[dog-owner]

Linda K, on 13 March 2012 - 10:34 AM, said:

catching the dogs - sorry, not always an option, esp if they are riled up already from running around after livestock. And Dog-owner - you say you would have repaid - does that mean that you are still yet to do so, or now have no intention of doing so - whether or not you agree with what occured, your dog still inflicted damage on the farmer, and he is entitled to compensation from you - sorry, agree that whilst the farmer could have handled it a little more tactfully, you were the one in the wrong - your dogs got out, which meant they weren't too securely contained, and went off to cause havoc, which you are responsible for. As someone dealing with the aftermath of a $3000 and rising vet bill for a thoroughbred horse who will now never race, and has the most horrific leg wound from a dog attack (we believe from the neighbours dog that we have issues with, but can't prove it was the one who did it), believe me, if I had the chance to have shot the animal who did that to my horse at the time, you had better believe I would have put a shot into it too.

Linda, we havent been given the chance to do anything, (that was my whole point) - the man that shot the dogs has only come forward to the police and not to us - police have not told us any of his contact details.
As I have already said, I agree with the law of shooting roaming dogs etc - I dont agree with how he did it.
We have guns at our place, we are responsible gun owners and my husband certainly knows how to shoot an animal to quickly and humanely kill it!
I'm sorry for your problems with your horse, I hope you sort it out with your neighbour but my situation is a little different because of the way it was handled, which is the thing i have the problem with. - I wish people would remember that I have never denied that my dogs killed the chooks, and that I have expressed disappointment that my dogs inflicted pain on someone elses animals. I dont agree with comments on here from others saying I should have had them in a locked kennel inside a secure yard, thats bull crap, and some people just seem to adding their opinion just to stir the pot.

[dog-owner]

SpotTheDog, on 14 March 2012 - 06:58 AM, said:

What a horrible situation.

The idea of someone else leaving doors open etc gives me the heebies. I'm in a rental property at the moment, and it was vacant for some time before we occupied it. Subsequently it's requiring a good deal of maintenance.

The number of tradies that come to the house, let themselves in, and then because they don't want to open and close the front door and screen door while going in and out to the van, they leave my front door wide open, and fix the screen door so it stands open too. Even when I've said to them 'please watch the pets with the front door', they still don't get it. I end up standing guard at the front door while they come and go.

In context, I have a dog and six cats - I always contain the dog when there are tradies or whatever coming to the house. With the cats, however, it's difficult. I can't shut them in a room for the entire day just because tradies might turn up at some point in a six hour window. When they hear the front door, they run and hide, so I can't round them up. It's getting to the point where, when I answer the door, I'm going to have to give the tradies a 'before you work in my house' speech (which, however nice I try to be, may make me look like a fruitcake and rub them up the wrong way).

We werent home at the time our landlord was here and we also didnt know that he was even doing repairs on the house! Hes a man in his eighties, and lives next door too so our tenant/landlord relationship is fairly informal when it comes to "booking in' maintenance work.

[dog-owner]

Scales of Justice, on 13 March 2012 - 09:03 AM, said:

If people love their dogs they will go to whatever it takes to make sure the dogs do not leave their property.

If the dogs leave the property then the onus is on the owner, not the livestock owner. If someone leaves your gate open, its your fault for not padlocking it or leaving your dogs inside a locked kennel instead of a yard that is not really secured.

Too many times I've seen dogs wandering free and I'm sick of being accosted by dogs loose on the street. Its time owners realised that it is THEIR responsibility to keep their dogs in.

And what if someone opens the locked kennel inside the locked yard....do you put the locked kennel inside a locked yard inside the whole back yard??? I mean really, when do you stop?? Am I a bad dog owner because I have to go to work? Am I a bad dog owner because I rent my house? I mean if I owned my own house I wouldnt have been putting my dogs or the chickens in danger because I wouldnt have to worry about unscheduled maintenance by my landlord??
When does it all stop, I would love to see what your reaction would be if you were in the same predicament, its an awful situation - I am grieving for my dogs whilst at the same time, feeling guilty because A) i was at work and couldnt protect them or the chickens B) feeling angry and actually sick when I think of that sign and the garbage bags c) i also am trying to calm the community down because the majority of residents want to know their details and are after revenge
You tell me all the things I have done wrong and how bad an animal owner I am and then you can also tell me how to feel?!


