stoney Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 Is it illegal to kill a neighbors dog? If so, what is the penalty? Is it a felony? What if you shoot the dog in the city limits? Is shooting a gun in the city a felony? Can they take your gun away? How about if you use just rock salt? Quote
Rodchester Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 (edited) oooops Edited February 3, 2004 by Rodchester Quote
Rodchester Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 (edited) Edited February 3, 2004 by Rodchester Quote
Rodchester Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 "Is it illegal to kill a neighbors dog?" Â If you or another are actually threatened, yes. Â If not there are two issues: Â 1. Criminal, And the answers would depend on the laws of the locality and the willingness of the prosecutors office to file and pursue charges (if any). Â 2. Civil, And the answers are (basically) that you are liable to the owner for the fair market value of the dog. There is no loss of effection (consortium claim when a pet dies). Â Usually shooting a gun in the city limits is an offense, though I have no idea if it is a felony. But if you do so in defense, it is usually allowed. Check with a local attorney in your area. Â If you are actually serious (this is in spray afterall), send me a pm and I can recommend an attorney that with experience in animal cases. Quote
stoney Posted February 3, 2004 Author Posted February 3, 2004 I assuming you mean illegal unless you or another are actually threatened? Â What constitutes "threatened"? Is it easier to show threatened if the dog is a pit bull? Quote
Rodchester Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 Whether you are actually threatened or not is a question that gets answered by a jury (sometimes by a Judge). Â Did you feel that your life or someone else's life was threatened? Â Did you you fear bodily injury for yourself or another? Quote
Thinker Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 I think it would go much better in court for you if you shot the dog while it was actually on your property, rather than if you shot it while it was on it's owners property. Â I'm sure the situation is not unique and that there are plenty cases you can view online. Â When I was in college the neighbor had a little yap dog that they put outside every night when they went to bed...which corresponded to the time I was deepest into my studies. I'll admit that I.....I fantasized, yeah, that's all I did, fantasize, right......let me start this sentence over. That dog got shot more than a few times with the weakest little bb gun that could be found. It was plenty to shut it up for an hour while it cowered under their deck, and not so much that it did more than scare it (I shot myself with it before considering shooting the dog just to make sure it wouldn't injure the beast). In that case, I had alerted the owners to the problem, but they refused to do anything about it. Â Ironicaly, I was a dog owner at the same time, but I took my responsibility very seriously. If someone would have complained, I would have done everthing in my power to correct the situation, either thru training or keeping the dog inside. Quote
HRoark Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 Â AKA, "stray cat be-gone". A saucerful is all you need. Quote
catbirdseat Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 You never know what you might kill with poison like that. Might be a your own dog. Might be a neighbor kid. Bad, bad karma. Quote
HRoark Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 Whether you are actually threatened or not is a question that gets answered by a jury (sometimes by a Judge). Did you feel that your life or someone else's life was threatened?  Did you you fear bodily injury for yourself or another?  It's a no-brainer if there's a small child involved. Some stupid people don't get it - my neighbor's dog was coming into my yard barking menacingly (and I know he doesn't listen to his owner) and approaching me and the little one. Stupid Neighbor finally came out; "that's a good way to get your dog shot, dude," says I. "Oh, yeah, go ahead," asshole snears. Some people don't get it until Fido is staining the sidewalk. Too bad for the dog, really; it's not his fault the owner is a moron. Quote
catbirdseat Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 We had problems with a neighbors dog coming into our yard, so I built a picket fence. Good fences make good neighbors. Quote
sk Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 IMHO Â dogs should be fenced or leashed, kids ( if they are small enough to drink green stuff that they don't know what it is) should be watched at all times or in a fenced yard and cats should be kept indoors. Quote
HRoark Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 IMHOÂ dogs should be fenced or leashed, kids ( if they are small enough to drink green stuff that they don't know what it is) should be watched at all times or in a fenced yard and cats should be thrown in a gunny sack and drowned at birth . Quote
catbirdseat Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 When HRoark was three years old a cat crapped in his sandbox. Not knowing any better, he played with it and got it all over himself. His mother came out and seeing (and smelling) the mess, yelled at him. Ever since, he has had a hatred of cats. Quote
willstrickland Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 Half a kielbasa or burger stuffed with a massive dose of rat poison and thrown to the offensive cur. Worked for my threatening/psychotic doberman problem Quote
arlen Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 Talk to your other neighbors. If the dog's truly threatening, there will be enough people to put pressure on the offending owner and/or to pile up complaints. If nobody minds but you, you're the problem--move into a retirement community and enjoy the shih tzus & pomeranians. Quote
Mac_10 Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 I would recommend you quit being a little pussy, and confront the owner of the dog....or you could just hide behind your computer and bitch- like everyone else on here. Quote
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