#neighborissues #propertydispute #dogfight #neighborshootdog
š¾ Dealing with a situation where a neighbor shoots your dog on your property can be incredibly distressing. Not only have you lost a beloved pet, but you are now faced with a difficult and potentially hostile situation with your neighbor. It’s important to know your rights and explore your options in a calm and collected manner. Here’s a guide to help you navigate through this challenging time:
## Understanding Your Rights
1. **Property Rights**: It’s crucial to know that as a property owner, you have the right to control what happens on your property. Your neighbor shooting your dog on your property without your consent is a violation of your property rights.
2. **Animal Cruelty Laws**: In many jurisdictions, there are laws that protect animals from cruelty and abuse. Shooting a dog without just cause can be considered a violation of these laws.
3. **Civil Liability**: Your neighbor could potentially be held civilly liable for the harm caused to your dog. This could include compensation for veterinary bills, emotional distress, and loss of companionship.
## Steps to Take
1. **Document Everything**: Keep detailed records of the incident, including dates, times, and any communication with your neighbor. Take photos of any evidence, such as your dog’s injuries or the scene where the incident occurred.
2. **Contact Law Enforcement**: Report the incident to the police or animal control. Provide them with all the information you have gathered and let them handle the investigation.
3. **Consult with Legal Counsel**: It may be beneficial to seek legal advice to understand your options and rights in this situation. A lawyer can guide you on the best course of action to take.
## Dealing with Your Neighbor
1. **Maintain Distance**: It’s understandable that you may not want to interact with your neighbor after such an upsetting incident. It’s important to prioritize your emotional well-being and safety.
2. **Set Boundaries**: Clearly communicate to your neighbor that their dogs are not welcome on your property. Consider installing fencing or other barriers to prevent further incursions.
3. **Seek Mediation**: If you feel comfortable, you can explore the option of mediation to resolve the conflict amicably. A neutral third party can help facilitate a dialogue and find a mutually agreeable solution.
## Moving Forward
1. **Grieve for Your Dog**: Take the time to grieve the loss of your beloved pet. Seek support from friends, family, or a therapist to help you process your emotions.
2. **Focus on Your Family**: With a newborn baby to care for, it’s important to prioritize your family’s well-being. Create a safe and peaceful environment for your child to thrive.
3. **Stay Informed**: Stay informed about your legal rights and options as the situation develops. Knowledge is power, and being aware of your rights can help you navigate through this challenging situation.
In conclusion, having a neighbor shoot your dog on your property is a traumatic experience that requires careful handling. Remember to prioritize your well-being, seek legal guidance, and take steps to protect yourself and your family moving forward. It’s important to address the situation with a clear mind and a focus on finding a resolution that upholds your rights and values. Stay strong and know that you are not alone in facing this difficult situation. #legalrights #neighborconflict #petloss
So so sorry you had to deal with that. I agree with the other poster that you should escalate this to law enforcement, especially if he/the dogs were on your property when he shot your pet.
NAL From what I understand, since your dog was attacked on your property you will not be responsible if your neighbor decided to come at you for vet bills.
However, dogs are only considered property so you can take them to small claims court to get the value of your dog. I’m not sure how a civil case for emotional distress would work though.
Once again I am not a lawyer.
Call the cops. The neighbour could be charge with trespassing and firearms violations depending on which state your in.
NAL and I hope a lawyer replies soon, and I suspect their answer will be highly location dependent.
Dogs are often considered property, and it it your responsibility to secure your Dog (fence, leash, indoors) so that it does not attack others. On the other hand the neighbor has the same responsibility for his dogs, which sound like they were off the leash and trespassing on your property.
The 2 big questions will be:
1. Where are you and what are the exact laws for that location
2. Do you want to engage legal action and ruin your relationship with this neighbor, or do you want to find some sort of neighborhood peace after this?
I hope someone can come on with a more technical answer soon.
OP, I am sorry for your loss and the terrible event you witnessed, and also congratulations on your baby. It must be a difficult combination of emotions.
Who’s at fault depends on several factors, such as who first attacked whom and if the neighbor had his dog on a leash at the time of the attack.
Do you live in city limits? Depending on your state your neighbor may have committed some serious firearm related crimes. You should probably report this to the cops.
