The American Beagler Forum

Dog shot, owner outraged
This was in a area paper here in Avon and Danville,,,I'll be sure to pay this man a visit,,,,what a jerk...Shannon
By Jerry Battiste
Westside Flyer

AVON —


AVON — Kyle Richards said he accidentally let his 8-month-old beagle puppy “Mojo” slip out the front door when he came home from work Tuesday night.

Minutes later the dog was dead from multiple shotgun blasts.

According to Richards, who lives near the intersection of County Road 1050 East and Morris Street just outside the Town of Avon, the dog had never run loose before and was too small to pose a threat to anyone. Besides, he said, the dog had only been free for a minute or two before it was shot by a neighbor — not nearly enough time to pose a threat to anything or anyone.

“I had just jumped into my truck to chase it, didn’t even have my tie off yet, when I heard three or four shots,” he said.

Richards’ 10-year-old daughter retrieved the injured animal. A trip to the emergency veterinarian did nothing to revive the dog, which Richards said suffered wounds from a minimum of “15 pieces of buckshot.”

According to Major Mike Hovious, with the Hendricks County Sheriff’s Department, no charges will be filed in the case because the neighbor, who lives a few doors down from Richards, keeps rabbits penned in a cage in his backyard and said the dog was attacking them. Deputies who responded reported evidence that the dog was trying to get into one of the cages.

Hovious said the law is different in unincorporated portions of Hendricks County, where Richards lives, than it is within the towns of Plainfield, Avon, or Brownsburg, where even discharging a firearm can be a violation of local ordinances.

In the past, Hovious said, property owners could use whatever force they deemed needed on animals that trespassed onto their property, but new laws now require them to show just cause first.

“The truth of the matter is, the dog was attacking his rabbits,” Hovious said. “Whether you’re a dog lover or not, that’s enough for him to use deadly force on the animal.”

Richards is not happy that the neighbor won’t face criminal charges and said knowing there is no county ordinance against discharging a weapon in what he calls “a residential area” makes him worried about letting his children play in the neighborhood.

“It’s my fault the dog got out, yes, it is, but he didn’t have to shoot it,” Richards said. “Now I have three inconsolable children who don’t understand why this happened to their dog.”

Hovious agrees a new county ordinance would make things easier for the sheriff’s department, but all the department can do is enforce the laws that exist now.

“This is an issue we deal with on a semi-regular basis,” he said. “But if you live in a new subdivision outside city limits, in an unincorporated part of Hendricks County, there is nothing to prevent you from standing in your backyard, 10 feet from your neighbor’s house and discharging a .357 revolver.”

Hovious said commissioners once considered an ordinance preventing the discharge of firearms in the county, but eventually decided against it.

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People like that make me want do something terribly bad to em
I could promise this he would not have to worry bout them rabbits anymore FU----- Jerk.

“The truth of the matter is, the dog was attacking his rabbits,” Hovious said. “Whether you’re a dog lover or not, that’s enough for him to use deadly force on the animal.”

Yup


Out here live stock is a multi billion dollar industry, and laws such as this are an absolute must. The sheep people in particular have a major problem with stray dogs killing lambs.
Many people simply have no idea of what lambs are worth, and get all upset when a rancher shoots their dog for killing several thousand dollars worth of his stock.

Sorry, but the pup was after his stock.

tom

I don't like people shooting dogs especially if it has a collar with ID. However, it is the dogs owner's responsibility to take care of his pet. The rabbits were in a pen on the man's property. If the dog had been behind a fence there would be no problem. The responsibility lies with the owner.

I just have one question... How in the heck is 8 month old pup going to attack a rabbit in a cage? Is the 8 month old strong enough to rip the wire from the cage and kill the rabbit. And fact of the matter unless this 8 month old pup is some huge breed, it darn well isn't going to be able to reach the cage that most people who raise rabbits have off the ground.

Jimmy, ole buddy, you hit the nail!

Deputies who responded reported evidence that the dog was trying to get into one of the cages.
......Note key word TRYING.......He'll pay for what he done to that pup! Shannon

How in the heck is 8 month old pup going to attack a rabbit in a cage?

