Who's responsible?

On the news today...a man shot a dog with a bb gun. BB lodged in leg. He had talked to the neighbors about their dog, he had children who were afraid of it and it was constantly coming into his yard. (this is in the country, not the city where animal control is easy to get). Anyway, he talked, his wife had made several phone calls asking them to keep the dog away from their home, they wrote them letters asking the same.

The man is being sued for the dogs vet bill, pain and suffering (for the dog) and emotional distress for the pet owners!

Who really is responsible?

They were warned...kind of petty to shoot a dog that you could probably just shoo away though.

There had to have been a better way for him to handle this. He should be responsible for the vet bill for shooting the dog.

Or taken to the next county! I would have loaded said dog into the truck and taken it to the animal control shelter and turned it in as a lost pet......That'll learn 'um!

It depends on if the dog was on said shooter property if so case dismissed.

Actually the pet owner is responsible to keep control of his dog. Regardless if you live in the country or in town it is the responsiblity of the owner to not let the dog outside of his property.

But now if the man that shot the dog will have to prove the dog was actually on his property when he did it too.

A dog is only as smart as the person training them., its too bad the dog had to suffer, but ya cant blame the neighbor for protecting his family, he did give PLENTY of warning!!!

Spoken like a true Judge Judy!!!!!

I am so on the fence with this. I feel for the dog, I feel NOTHING for the dog's owners. Perhaps the man should pay for the vet bill...pain & suffering and emotional distress...I think those cancel out.

But to shoot a dog just because it was on your property? Was the dog aggressive or attacking people? Call animal control and get someone involved.

http://www.wpxi.com/news/17577135/detail.html

Man Charged With Feeding Dogs Nails, Broken Glass

PITTSBURGH -- Police charged a man with animal cruelty after he confessed to feeding two dogs meatballs that were mixed with nails and broken glass.

On Sunday morning, Deborah Rogers woke up to learn that her dogs, Shadow and Pepper, were not feeling well.

"I took a stick and shoved [the meat] and seen something shiny, and I saw there was glass in there and a bunch of little nails in there, and my dogs had ate some of it," said Rogers.

On Friday, Brett Kolarik, 41, of the North Side, confessed to feeding the materials to the dogs, police said.

Frustrated by what he considered to be nuisance barking, Kolarik allegedly fed the meatballs to the dogs, police said.

Rogers rushed the animals to an emergency clinic where Dr. Kenton Rexford confirmed through X-rays that both dogs did indeed ingest nails and glass.

The doctor said, "We elected as our first step to try to induce vomiting. There is some risk to that because there could be some risk to the esophagus will be damaged as that material comes out."

However, both pets required life-saving surgery to remove the glass and nails.

The Animal Care and Assistance Fund has offered to help raise the necessary funds for the dogs' surgeries. Those who wish to make donations to the ACAF can call 412-348-2588.

Unfortunately the dog had to pay for his owner's stupidity and disrespect for his neighbors and should have to pay for the vet bill himself. This should be a lesson learned for the pet owner! He should also be glad it was just a bb gun and not a double barrel shotgun.. now that is animal control out in the country!

Well in no way am I saying it was the right thing to do. But there are kids involved why were the kids scared of the dog. Most kids take to dogs like fish to water unless there is a reason. No animal should have to suffer. But as far as the vet bill I would make the owner suck up and pay for it due to the fact they had been asked on more then one time to contain their animal they ignored it.

cotton...something like that happening, there's no excuse for what he did.

When it comes to children vs dogs? The children were afraid of the dog whether it was vicious or not.

It also makes me wonder about the owners, if they'd rush the dog to the vet because of a BB, not saying they shouldn't, but if they didn't care where he roamed or what else could happen to him...are they really sueing just for money?

About $125. worth of underground electric fence can fix this problem. Its easy enough that I did it and it works great. Of course when your dog "hits the wire" for the first time its kinda of disturbing to see.

Dog owner at fault.

I find it sickening that people resort to violence. A call to animal control or filing a report with the sheriff office would have been a better way to handle this as far as I think.

The pet owners are responsible for the containment and behavior of their pets. I do think the person should pay for the vet bill.

My first concern is that children where involved!
And thats all the reason I would need. Call me cruel, evil, or mean. But have you ever been attacked by a "he was such a good dog"! Take it from someone thats been on the receiving end of the bite.

And I agree with Grneyedldy luckily it was just a bb gun!

Thats what we did when we lived in the hills; off to the pound they went, and if the dog was vicious and a danger-couldn't be caught-bit or acted like it, he got shot....no nicie nicie letters. Just a verbal time or two to the owners. No one says who did it. Just an unspoken hill law.

I think the dog's lucky alls it got was a BB gun shot...

A man was sentenced to 3 years in prison for killing a kitten. In New york you can serve 1 year in prison for killing a homeless man, and a year of probation. It's not fair, I agree, but animals can't talk for themselves. They are selfless. That dog might have been agressive, but if it was a human being, (would have to be a little special to be running around someone's yard though, lol) no one would have shot him. Called the cops, yes, but no killing methods. So this man was wrong. Animals dont know any better. Maybe the dog had a good reason for visiting. No one will ever know. But Animals deserve more respect than any human! Animals dont lie, steal, cheat, do drugs, etc... What have they ever done but be themselves?