Dogs running amok is part of life around where I live, sadly, and its just as sad to call the local dog warden who seems to be out for lunch most of the time. Its the owners responsibility to contain their animals, have them spayed or neutered and well kept. If an animal gets hurt or injured, I can only blame the owner. Certainly we all would try our best to avoid a confrontation or accident, but its understandable that a person would take measures to protect himself or his own animals. Personal responsibility, first and foremost.
That's right. What people don't realize is that animals are property. They aren't family members. They are property, by law. Dogs running loose are a huge problem and the "norm" where I live too, however, I've put a big dent in the stray dog population around here. My neighbors dog went into my carport and threatened my dog but did NOT hurt it or attack, just cornered her. I called animal control and told them that my dog wasn't attacked or harmed, but they went and put a notice in my neighbors mailbox that their dog has been reported as loose. The next day there was a perimeter fence in their yard and that dog has not been an issue since. Problem solved. The one who attacked my dog has been loose ever since I knew it to exist. That one got not only reported, but picked up. I haven't had any issues with that dog since. For some reason, people think they can let their dogs run free. I found out there is a STATEWIDE leash law. That means ANYWHERE that is not your private property your dog must be on a leash. That means anything that your dog does while off leash becomes automatically your fault. Now, since I'm a dog lover and the dog that attacked mine was a beautiful german shepherd, I'm not going to shoot it for the sake of shooting it. It's already attacked, so it's on my (*)(*)(*)(*) list. I'm not out to cause crap with my neighbors, but they need to be responsible owners or they shouldn't have a dog. Oh, I want to say that the 500 dollars I spent on a camera system at my house has absolutely proven invaluable. I originally installed it because we had vandals destroying our mailboxes. Well, low and behold, one night I heard "pop" when a car rode by and went out and saw the mailbox damaged. I checked the cameras, and called the cops. I was able to show them the video. The guy was stupid enough to do it again the next night at the same time. This time, I was ready, I hopped on my motorcycle and chased his ass down the street. While I didn't get a plate, I saw where he turned into a driveway and I went and sat on my bike right in front of that driveway. He saw me and I saw him. I was going to make it clear that this time he got caught. We haven't had an issue since. (oh yea, both nights it was the same white truck). Now, with these dog incidents, I have saved video of these dogs on my carport or attacking my dog. That has absolutely absolved me of any responsibilities because, like when the owner of the attack dog said my dog was in the street, the video clearly showed she was not. So the video is a non-biased witness. I highly recommend people get one.