What outcome are you hoping for?
Criminal charges against your neighbor: Call the cops. How this plays out will depend heavily on your jurisdiction, but from these facts it sounds like you have virtually nothing to lose by getting an actual police report filed about this and beginning to create a paper trail.
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Civil litigation against your neighbor: Call an attorney, but be prepared for a tough conversation. Dogs are property like an XBOX or a phone in the eyes of the law, and basically all jurisdictions have extremely high threshholds to claim beyond compensatory damages, but different jurisdictions have different elements required for things like intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.
Call the cops. His dog trespassed on you property. He trespassed onto your property. He shot your dog on your property. I would respond with a restraining order, lawsuit and press charges.
Dogs running loose can be extremely dangerous. Some entered a barn I used to work at and mauled a potbelly pig to death who was just minding his own business…it was a bloodbath. Depending on your state, it may be entirely within your rights to shoot any trespassing dogs in order to protect your property. Even if you have no intention of actually shooting them, maybe the police can drop that message to your neighbor and he might be more careful about where his dogs go.
Put up a fence. You donāt want to interact with the neighbor or his dogs again. Taking him to court, calling the cops, all the other āsolutionsā I am seeing will just guarantee more interactions, not less. Truism: Good fences make good neighbors.
NAL
Crimes your neighbor may have committed depending on state:
– destruction of property
– trespassing
And Posssibly – possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony
To elaborate on the last point, some states will bump up criminal mischief to a felony if the damages exceed certain amounts. In New York Iām pretty sure if the damage is above $1500 itās a felony. Depending on the value of your dog (I know some breeds are exceptionally expensive) and any other damage they might be able to get him for that as well.
NAL. In most states dogs are considered property. This becomes important because the dog was shot on his property fighting another unattended dog. This becomes an issue of negligent discharge of a firearm, since the neighbor shot the dog not to defend a life (his or anyone else), but to defend property. Property that was not where it was supposed to be, engaged in activity it wasn’t permitted to be involved in. Contact the authorities. The dog fight is one issue, the shooting at property within 50 feet of a dwelling is another… Legally it’s the same as his coming outside and shooting your car.
If someone comes on to your property and shoots anything you call the police.
Ask your neighbor to build a new, dog-proof fence and replace your dog with a new pup.
It is absolutely disgusting what he did to you and your dog and he needs to make it up to you.
Otherwise let the law deal with him, to the full extent possible.
I wish more gun owners carried pepperspray. That likely would have resolved the dog fight pretty quickly. It’s the only responsible thing to do if you also carry a lethal weapon.
So sorry that this happened. I hope you took advice and called cops to charge neighbor. No matter what, his dog came into your property so any attack your dog did may have been in defense. Either way, his dog trespassed. He and his dog trespassed and thus he had no right to shoot and kill your dog.
Please file a police report
Question; when you said you built a pen in your backyard for your dog, is your backyard fenced in? If so, the fence your dog dug a hole under, was that under the pen, or the fence around your backyard? Meaning when he dug under the fence and got out, he was still fenced inside your backyard? Or was this hole allowing him to get into your neighbor’s backyard?
My first move would be criminal. Defense of my dog usually isn’t a legally valid reason to discharge a firearm in a populated area. Now if HE was being attacked that’s different, but it already sounds like he’s probably committed a firearms offense against a law that exists specifically to curtail people from jumping straight to a gun every time something mildly stressful happens that shouldn’t warrant a gun (i.e. a common dog fight).
Unfortunately you’re pretty unlikely to get anywhere in a civil battle, the law tends to treat animals as property. Unless you can prove your dog had a significant financial value, you’re not likely to gain anything suing him in this. However, pursuing criminal charges against this incident would be highly advisable as the majority of firearms related injuries and property damage in the US result from negligent and irresponsible usage and not from intentional gun violence… And this would be precisely one of those situations. Pursuing such charges can often feel fruitless and like you’re just being vindictive because you don’t get anything out of it (certainly won’t undo the damage done), but it’s important to remember that it also discourages repeats of this tragic incident.
Call the cops. That would be an automatic felony here. Iām so sorry.
call the cops