Woman: 80-year-old neighbor shot my dog for 'doing her business' in his yard

KHOU ^ | 03/26/2014 | Tiffany Craig

[Alas Babylon!]

I think you are somewhat wrong. I suppose in the city or suburbia you might have a point, but for those of us rural landowners, loose dogs often pack and kill farm animals. I can’t tell you how many chickens I’ve had killed by someone else’s dogs.

My neighbor has about 45 head of angus. They’re starting to drop calves now, but the first calf was killed by a pack of crossed pit bulls, Labradors, coon hounds and chows. He killed three of them. Sad that some of them had owners who let them loose outside and didn’t think that was a problem. I’ve shot at these dogs before just to keep them off my property.

Since we have maybe 1 sheriff’s deputy per every 100 square miles down here, calling the police doesn’t cut it, they advise us to shoot nuisance dogs.

[Praxeologue]

smear the dog’s feces on the stucco near the dog owner’s front door. Let it get into all the nooks and crannies. It can be hosed off so it won’t do any lasting damage, but it’ll stink up the porch and require enough cleaning time that the message won’t be lost on the owner.

You can't prove that your neighbor trained his dog to foul your yard: no intent. Trespass and vandalism, both with intent, are crimes. Both legally and morally, you would be in the wrong.

How about screwing up your courage, visit your neighbor with the evidence, and politely ask him not to do it again? If they don't answer, leave the evidence, along with a polite note, at the front door. It's about communication.

[driftdiver]

Yes thats good, its also likely to get you arrested for vandalism if caught.

[driftdiver]

I have a neighbor who refuses to stop taking his dog to crap in other peoples yard. He’s threatened numerous people.

Cleaned my gun one day on my patio, now he doesn’t bring his dogs to my yard.

[driftdiver]

Its rude and bad for the grass.

[TigersEye]

There you go! That’s using your head to get the other guy to use his. ;-)

[VerySadAmerican]

In your situation it’s no different from killing a wolf. Mad dogs are in the same category. I’m talking about a cop who shoots a puppy.

[familyop]

"Its rude and bad for the grass."

Interesting. Culture clash. ;-)

City folks from the east and west coasts who moved into my remote, sparsely populated area on the Rockies over the past 15 years or so say the same about cow manure. Since most of the ranching is gone, they've also said that the land is "overgrazed."

More recently, most of the city folks are moving back to the cities. I did some agricultural work in the Midwest before moving West. Here, grass grows better than anywhere else, where dog manure from the dog pen is spread. I've noticed that on several farms over the past 40 years or so.

[Little caution to those who do gardening, though. You don't want pet parasites in the garden. In temperate climates, give the soil with pet feces in it a couple of years before letting it get near a garden. In climates with overnight temps well below -22 Fahrenheit, a winter should do it. Cattle manure should not be used for gardening or crops without staying in or on other soil for at least six months or so (through previous fall and winter).]

[driftdiver]

You can’t do better then a strawman?

Do you go to your neighbors and defecate on their front porch? Do you expect your neighbors to feed your cattle? Vaccinate them?

Since you don’t mind other people deciding what they want to do on your property you must be welcoming illegals to camp out.

[driftdiver]

BTW you must be a crappy farmer if you don’t know the difference between dog feces and cow feces. Hint one is a herbivore and the other isn’t.

[familyop]

You don’t get it, do you. The city folks who moved from around the coasts had houses miles from here. After years of sitting in their houses and cars all the time (when they weren’t bickering with each other), most of them have already moved back to cities. I have no nearby neighbors.

Mountain lions, bears, coyotes, jackrabbits, antelope, elk, prairie dogs, deermice, birds, cattle, bugs, dogs, badgers, foxes,... They all crap in my yard.

It’s part of life, especially for hay (and grass). I am blessed, though, to not be living in a surburban jungle of steaming talk and heart attacks.

[driftdiver]

Yeah I get it. You’re a braggart who can’t get along with others.

[CodeToad]

“Yes thats good, its also likely to get you arrested for vandalism if caught.”

Well, gosh, thanks for that info. Didn’t know.

[familyop]

"Since you don’t mind other people deciding what they want to do on your property you must be welcoming illegals to camp out...BTW you must be a crappy farmer if you don’t know the difference between dog feces and cow feces. Hint one is a herbivore and the other isn’t...You’re a braggart who can’t get along with others."

Your metropolitan sensitivity is entertaining, Tuco. It's maniacal, city people talking about threatening to shoot neighbors or neighbors' pets over nothing more than dogs defecating in their yards. In rural areas, some people from cities are known to allow their dogs to chase ranchers' cattle and falsely accuse the ranchers of mistreating the cattle.

Dog manure is nothing to cry about. Some in agriculture are even involved in the science of using human manure in gardening. I don't care for it, because there are plenty of other fertilizers (cow/chicken manure, commercial products). But it's safe when done properly. There are links for a free PDF version of the Humanure Handbook, 3rd Edition, on the Web, biological facts about germs and parasites included.

Just hose the stuff in. Watch the grass grow.

[familyop]

Good story for suburban commandos, who get excited about dogs crapping in their yards. It’s short and fun to read.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1939/03/18/390318fi_fiction_thurber?currentPage=all

[EinNYC]

I totally agree. Cletus is a big man with a gun in his hand toward small animals. That’s why we have laws and courts, to say nothing of neighbor-to-neighbor discussions. To kill a dog for doing what dogs do-—and one thing they DON’T do is read property deeds to know property lines—is the mark of a jerk. A non-man.