I thought i would share a similar experience. Your mileage may vary.
Last year the family and I decided to sell our house in town and buy a house in the county. We previously had dog troubles amongst other problems in town, but not like here. We sold our remodeled foreclosure and bought 40 acres and a house. We had a few issues in closing and ended up living in our camper on the property. During this time the kids were getting picked up and dropped off by the bus at the end of the driveway. The house, before us, was being used as a cottage and was mostly vacant for years. Most of the wildlife domestic and otherwise utilized the spread to move around and as they saw fit. Tracks from bears, coyotes, deer, dogs, rabbits could be found almost anywhere. I was still working 1/2 hour away as was my wife. We bought the kids headlights for the periods of dark. They are not strangers to the woods and animals that live in it. We hunt, fish, camp and what not frequently. Our Norwegian Forrest cat and red bone coon hound also hung out all day. The dog on a wireless fence. The kids began telling me stories of a hyena looking dog chasing and barking at them. After a few weeks my dog went into heat. The dogs came for miles as always. The problem was that the dogs would howl and bark outside of the camper for hours. A few days of yelling at them to leave resulted in them ignoring me. My wife became very angry with me. So, I went out yelled at them to leave and they started growling. The hyena looking one in particular advancing on me. I called the one neighbor I knew and he said his were at home. I withdrew my sidearm and fired about ten feet to the right of it into a mound of dirt. The dogs left. Not to long after a car came down the 1/8 mile drive asking if I shot her dog. I told her no, and that the dog/s have been becoming a nuisance, chasing and barking at my kids, growling at me, and that Michigan has a leash law. I told her that if they continue to be aggressive or kill any livestock that I would follow the laws regarding such. She left and the dogs did not come back for a couple weeks. Never got close to any of us again.
Fast forward a few months. ( spring ) We had by then moved in ( previous fall ) and opened a repair facility on the property and I was now home most all of the time. The hyena looking dog came at least once a day and marked tires. Sometimes several would come into the shop by way of a doggy door and defecate in the shop. I mentioned it to the owner during his repair visits. He of course told me that his dogs would never hurt anyone or anything.
Around may we built a big coop and raised 32 chicks into chickens. Constant visits from the dogs, which had started growling and not running off again, resulted in me informing the owner again, if I caught them killing livestock I would shoot on sight, even if it was my own dog. Told him to do the same if my dog was found to be running his horses. I had plenty of pictures and video by then. About two weeks later my kids did not latch the coop after they were back in and we lost two birds to broken necks. Had no idea which dog might have done it so all neighbors were warned. From then on there was no more free ranging and birds were locked in at all times.
Fast forward to october first, the opening day of deer season. I locked my dog in because she is brown and about the size of a fawn. All day the neighbor dogs had been seen and captured on camera marking various items and roaming around the house barking for my dog to come out. Upon the arrival of my kids from school, whom had went out to check the water and feeders, they ran inside yelling they were all dead. I went out to the coop to find the chickens dead, wire town open in various spots, and dog tracks and dead birds everywhere. I took pictures and went to get my tools. After about an hour of repairing the coop the hyena looking dog came back. Flushed two surviving birds out of some brush and proceeded to chomp / bite at one removing a wing all while i was taking pictures of it running around. I returned my phone to my pocket, removed my sidearm from its holster, and fired. After which i buried the birds and dog with my loader. The dog at the bottom of the pile. After i had finished I printed the leash law and set it down for access when the law or owner showed up.
After every incident I had taken pictures and left messages with the township leading up to this point.
Just after dark the owner showed up. I had been thinking about the three SSS's for almost a year. Not the dogs fault of course, chickens are fun to chase. Bad owners, who did not heed my warnings. How much financial hardship do you have to incur before someone takes you seriously? The 40 acres I own is fenced all the way around. I tried and tried. I decided to tell him what happened and he was very angry. Threatened my wife, kids, me, and my dogs life. I tried to hand him the print outs but he would not take them and he left.
His wife called me up and repeated the treats, on tape. A couple days later the sheriff stopped by. He was very courteous and let me finish up with my customers. We talked about it and I showed him a years worth of pictures and the pertinent parts of the law. He said animal control handles that and that he saw that my actions were not malicious and that he was happy he did not have to destroy the dog himself. I informed him that i was not pressing charges, but that I wanted reimbursed. He told me the only reason he was there was to ask if they could have the dog back. I told him to have them bring a shovel and 30 more birds. He told me that he was not going to be brokering any deals and asked if they could call or come over and discuss it. I told him that they could if they were civil.
Later my wife called me while i was hunting and told me he was here. By the time i was out of the woods he was gone.
He came back later and told me over a few beers, that my daughter while crying, showed him the evidence, the coop, and the burial site. He said he would never have believed that, ollie, was apparently a devil dog, and that there was an ongoing threat from other neighbors over a period of years for other reasons on this dog's life. Several owners ago, someone had shot at him before. He said he wasn't going to dig him up and that he may as well stay because he ( ollie ), wanted to be here so bad. Only fitting to die here.
We see each other around town, talk by the mailbox, and of course at the shop when they need repairs. He understands why it happened and in his words, is happy that everything is back to normal.
About a two months ago, I was repairing my mailbox, and he stopped to tell me about his new dog and ask about life on the other side of the fence. Two weekds later he called to ask if i had seen drew, his new dog, and that he was missing. I helped him put adds up on facebook and at the general store. After a week went by he found him in his pasture, while fixing a fence. Dog was a bit thinner but alive and well.
The day after Christmas, i let my dog out. Ten minutes later, my son let her in. I had heard a gun shot during that time, being late doe season, a common occurrence lately, i was not worried. He started yelling that her leg was " falling off ". Sure enough skin was holding it on. While trying to not get bit and tying her leg off, i noticed the bone was shattered and the skin on both sides. Luckily it was a front foot and since she had made it home, I decided to not put her down. We loaded up and drove to the nearest open vet, 30 miles away. She is still alive though not very happy. If she cannot perform her duties i can re home her or get another dog.
I doubt it was him, as it is more likely that someone with bad aim and bad judgement shot at her.
Even though it could have been a malicious neighbor, I still would have done exactly what I did.
