BTW - neighbor's dog was in a killing spree, killing my chickens. It would find one, kill it, then go after the next one. When I went to bed the night before, I had 2 dozen laying hens and a couple roosters. By the time the dog was through, I only had the roosters remaining. They were smart enough to fly up into a tree. I was finding chicken carcases for another three or four days.
The dog was killing because it was in its blood, not because it was hungry. County animal control said I had done the county a favor, since they had been trying to catch the dog in the act for over two years. Seems as if it would get out on a regular basis and kill goats, calves, pets, chickens, then run home and get let back into the back yard fence. Just providing a little "justification" for doing what I did.
There's another dog that wanders the area of the county where I live. It's a Great Pyrenees. But you can tell by looking at it that it's not aggressive. When it wandered into our yard, my son suggested using the shotgun. I chased it out using a broom.
Like you, HM, I do love dogs. (Daughter's chihuahua isn't considered a dog in my book. It's a snack!) But if my dogs were out killing other people's chickens, then they deserve killing. Here in rural Texas, it's legal to shoot dogs that are harassing/killing livestock. If they're not aggressive, then it's a judgement call on the land owner. If taken to court, more than likely the land owner will win, unless the dog owner can prove otherwise.
Just thought I'd provide (as Paul Harvey used to say) the rest of the story.
