Neighbor lets dogs out to do their business in my yard?

phiferpharm · Feb 17, 2014

I had a problem with the one neighbors dog chasing me in my yard, then his kids were firing over my mini-horses with their rifles into my woods. I called the Sheriff, who said" You two again" when he saw who the kids were. Seems that another person who lives out here had a problem and fired a warning shot. He got in trouble for the warning shot, but not this time, the kids (and parents) were warned and the officer said take out the dog if it charges. I recommend NO warning shots and at least notify animal control.

BTW, I put up new fences and the dog still got in, and the boys just jumped it. I haven't seen (nor heard) the gunshots since the Sheriff's visit.

Jesse masterson · Feb 17, 2014

Yea! I'm watching the situation closely, depending on if the dog shows up again, and if it does how it reacts to my presence,but I will be ready, I put a ball bat outside in a easy to get to location so I won't be unarmed! If I have to use the bat the gun will be my next final solution.

HeLa · Feb 17, 2014

bear spray is a great idea.

granted, i am in nj, but dealing with the potential repercussions of discharging a firearm (for good legal cause of not) is definitely NOT something that i want to deal with or pay costs towards.

i carry spray when i cycle. you never know what kind of animal, 4-legged or otherwise, might decide to take interest in you.

Jesse masterson · Feb 17, 2014

I'm not satisfied with having to carry ace to defend property, what if the dog catches us without, what if my grandson wanders by chance in the back yard, what if my wife is attacked when she's not prepared, what if my son comes home from ball practice with no warning? Those are things a real husband grandfather or dad will not gamble on because the law has a opinion on a matter that there not having to live under ,sometimes you just do what's right. Smart, and safe for your family, I'm not willing to gamble with my loved ones life, no matter what the law says.

dave1949 · Feb 17, 2014

Jesse masterson said:
I'm not satisfied with having to carry ace to defend property, what if the dog catches us without, what if my grandson wanders by chance in the back yard, what if my wife is attacked when she's not prepared, what if my son comes home from ball practice with no warning? Those are things a real husband grandfather or dad will not gamble on because the law has a opinion on a matter that there not having to live under ,sometimes you just do what's right. Smart, and safe for your family, I'm not willing to gamble with my loved ones life, no matter what the law says.

You have been reasonable. Warned the dog, warned the owner. Not much more you can do than that to prevent putting the dog down. There are just too many instances of pit mixes tearing people up, or worse, to take that threat lightly IMO.

fordmantpw · Feb 17, 2014

Jesse masterson said:
I'm not satisfied with having to carry ace to defend property, what if the dog catches us without, what if my grandson wanders by chance in the back yard, what if my wife is attacked when she's not prepared, what if my son comes home from ball practice with no warning? Those are things a real husband grandfather or dad will not gamble on because the law has a opinion on a matter that there not having to live under ,sometimes you just do what's right. Smart, and safe for your family, I'm not willing to gamble with my loved ones life, no matter what the law says.

Exactly! Protect yourself and your family first, ask questions later. If a dog is charging and threatening my kids or my wife and I am there to stop it, it won't live to do it again, because next time, I may not be there to protect them. It sucks for the dog, but my family is at the top of my importance list!

We have quite a few neighbors' dogs that go through our yard, and I don't mind it too much as long as they aren't threatening. All of them here are friendly dogs, just making a mess in the yard now and then. Just gives our little dog a target the next time she goes out. The only one I've had a problem with was the one that was peeing on our swing on our front porch as well as the step right by the front door. A quick talk with the owner stopped the problem.

farmer2009 · Feb 17, 2014

The dog wouldn't have gotten a warning. When they act like that you get rid of dog. When neighbor ask if you seen dog answer is no but will keep an eye out for it.

RedNeckRacin · Feb 17, 2014

The two stories about the dog having explosive poop sprayed above his head down the hall and the story about the dog eating all of the bacon covered crap and barfing in the owners house had me laughing so hard my eyes teared up! Just reminds me why I read this forum somtimes!

dmccarty · Feb 17, 2014

Jesse masterson said:
I'm not satisfied with having to carry ace to defend property, what if the dog catches us without, what if my grandson wanders by chance in the back yard, what if my wife is attacked when she's not prepared, what if my son comes home from ball practice with no warning? Those are things a real husband grandfather or dad will not gamble on because the law has a opinion on a matter that there not having to live under ,sometimes you just do what's right. Smart, and safe for your family, I'm not willing to gamble with my loved ones life, no matter what the law says.

You should be concerned about the dog the threat it is to yourself and your family. A TBNer saved the life of his neighbor who was being eaten alive by dogs that had "escaped" from their yard. A link to that situation was posted earlier in this thread.

As other have suggested, call the Sheriff and/or Animal Control to report the attack. Give them a chance to talk to the owner and do their job. At a minimum, it creates a paper trail that is good to have in these circumstances.

A few years ago, an alarm went off at a house and a deputy was disptached to the house. Long story short, the deputy was attacked by the dogs kept at the house. I think there were three of them. She shot a couple of them but I think only one was killed. The deputy was able to get back into her car otherwise I think she would have been killed even though she shot the dogs. She was torn up pretty badly. Late last year an elderly man in our county was killed by a neighbors dog. Another elderly man was killed in another county by a dog. The man was checking on the house for a friend/family and was attacked by the neighbors dog.

If I was on my land and a dog had acted the way you described, that dog would have been shot. In NC, you can defend yourself from serious injury or death by two, or four legged, critters. Aggressive dogs are not to be taken lightly. I can remember people being killed by "wild" dogs when I lived in KY and the timber agent we hired carried a hand gun because he was once treed by dogs for hours when he was doing a timber cruise. People being killed by dogs has increased in the last few years. It was an unusual event when I was younger but now it is happening frequently and in my area.

Later,
Dan