Neighbor shot our jack russel terrior

[rls_jes]

My elderly grandmother was petsitting my sister's pup since the middle of february & he is typically a good dog. He ran off from my sister & her 7yr old son last sunday & started biting at the neighbors chickens, my pregnant sister ran frantically to catch him & was successful. The chickens were unharmed & only had a few feathers pulled out. My sister appologized & offered a monetary gesture to show her concern incase the chickens were too frazzled to lay their eggs right away. They didnt take the money but the wife told my sister that if the dog gets out there again her husband was going to shoot the dog. Today my grandmother was letting her bigger 2 german shepheards outside & the pup squeezed his way thru & took off out the driveway, my grandmother went out in her car as fast as possible but was too late as she watched the neighbor aim his shotgun & shoot twice killing the dog. I was told the pup went after the chickens again & thats why he was shot but these chickens run loose in the county & the neighbors think the pup is the reason why 2-3 of their chickens were found decapitated. This pup didnt show any previous indications of any aggression to other animals so were kinda speechless. My sister was on her way out today to pick the pup up & take him home & now she as well as my nephew are heartbroken. Did the neighbor have a legal or civil right to shoot the pup??

[Shisno]

While I'm sorry to hear about your dog, but from the story you provided it would seem that your neighbor did not do anything illegal. IANAL

Edit to add: I think the shoot was legal, but I don't think it was the best option for the neighbor to do.

[busa dave]

Its a tough call. I'm a dog lover so im admittedly very biased. I spent thousands of hard earned dollars to fence in my whole back yard (pretty large) for my 2 dogs. and i still wont leave them out un attended. my next door neighbor has a back porch that sits a little lower than the top of my fence, so if your on his porch you can see over my fence and into my yard. one afternoon him and his buddies were outside drinking and shooting their bb gun. i happened to look over to see them pointing the gun at my dog and sighting him through the scope. i flipped out and basically said if you shoot that dog i'm shooting you. the bottom line is if you want your dog to be safe, keep it leashed and in your yard at all times. and watch your neighbors.

to answer your question yes they had the right to shoot the dog. should they have shot it.....NO

[twency]

A quick skim through your story suggests to me that the shooting was legal.

[streaker69]

I agree with the other two, while it sucks that your dog was shot, it was legal. They were protecting their live stock and they're legally allowed to protect the chickens from attacking dogs.

[normanvin]

A quick skim through your story suggests to me that the shooting was legal.

Hate to say it but what twency said is true.

[CenterTree]

I feel bad about the dog. Here is some of the law.
Some call it a leash law.

It was most likely a justified shooting.


http://law.psu.edu/_file/aglaw/Dog_Law.pdf

•
It shall be unlawful for the owner or keeper of any dog to fail to keep at all times such dog either:

1.Confined within the premises of the owner;

2. Firmly secured by means of a collar and chain or other device so that it
cannot stray beyond the premises on which it is secured;
or

3. Under the reasonable control of some person, or when engaged in
lawful hunting, exhibiting or field training.

[normanvin]

I feel bad about the dog. Here is some of the law.
Some call it a leash law.

It was most likely a justified shooting.


http://law.psu.edu/_file/aglaw/Dog_Law.pdf

•
It shall be unlawful for the owner or keeper of any dog to fail to keep at all times such dog either:

1.Confined within the premises of the owner;

2. Firmly secured by means of a collar and chain or other device so that it
cannot stray beyond the premises on which it is secured;
or

3. Under the reasonable control of some person, or when engaged in
lawful hunting, exhibiting or field training.

There is also the attacking a domesticated animal.

[ragequit]

My elderly grandmother was petsitting my sister's pup since the middle of february & he is typically a good dog. He ran off from my sister & her 7yr old son last sunday & started biting at the neighbors chickens, my pregnant sister ran frantically to catch him & was successful. The chickens were unharmed & only had a few feathers pulled out. My sister appologized & offered a monetary gesture to show her concern incase the chickens were too frazzled to lay their eggs right away. They didnt take the money but the wife told my sister that if the dog gets out there again her husband was going to shoot the dog. Today my grandmother was letting her bigger 2 german shepheards outside & the pup squeezed his way thru & took off out the driveway, my grandmother went out in her car as fast as possible but was too late as she watched the neighbor aim his shotgun & shoot twice killing the dog. I was told the pup went after the chickens again & thats why he was shot but these chickens run loose in the county & the neighbors think the pup is the reason why 2-3 of their chickens were found decapitated. This pup didnt show any previous indications of any aggression to other animals so were kinda speechless. My sister was on her way out today to pick the pup up & take him home & now she as well as my nephew are heartbroken. Did the neighbor have a legal or civil right to shoot the pup??

Maybe you should have threatened to shoot the loose chickens after the first incident (in response to the neighbor threatening to shoot the dog if it's loose)? If it's legal to shoot an unleashed dog, I'd imagine it's legal to shoot an unleashed other animal.

Maybe the neighbor would have decided on different action, instead of potentially facing losses for you both.

edit: not that maybes of the intangible past matter or help anything now...

[streaker69]

Maybe you should have threatened to shoot the loose chickens after the first incident (in response to the neighbor threatening to shoot the dog if it's loose)? If it's legal to shoot an unleashed dog, I'd imagine it's legal to shoot an unleashed other animal.

Go read the law before making silly statements.