Don't kid yourself, now if it had been an 8 week old puppy, I would agree.
But, I have had more than a few 8 month old Beagle pups that could (and would)
rip a rabbit hutch to shreds in a New York second if given the chance.

This dog was 26 weeks old when this pic was taken, (6months, 2weeks)
is there any doubt in anyones mind what he could do to a rabbit


Now if the rabbit owner had been one of us,,, he would have been
standing back saying "now theres a rabbit Dawg" instead of going after his shotgun.

To bad that it happened, but don't fault the rabbit owner, he was just
protecting what is his.
How was he to know the age of the dog,,, how was he to know that it had
only been out for a few seconds,, and how was he to know that it was a
neighbors dog. All those facts don't mean a thing.

tom

I guess the only thing I would have to add to the scenario is that I would have gone (maybe with gun in hand, but I doubt it) over and tried to get the dog off the rabbit hutch. I would obviously know if my neighbor had beagles.... While the owner of the rabbits was completely within legal rights to do what he did, he still has to live next to his neighbor... Maybe there is some previous bad blood between the two of them that the article says nothing about. Maybe the pup has been over there before and done the same thing and the owner of the pup has been given fair warning.......... Not that I like what happened any more than the rest of you, but we don't know the whole story. Once again, the media only prints enough to stir the pot.

Emery

Wasn't there another beagle shot up in Indiana last week by a neighbor over some rabbits? It's starting to sound like a growing trend don't it? I guess I'll have to start trying to teach mine to read no trespassing signs and avoid cages. I never knew a beagle could look so intimidating that anyone would fear for their life though. I get along with my neighbors but it wouldn't pay for someone to shoot my dog if it was the first time it had ever been out [b]according to the article[/b]. I could understand it more if it had been a reoccurring problem and if it was my dog it would never be loose around them again. Just this ol'southern boys opinion but I'm afraid I would have to catch'em out somewhere and show them how much I appreciated it . Court costs for assault and battery would be alot less than the time and money I have in one of my dogs.

Sounds like the shooter was looking for an excuse to shoot his neighbor's dog. My grown trained rabbit attackers often get loose and run to my rabbit pen. They bark and jump up on the pen, but it would take them hours to penatrate the pen and get thru the wire.

Some people seem to beleive that if they are out in the country then they can shoot all they want. In Mississippi when hunting a management area or National Forest it is aginst the law to fire a gun within 400 hundred yards of any building. While this may not apply to private land, I have forbid my neighbors from shooting on their property if they are within 400 yards of my house, barn or dog pens. You may wonder how I enforce my own rule. Let me just say they do not want to deal with this crazy old man.

Ok I agree with some of the statements. But I do not believe passing a no shooting law in the county is the answer. That might end up with no hunting in the county since you can not fire a gun. Also next thing, I will be arrested for shooting an intruder because I fired a gun in city limits to stop him. I think the whole problem is this guy could have prevented this by just going out and grabbing the dog and all would have been ok. jmo, Hunter

im with jimmy and fuzz. must be the ky mafia again. hello jimmy! sam

I'm sure there is more to this mess than meets the eye!!!!!

Crew Chief

Yes the guy can protect his rabbits. But he could have just as easily protected them by catching the beagle pup and returning it to the owner. That jerk is fortunate he does not live in an area like mine. We take care of our own and when an idiot like him moves into the neighborhood it doesn't take long before they are looling for a home somewhere else. Laws are laws and it can be simple to stay within the law and make a fella WANT to live elsewhere.... Dan M

i raise both show newzealand rabbits and beagles just last i run run a part bird dog dog away from my rabbits so i see both sides of this. try telling your kids why they can,t take their 4-h project to there county fair because someone, s dog killed them . a man here gave 4400.00 for a newzealand buck 4 years so they can be worth then pet price to. the bird dog was run off only to return later but after being burned with a paintball gun he never came back. i to would be pissed if someone shot one of my dogs, but i believe you should be able to protect your stock