". Some dog's drive is so little that you may never see it others it is very obvious, and in this particular case it is very obvious and just to be clear I am talking about drive towards animals not humans. I have 6 dogs, 4 are mine and 2 belong to my roommate and given the chance they would kill every chicken we have as fast as they can, and it is not because they are aggressive or mean they just have a high prey drive. My little Margo killed my first chickens, I was heart broken so I understand how upset and angry you must be. That being said they have never attacked, bitten barked at or growled at one human, adult or child. They adore people and love being handled by everyone even strangers, I could not ask for friendlier dogs, they are my life, but like I said they would kill every chicken if they had the chance. I think that the fact that your neighbor has offered to replace your flock says a lot about this person. Even if your other neighbor did make him/her feel bad they did not have to call and apologize and make the offer to replace your flock, they could have left it alone, but they did not, they called. It sounds like they are trying to keep the dog on their property, however it does not sound like they are doing a very good job at it. But some effort is better than none and perhaps you and your neighbor that also lost chickens might approach them in a friendly manner with suggestions to see that this doesn't happen again. If they do not succeed in keeping the dog on their property then the next time he comes on to yours shoot him. You have warned her so she has to expect it. I think that we can achieve more in life if we are proactive instead of reactive. Getting mad and shouting has never really solved anything. Best of luck to you, I know everything will be fine.

Here are my kids: Stormy, Dazzle, Leopold, Echo and little Margo

and little Monte & Margo

 

[dreamgirl]

You should definately bill her for all the repairs and replacement costs, and maybe some extra to cover your having raised them to 7 weeks. I'm so sorry for your loss, dogs have always been my biggest fear. Though I am not too worried about the dogs attacking kids, I would fully document the damage with photos and report it in case anything happens in the future.

 

[Cheri]

I have two dogs. Molly, a black lab mix and Rufus, a german/australian mix and there is no way I would let MY chickens loose with these two. I love them to death but Im not crazy. Molly use to jump in the pond and chase the ducks, so I know there is no way. I am fencing in a part of my yard just for my chickens.

Ok back to your problem. Turn the other cheek. Bill her and then let it go. If it happens again then let animal control know.

I have no leash law in my little part of the town.

 

[silkhope]

Thanks everyone. I'm torn, just like all the posts...

I have two dogs, a lab and a beagle, there's no doubt in my mind that they would kill my chickens. We had a rabbit at one point and it would have been our lab's breakfast if I hadn't intervened, so I understand a dog's drive.

I also understand about dogs getting out of their area. We have an underground fence. My beagle was SO stubborn training on the fence (would literally shock himself silly to get thru, no joke, you could see his neck pulsating) that we had to get a bigger collar (super shocker) for him. As soon as the batteries die in my lab's collar it's like he senses it and will leave, so we now constantly check the batteries, etc. I know it's not the dog's fault...

On the other hand, if my dogs had been out killing chickens I think I would have known it when they came home. She had to know they were getting out over a week's time or longer and didn't do anything until she found out they were being destructive... sigh.

I think it took a lot for her to call me. If the shoe were on the other foot I would have DIED making that call...

I am going to call animal control, make sure I'm within my rights to shoot and see what they have to say. I will bill her for replacements and repair. What stinks is having to start over. My big girls had been laying eggs for quite some time... ugh.

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I do appreciate them!!

 

[Cheri]

Here where we are, we can shoot but make sure it gets dropped on our property.

 

[Sharisr32]

First do you both rent or own - How long will these be your neighbors ? I would put a dollar figure on this time - and explain the next time a report
I went through this My neighbors have a nice home- are good people their Dog just got out-- Nature of the beast- He paid me fair market value for my animals - plus added a new gate etc to his pen it was probably a 1,000 plus put on his part-

He knows I will shoot his dog
and then report it-- so he may face criminal and civil charges if there is a next time plus his kids will loose their pet -- but they aren't bad pet owners--

 

[aran]

I have to say as a dog ANd a chicken owner that I agree with having this lady pay for damages. She does seem very apologetic and reasonable now though and for the sake of neighbourly relationships I would probably not take this any further if she is prepared to pay for what has been lost.

Dogs are pains in the butt sometimes. Our dog is 9 yrs old. We have him inside the house most of the time, when outside he has a long leash ( around 25 feet long i guess) attached to a post in the ground, the physical boundary fence which is 4 feet high AND an invisible electric fence 4 feet inside the boundary and he wears his collar 24/7 and he STILL managed to get out this week. No idea how he managed it other than to believe he just accepted the shock and jumped the fence...hasnt done it before though..a mystery im still working on!


My point is that this time round give her the benefit of the doubt that she will rectify the reasons her dogs got out and allow her to pay for the chickens and the coop and try and make peace with her. At least thats what I would do.
Next time around by all means take this further.
JMHO

aran