Posted on 08/22/2009 8:51:54 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Residents in Old East Dallas say they are fed up with dogs roaming the streets at night killing their cats. They've heard the killings outside their bedroom windows and watched the dogs trot off.
But they don't know what to do. They can't capture the dogs themselves. They say Animal Control doesn't come out while the dogs are still there. And they say police won't respond if humans aren't in danger.
"I'd just like to get a gun and sit on my front porch and shoot them. I'm just so mad," said Will Olliverson, of Junius Heights. He found his 15-year-old cat dead in his front yard last week, and a veterinarian told him it had been shaken to death by a large animal.
He said a neighbor's cat was killed the same day. In Bryan Place, residents on one street say they know of at least a dozen cat killings this year. One resident, David Allen, saw three dogs killing a cat outside his window last week, and then saw one of the dogs Thursday morning in a neighbor's yard with a dead cat. It helps that people are spotting trends, said City Coucil member Angela Hunt.
She promised Friday to compile information about the problems and arrange for teams from Animal Control to respond. "It's just like a criminal case,"
Hunt said. "When you have a string of burglaries, you're going to try to gather as much information from witnesses that you can. We need to know what we're looking for and where they might be."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
I qualified my statement to urban and suburban for this reason.Presently an "Urban resident" here, and yes, we have mice too (full disclosure: raised in an area where we went through our share of 'mousers' on the 'farm').
As another poster alluded to, I have a bigger problem with doves and what 'drops' from them in abundance (onto sidewalks, parked cars) ...
I think the cat owners have a responsibility to keep their cats inside. Cats crawl all over cars, they can ruin a convertible top. The males will spay vehicles, porch areas etc. There is nothing worse then digging up cat poop in your flowers beds and they also will walk the fences to antagonize dogs that are penned in their own back yards...causing others neighbors/owners to be bothered by the barking. A dog that will kill a cat bothers me but in the end, I think the cat owners should have the same responsibility as dog owner, keep your animal penned or indoors.
NO KIDDING! Keep your cats in your control.
I have had plenty of owned and unowned cats come into my fenced backyard. Not many dogs climb fences, but almost all cats do. SPCA, Humane Society, local animal control would do nothing. It got so bad I bought a trap and eliminated the nuisances myself. Cats have no special rights and I am not buying the argument “cats will be cats”.
Yeah, it irritates me when others let their dogs crap in my front yard too. But I don’t shoot the dogs, I just clean it up.
Consider any cat or dog loose with out an attached owner,”Feral” and a nuisance. Such animal to be handled as one sees fit. SSS
The males will spay vehicles, porch areas etcYep. An infrared 'break beam' alarm from Radio Shack coupled to a 5 inch bell solved the problem (however, a loud bell at 3 AM is not welcome either) ...
So, cats should be free to roam, for practical reasons, and unwanted behaviors should be overlooked, but dogs should not be free to roam, because of unwanted behaviors and despite practical reasons?
In my jurisdiction it’s illegal to let any domestic animal roam unleashed. When I see one on my property it’s trapped and turned over to the County shelter.
So, cats should be free to roam, for practical reasons, and unwanted behaviors should beThat's the way I work it around here.
Given the choice of mice or cats, I pick cats.
It’s a dog-eat-cat world out there.
In my jurisdiction it’s illegal to let any domestic animal roam unleashedit is around here too.
So is LOUD MUSIC (disturbing the peace) BUT try enforcing that on a 'drive by' vehicle.
Yeah, it irritates me when others let their dogs crap in my front yard too. But I don’t shoot the dogs, I just clean it up.Gets shoveled into the offenders yard here (it is due to one dog only)
In parts of central and South America, there is an old tradition that when a town is troubled with dangerous dog packs, or the threat of them, they hire a man who has a drum with poisoned meat. Late at night he puts out the meat for the dogs, then before dawn he picks up the dead dogs, as well as any uneaten meat.
It is expected that he stays out of sight of the townspeople. It also avoids any friction with dog owners who let their dogs roam. The dogs just disappear, like the strays.
He is paid by the carcass, and he also digs a pit to bury them. A town employee then pays him for his work.
If I were to move in next door to you, and decide to get several Rat Terriers to solve the same problem, I’d be correct in assuming that you, yourself would have no problem with them, roaming your property, whenever they took a mind to do so?
If they dug up a flower bed, or tipped your garbage can over, or chased your cats ... hey, no problem. They’re catching rodents. Right?
I had a red Dobie who lived to kill cats if he could catch them....it was an insane obsession.
he dismounted a bitch once to go after a cat that walked by in a breeding session once
never got one but we sure had to keep an eye on him
If I were to move ... and decide to get several Rat TerriersWild life/domestic life too also respects these $30 electic fence chargers too ... once stunned twice shy ...
Welcome to my neighborhood.
Had a crazy roommate once, years ago when I was right out of college and poor, who’d spraypaint the things fluorescent orange and dump them directly in front of their owners’ front doors, lol.
He’d have done the same for cats, but never could track them down.
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he’s been insitutionalized by now. But, it was fun at the time, and I couldn’t afford a place solo.
Too funny; I’ll have to remember the fluorescent orange paint ‘option’ ...
It probably would with a head shot at fairly close range. People have been killed by other people using such guns, often to the great horror of both the killer and victim. In addition, if my catalog experiments with a .17 spring air rifle are accurate, the pellets often disintegrate while penetrating, making even a muscular wound a thoroughly nasty thing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.