I've said it before and I'll say it again. Yes I love dogs and I will not apologize for that once so ever. I've take plenty of brow beatings because of it. From some prominent members on this board haha! However Troy posted that it was illegal to shoot dogs that didn't pose a threat. So a dog running through your property ismt posing a threat am I correct? So we talk out of both sides of our mouths here. It's ok for us to break the law if it benefits us? Just a month ago we were all in an uproar about the Ferguson mo deal where they were looting. They were breaking the law plain and simple and so are you for shooting dogs. The law is the law whether we like it or not. Shoot a dog or ruin a hunt? I'll let it ruin my hunt. I have learned that if Jesus wants me to kill a deer...I will kill it with no scent blocker clothing with a 223 after chasing off four stray dogs. He is still on the throne and though sometimes we and myself included don't think that everything is truly made by a divine appointment. In short leave the dogs alone and know that God is in control and have faith that your hunt didn't get ruined by a dog!
I don't condone shooting anyone's dogs. That said...
Trespassing is illegal, too. The dogs are trespassing on other people's property. Where's the relief for the landowners who are getting trespassed on by other people's dogs? Maybe there should be a stiff fine for the owners of dogs that are caught on others' property?
the part above about dogs trespassing: don't know about other counties in the state but baldwin county has a leash law. when you "catch" a dog on your property, call the sheriff and have a deputy give you a summons card with a case number. go to courthouse and file paperwork. take dog(s) owner to court.
i tried repeatedly (talked to dog owner til i was blue in the face. neighbor's talked to dog owner also. sheriff deputy went to their house 2 or 3 or 4 times. seriously!!) nothing worked. dogs still roamed free. i honestly got tired of it. never knew when my 2 year old (at that time) would be hurt, or worse. i didn't feel that i should have to "fence-in" my child to keep her safe in her own yard.
i did paperwork (only had one complaint number/case number) on three dogs. court date roles around and dog owner pleads not guilty. wants a trial. went before judge. he told his part. i told my part. guy specifically told judge he retrieved his 3 dogs from my property. guilty. he had to pay the fine and the court cost. after court, i found out that had i had seperate complaints for each of the 3 dogs, it would have cost him major $$. been about a year ago now and have only seen one dog on game camera.
as i stated above about "catching" the dog(s), you can literally catch it(them) or have them on game camera/cell phone pictures. one is just as good as the other, as long as you can clearly identify them and know who the owner is.
this is no different than the trespassing/poaching threads. you can ask politely and if you don't get the response you would like, hit them in the wallet. your time is valuable having to file paperwork and sit in the courtroom, but wouldn't you rather do that and have the problem taken care of? i would imagine 8/10 cases or maybe more would be put to bed when the folks causing the problem have to fork out their hard earned money to the court clerks.
