A person shoots neighbor's dog...remedies?

[Dueller]

I have a client whose neighbor shot her 8 y.o. Boxer with a shotgun. Dog apparently got out and was roaming neighborhood. Dog is sweet and lovable...no indication it has ever been agressive. Neighbor apparently claims it was acting agressive. Went and grabbed a shotgun and shot it from his yard in another neighbors yard. Blew half the dog's nose off. Dog survived but seems to be in a coma now. Under care of veterinary school docs.

This was in an upscale neighborhood and apparently the guy who shot the dog knew who the owner was/where they lived ( a few houses down).

Justifiable? Remedy?

[fingpilot]

Does the offending neighbor have any kids that are out and about all day?

[Dueller]

Originally Posted by fingpilot

Does the offending neighbor have any kids that are out and about all day?

I suspect so.

[javadog]

Not justifiable.

Lawsuit?

Kill neighbor?

Pick one. I'm leaning towards the latter.

JR

[Danimal16]

Brutal.

[Rikao4]

there's more to this..
ongoing feud betweeen the two..
barking ..
from his yard ..shooting into other yard..
BS
you dont mess with the Lady,dogs,stuff..
and I'm very patient...
and always sleep well afterwards...


Rika

[Rot 911]

Was this in the city limits or out in the country? Any other witnesses? If not I doubt you have much of a case.

[Jeff Higgins]

Sounds like there is more to the story. I would bet your client made a habit of letting the dog run loose. It may have been crapping in the neighbors' yards, digging up their gardens, chasing their kids and acting aggressively, etc.

Some jurisdictions do not respond all that well to neighborhood dog complaints. Mine, for example, "prefers neighbors work it out among themselves". What if a neighbor absolutely refuses to control their dog, despite repeated requests? I was on the receiving end of that situation, along with several other neighbors. We had one guy who simply would not control his dog. The city did pick it up several times when they just happened to see it loose, but they would not address the ongoing, collective concerns of the neighbors that were affected. They kept giving the damn thing back.

I'm not saying that's what happened here, but most folks don't just up and shoot the neighbor dog just for the hell of it. Your client has more than likely been an ongoing problem for them, and others.

[rouxroux]

Buy 'em a lizard

[billwagnon]

It does sound like the lizard story all over again.

I think the remedy is the gun nut pays for treatment of the dog and buys a new one if the dog goes to the happy trails in the sky.

The dog's owner bears some responsibility for not restraining their pet (i.e. none of this would have happened).

If the dog was actually in the act of threatening someone (say, it was a pitbull and not a boxer) it's a different story.

[MRM]

Jim, there is an actual answer to your question, and I happen to know what it is. First, from a criminal perspective, the dog shooter probably committed two crimes, at least one of which is a felony. Discharge of a firearm within the city limits and discharge of a firearm within a certain distance of residences are both almost certainly felonies. Second, shooting a dog that is just roaming as oposed to chasing down livestock or attacking a human, is probably animal cruelty. That may be a felony as well. In Minnesota it wouldn't be, but the firing of the shotgun in a residential neighborhood would be. If you look, I'll bet you'll also find a rule saying that anyone can shoot a roaming dog if the dog is chasing deer or harassing wildlife, but not otherwise. So first stop should be the local police to see about getting the neighbor who is a little too handy with a shotgun charged. I am as big of a gun lover as anyone, but shooting dogs in people's yards is the height of irresponsible gun ownership. He's not just irresponsible; he's dangerous.

On a civil front, he is liable for the value of the dog and/or the medical expenses incurred. That's it. No pain and suffering, not lost companionship. They might be able to get punitive damages, depending on your local jurisdiction, but ordinarily civil damages for the dog will be capped at the vet bills made necessary by the injury, plus the fair market value of the dog if it dies.

As a side note, shotgun neighbor isn't too good with the thing if he barely hits a dog at that distance. Better not take him bird hunting.

[berettafan]

i effing hate people that let dogs run loose. as if they can gaurantee without a doubt the dog will never, ever, ever hurt a child.

[Dueller]

Originally Posted by MRM

As a side note, shotgun neighbor isn't too good with the thing if he barely hits a dog at that distance. Better not take him bird hunting.

Neighbor does bear a striking resemblance to Dick Cheney

Thanks dfor weighing in...I had considered those issues. Don't have all the details and haven't spoken to the shooter but neighborhood is outraged.

Oh well...the life of a country lawyer.

[varmint]

no one ever think their cuddly muffin puppy could ever bite a child. until it does.

i don't know the truth of the story. but if the dog was on his property, and within 20 feet of one of his kids, the he has an excuse.

[MRM]

Varmit, if a guy shoots a dog that's 20 feet from my kids, I will take the gun from his hands and club him over the head with his own gun until he stops twitching. If a guy discharges a gun for any reason with less than 90 degree clearance from my kids on both sides, I will do the same. Especially a shotgun.

