Update On Dog Problem

Alright. The same officer that has always come out previously came out today. That was good. He knows the history of these people I am dealing with so I didnt have to tell him a lot.

Turns out the people in the brick house on past them out behind me don't like them too much either. The officer tells me he is friends with the guy and talks to him every now and again. He told him that the dog followed his boy up onto their porch and tried to bite him, so he came out with his pistol and tried to shoot the dog. Missed...but tells officer friend that he will get him eventually.

I tell the officer about the shoe, show him the one Ian retrieved the other day from next door neighbors yard, ask him to look for the other that matches while he is over there.

I show him Petes butt. I tell him I wanted to show him in February, but now I can't. I showed him I have several others I want to show that are in pens, and if the dog gets in my fence, he wont be getting out alive.

I told him I have lived out here in the country long enough to know how things work out here. Calling animal control is a courtesy. I tell him to be sure that they know that he is their last and only warning.

I ask him to come back over and tell me what happened, and he said sure will, be right back.

I wait a few minutes and he comes pulling back up. He came back with my other shoe, chewed up pretty good. He says he had to wake her up, she had been asleep! Its almost 2 in the afternoon! So, he tells her the situation. He holds up my shoe and says I had been looking for my other shoe. Tells her the dog has torn out all the butt feathers of one of my show chickens and now he is useless to show. Tells her that she is to be informed that if I catch the dog over here again I will be bringing it back to her, and it wont be alive, and that there is nothing she can do about it. Its the law here. Dogs harrassing and killing livestock can be killed on the livestock owners property, period. The owner has no recourse to retaliate.

She proceeds to tell him that it isnt her dog, that it is her sister in laws dog, that she is staying with them. He says it doesnt matter, it is living with them, so she is responsible. She says she lets the dog out in the morning and didnt know it was going out of the yard. DUHHHH.

He tells me there was about ten other pairs of shoes out there in their yard. Where the hell does she think those shoes came from? Does she think they walked themselves over to their yard? Why are people so stupid.

So, that is that. We will see what happens next. If I catch that dog over here again, well, I will take care of it. For good.

That is the way of the country life folks. Protect your own no matter what you have to do. Out here its every man for himself. I didnt get that at first, but I have learned over time that that is just the way things are here. Got to get tough and have a hard heart.