Sorry for the rant, Im just sick of it all, I have to look at that street sign where they were left every time I leave my front door.
Sometimes in life there are incidents that just happen no matter how much you try to protect yourselves and others around you from them....

[koolietas]

Dog-owner...I am so sorry for your loss

And sorry that you are being subjected to some of the comments on this thread that are obviously upsetting for you.

From everything I have heard and read (and yes, living in Tassie, I had also been told the same story that you have written here on the forum) - you were not to blame for what happened and could not have done anything to prevent the situation.

Whilst it must have been horrible for your neighbour to experience the mauling of his chickens, an accident is an accident! There was no intent on your part - and I'm sure most (but not all) dogs, if the opportunity arose would do the same as your dogs did...hopefully not all the others will suffer the same fate as yours.

I hope your pups did not suffer too much - that would be heartbreaking...

Take care :-)

[lmwvic]

dog-owner,

I am very very sorry for your loss.

Ignore the self-righteous. It is not your fault (and it is not the fault of the dogs)-what has happened to you could potentially happen to any dog owner.

[Aidan2]

Dog-owner is clearly well aware of the problems that roaming dogs can cause and is not against a farmers right to humanely protect livestock. I am astounded that some of you still feel the need to drive this point home for several pages. Particularly when this person has only just lost their dogs in this way.

It might be a necessary part of livestock care, that doesn't make it any less heart-breaking for the dog owner if they care about their dogs, so show a bit of tact. This is not simply a case of a farmer protecting livestock, either.

[Scales of Justice]

dog-owner

Quote

When does it all stop, I would love to see what your reaction would be if you were in the same predicament, its an awful situation - I am grieving for my dogs whilst at the same time, feeling guilty because A) i was at work and couldnt protect them or the chickens B) feeling angry and actually sick when I think of that sign and the garbage bags c) i also am trying to calm the community down because the majority of residents want to know their details and are after revenge
You tell me all the things I have done wrong and how bad an animal owner I am and then you can also tell me how to feel?!


Sorry for the rant, Im just sick of it all, I have to look at that street sign where they were left every time I leave my front door.
Sometimes in life there are incidents that just happen no matter how much you try to protect yourselves and others around you from them....

I do feel sorry for your predicament, and I can imagine the heart ache you are suffering. I did not mean to add to your angst - I was talking generally, I hope you can get some peace soon as you obviously did love your dogs.

This post has been edited by Scales of Justice: 15 March 2012 - 07:23 AM

[Odin-Genie]

Dow-owner, I am so sorry about your loss. While the law permits a farmer to shoot dogs that attack livestock, it does not diminish the pain one feels when one loses a dog in such a devastating manner. I think the manner of the shooting and the message was an extremely cruel and uncalled for behaviour by the farmer.

[Peace_Of_Mind]

Hi dog-owner,

I hear you – you have been subjected to some criticism on this forum for something that was completely out of your control.
Take a break from reading posts; grieve for your dogs and take care of yourself.
I am sorry for everything you are going through.
p.s. don’t feel guilty about anything.

[spyda62]

Dog Owner....so sorry for the loss of your dogs.

[Odin-Genie]

Diva, on 14 March 2012 - 07:32 PM, said:

Aussie3, on 14 March 2012 - 05:08 PM, said:

bulldogz4eva, on 14 March 2012 - 02:05 PM, said:

What ever happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt.We are not talking about dogs attacking and maiming large amounts of sheep,cattle or other livestock that is a different story and yes they should get shot and we have shot dogs for this,no problem.If it was a dog you have never seen before and it was hunting livestock and not caused any damage I would return it to owner or find them and tell them what happens to dogs that do that.Then they cant say they werent warned.Everybody makes mistakes and not all farmers are on massive pastoral leases with feral dogs killing large amounts of stock,a couple of chickens isnt going to see him bankrupt.Its not just the killing of the dogs its waht he did afterwards that annoys me and that is indefensible.If he treated my dogs with such disrespect his would disappear also.Shooting them I could accept but not treating them in that way.Plenty of farmers will see it the same way as animals are nothing more than livestock to them and a means to an end but it doesnt mean you have to be a heartless c**t your whole life.I have a dog here I have had for a month she was going to get a bullet for killing sheep so I took her.She is a lovely dog and it is as much the owners fault for allowing her to be put in that situation and I dont think it warrants her life for it but hey thats just me and yes I live on the land too.

Great post

Really? I don't find the highlighted sentence 'great' in any way.

I do. A lot of people tend to forget how much dogs can mean to some dog owners. If someone killed a member of your family in self-defence, you would grieve for them, but still accept it. However, if they not only killed in self-defence but also mocked you with their bodies, you would want to retaliate!!! I don't understand why some people can't see that for some of us dogs are part of the family and losing them can hurt as much as losing a human family member. To have someone mock that loss is inhuman.

[Alyosha]

Retaliation and vengeance are socially unacceptable behaviours. That's why people don't find the concept great at all. Jumping in and behaving as badly as the original aggressor is never the right way to approach things. If that became the norm, when would it end? And who is the bad guy?

Dog owner I'm very sorry for the poor way in which your dog's escape and shooting was handled. You seem to have taken a brave and commendable stance in not defending what they did or why they were shot, but it seems the manner in which that was handled was far from suitable and I feel for you having to deal with those circumstances. I hope you can find some peace.

[Aidan2]

Alyosha, on 15 March 2012 - 10:16 AM, said:

Dog owner I'm very sorry for the poor way in which your dog's escape and shooting was handled. You seem to have taken a brave and commendable stance in not defending what they did or why they were shot, but it seems the manner in which that was handled was far from suitable and I feel for you having to deal with those circumstances. I hope you can find some peace.

Well said. This is not simply protecting livestock as many people seem to think, and dog-owner accepts the fate of dogs who harass livestock. The vindictiveness from the farmer is hurtful, totally unnecessary and shows a complete lack of empathy. No wonder the town is divided, we do not want this sort of person living in our community. Dogs are destroyed in defence of livestock regularly, we don't usually hear about it and it doesn't divide communities.

[Aussie3]

Diva, on 14 March 2012 - 07:32 PM, said:

Aussie3, on 14 March 2012 - 05:08 PM, said:

bulldogz4eva, on 14 March 2012 - 02:05 PM, said:

What ever happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt.We are not talking about dogs attacking and maiming large amounts of sheep,cattle or other livestock that is a different story and yes they should get shot and we have shot dogs for this,no problem.If it was a dog you have never seen before and it was hunting livestock and not caused any damage I would return it to owner or find them and tell them what happens to dogs that do that.Then they cant say they werent warned.Everybody makes mistakes and not all farmers are on massive pastoral leases with feral dogs killing large amounts of stock,a couple of chickens isnt going to see him bankrupt.Its not just the killing of the dogs its waht he did afterwards that annoys me and that is indefensible.If he treated my dogs with such disrespect his would disappear also.Shooting them I could accept but not treating them in that way.Plenty of farmers will see it the same way as animals are nothing more than livestock to them and a means to an end but it doesnt mean you have to be a heartless c**t your whole life.I have a dog here I have had for a month she was going to get a bullet for killing sheep so I took her.She is a lovely dog and it is as much the owners fault for allowing her to be put in that situation and I dont think it warrants her life for it but hey thats just me and yes I live on the land too.

Great post

Really? I don't find the highlighted sentence 'great' in any way.

Good for you.
And yes, really. I wouldn't have said so otherwise.
Some of the comments in here have been a lot worse than that, especially when the owner is saying they agree with the dogs being shot.

Sometimes this forum can be bloody heartless.

This post has been edited by Aussie3: 15 March 2012 - 10:27 AM

[PuddleDuck]

So sorry for your loss dog owner. Thinking of you