Good news, ma'am. I got the dog that was harassing your kids. Um, bad news is that I peppered your kids with a bit of shot. Actually, they got a bit more than peppered, 'cuz I didn't hit the dog all that well. I'm pretty sure they missed the main part of the blast. They might both make it. But I made sure they didn't get bit. You can thank me later.

Animal Control is for dogs roaming that aren't in iminent danger of attack. 911 is for dogs that are. Self-help shooting of dogs with shotguns in residential neighborhoods is rarely justified and almost never a good idea.

[charleskieffner]

have been thru this with a crazy ass neighbor w/2 nasty rottweilers. and i kicked his ass with the law and damn near killed both his dogs chasing my kids one day, and then another day when dogs chased me, and another day when they chased my drunk as **** electrician friend around my property. yep its a rural area.

1) first and foremost LEASH LAWS APPLY! and it can go felony real fast if not complied with. i sicked animal control on this clown and after 4 times of fines $175 each dog, animal control hauled his dumb ass into court. he threatened me, pointed hi-po rifle at my son and after that all bets were off and he was MEAT! i called mcso 27 times and animal control 18 times all documented. both cops and animal control repeated to me and the neighbors umpteen times "just shoot the dogs!". horseback riders neighbors kids me my friends everyone were chased by these unleashed unlicensed un vaccinated(no tags) dogs.

2) the courts between mcso and animal control hung him out to dry so many times it was insane the fines he had to pay to let his dogs run free.

3) all dogs no matter how big or small will be LEASHED and UNDER CONTROL AT ALL TIMES...........PERIOD!

4) ALL ANIMALS WILL BE PENNED OR CONFINED ON PROPERTY AT ALL TIMES!

5) the final big whoop ass nuklar stick i pulled on this clown was called his boss at ABC channel 15 here in phx. and described problem to the letter and threatened to take this to state paper(az-republic) local paper, all local news stations and see how he likes the ABC channel 15 "family oriented" station shoved into the pooper.......................

6) abc 15 fired this clown, he moved, and then got dee-vorced> LMFAO!

7) aint no difference in the law regarding justifiable shooting of a moron or a moron dog. "if YOU FEEL THREATENED WITH IMMENIENT BODILY HARM YOU MAY USE DEADLY FORCE! cut and dry and etched in granite!

8) im a dawg person. i dont like shooting anything unless im gonna EAT IT!

9) piss me off, threaten my family...........................you got 6'3" 200 plus pounds of a armed runaway freight train coming to hunt yer sorry dumb moronic ass down and im gonna eat yer livers and yer kids livers and their kids livers and yer dawgs livers!

10) got to know every mcso sheriff for all 3 shifts................."just shoot the G.DAMNED DOG" was a classic hoot looking back on it now!

11) i damn near made the 10 oclock news with this juan! talk about using restraint!

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by MRM

Second, shooting a dog that is just roaming as oposed to chasing down livestock or attacking a human, is probably animal cruelty.

It should also be a felony to graze the dog enough to put him in a coma. If you're going to shoot your neighbors dog, then you best be finishing the job quick like, rather than putting it through hell like that.

[varmint]

your word against his.

i hear a very one sided story.

http://www.dogbitelaw.com/


Thought you would all find this interesting--the numbers represent five colums, Column 1 is Breed Attacks doing Bodily Harm, #2 is Child Victims, #3 is Adult Victims, #4 is Deaths and #5 is Maimings. (The # sign meant there were additional comments, I left the web address for this info down below if you want to read more, it is 7 pages worth of info) Additionally, this info is specific to dogs that were family pets.

Breed Attacks doing Child Adult Deaths Maimings Notes
bodily harm victims victims
[dogs X victims] [--------Individuals---------]
Akita 48 32 14 1 39
Akita mix (inspecific) 1 1 0 0 1
Akita/Chow mix 3 3 0 0 3
Akita/Lab mix 1 1 0 0 1
Akita/terrier mix 2 1 0 0 1
Airedale/boxer 1 1 0 1 0 #
Airedale 1 1 0 1 0
Australian blue heeler 3 1 1 0 2
Australian cattle dog 1 1 0 0 1
Australian shepherd 6 4 0 0 1
Basset/GSD mix 1 1 0 1 0
Beagle 2 2 0 1 1 #
Belgian shepherd 4 1 3 0 1
Blue heeler 2 0 1 0 1
Border collie 1 0 1 1 1 #
Briard 2 0 1 1 0
Brittany spaniel 4 1 0 0 1
Bulldog (American 4 0 3 2 2
Bulldog (English) 16 8 3 1 9
Bull mastiff (Presa Canario) 30 10 13 6 16
Bull mastiff/German shepherd 2 1 0 1 0
Buff mastiff/Rottweiler 1 1 0 0 1
Boxer 31 6 12 2 12 #
Boxer mix 1 1 0 1 0
Cane Corso 4 1 2 1 3
Catahoula 3 0 1 0 1
Chow 49 34 12 6 32
Chow/husky mix 2 2 0 1 1
Chow/Labrador mix 4 4 0 0 3
Chox mix (other) 2 2 0 0 2
Cocker spaniel 1 1 0 0 1
Collie 3 3 0 0 3
Collie/retriever mix 1 1 0 0 1
Coonhound 1 1 0 0 0
Page 2 of 7
Dalmatian 3 3 0 0 3
Dalmatian/Akita mix 1 1 0 0 1
Dauschund 2 1 1 1 2 #
Doberman 11 7 4 3 7 #
Doge de Bordeaux 2 1 0 0 1
East Highland terrier 1 0 1 1 0 #
Fila Brasiero 1 1 0 0 1
German shepherd 63 42 17 7 38
German shepherd mix 31 21 7 6 19 #
German shepherd/husky mix 4 3 1 1 2
Golden retriever 6 6 0 1 4 #
Great Dane 24 5 4 2 9
Great Pyranees 1 0 1 1 0
Greyhound 1 1 0 0 1
Husky 39 23 4 13 8
Husky/Malamute mix 2 2 0 0 2
Husky/Labrador mix 1 0 1 0 1
Jack Russell terrier 2 1 1 1 0 #
Labrador 26 18 9 2 20 #
Labrador mix 10 9 1 0 9 #
Labrador/boxer mix 1 0 1 0 0
Lab-Doberman 1 1 0 0 1
Lab-St. Bernard 1 1 0 0 1
Malamute 8 7 1 3 3
Mastiff 16 11 4 4 9
Norwegian elkhound 1 0 1 0 1 #
Pit bull terrier 1110 495 397 104 608 #
Pit bull boxer mix 5 1 2 0 2
Pit bull/chow mix 5 2 3 1 3
Pit bull/Doberman/GSD/Lab 2 2 0 0 2
Pit bull/GSD mix 1 1 0 0 1
Pit bull/Lab mix 15 10 4 3 8 #
Pit bull/Rott. mix 39 7 3 2 8
Pit bull/Sheltie mix 1 1 0 0 1
Pit bull/Weimaraner mix 1 0 1 0 1
Pit mix unknown 3 2 0 0 2
Pointer mix 1 0 1 0 0 #
Pomeranian 1 1 0 1 0
Poodle 2 1 1 0 2 #
Pug 1 1 0 0 1
Pug/Rottweiler mix 2 1 0 1 0
Queensland heeler 3 0 1 0 1
Rottweiler 409 231 109 58 223 #
Rottweiler/chow mix 1 1 0 0 1
Rottweiler/GSD mix 13 7 5 2 10
Rottweiler/Labrador 7 6 1 0 7
Russian terrier 1 0 1 0 1
Saint Bernard 6 3 0 1 1
Sharpei 4 4 0 0 4
Sharpei/Rottweiler 2 1 0 0 1
Sharpei/unknown mix 1 1 0 0 1
Sharpei/Labrador 1 1 0 0 1
Springer spaniel 3 4 0 0 4
Tosa 1 1 0 0 1
Weimaeaner 1 1 0 0 1
Wheaten terrier 2 1 0 0 1
Wolf hybrid 71 65 3 18 43 #

[javadog]

I'll save you the trouble of wading through the web site above to find the statistics.

"....Compiled by the editor of ANIMAL PEOPLE from press accounts
since 1982, this table covers only attacks by dogs of clearly identified
breed type or ancestry, as designated by animal control officers or others
with evident expertise, who have been kept as pets. Due to the exclusion
of dogs whose breed type may be uncertain, this is by no means a complete
list of fatal and otherwise serious dog attacks. Attacks by police dogs,
guard dogs, and dogs trained specifically to fight are also excluded.
"Attacks doing bodily harm" includes all fatalities, maimings, and other
injuries requiring extensive hospital treatment. "Maimings" includes
permanent disfigurement or loss of a limb. Where there is an asterisk (*),
please see footnotes. If there are more "attacks" than "victims," it means
that there were multiple dogs involved in some attacks. If the numbers of
"victims" does not equal the numbers of "deaths" and "maimings," it means
that some of the victims -- in attacks in which some people were killed or
maimed -- were not killed or maimed."

The data was compiled over a 14 year period in the US and Canada. I'd be curious to see the statistics for human vs. human violence for the same period. I suspect that the dogs are the least of our problems.

If my neighbor had done that to one of my dogs, he'd be bleeding as we speak.

[billwagnon]

wow for bodily harm Pit Bull is 1110 and Boxer is only 31