Need Advice on ex-neighbor shoots his dogs

 
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This is horrible. Please call the shelters where he got the previous dogs---they should know what happened to them. They will also have someone on staff who can advise you about the laws in your area. Are the police aware he shot and killed two dogs? My best guess is that shooting your dog would be illegal under animal cruelty laws.
 
If he is convicted of animal cruelty, part of his sentence can be that he is not allowed to own a dog again. If he does get a dog it can be immediately seized and he gets to go visit a judge again.
 
This is horrible. Best wishes to you in your efforts to keep animals safe from this pyscho. Please be careful and safe----people who treat dogs like this also have a nasty habit of treating people badly too.
 
 

Unfortunately, shooting one's own dog is not always covered under anti-cruelty laws. The first thing to do is to determine if it is allowed by your state/county/city laws. A locality has always the right to make local  laws tougher than the state ones are so it really depends on where all that is happening.
 
If you want to check what your state says, you can go there : [linkhttp://www.animallaw.info/statutes/topicstatutes/sttoac.htm]http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/topicstatutes/sttoac.htm[/link]
 
If your state law does not cover it, perhaps your municipal ordinances do (or cover something related like discharging a fire arm within the city limits). To check, you can go there : [linkhttp://www.municode.com/resources/online%20Library.asp]http://www.municode.com/resources/online%20Library.asp[/link]
 
A shortcut, just as Polarexpress suggested is just to call the police and the animal control of the county the man now lives in. They should know whether it is an offense or not and what kind. From then on, it becomes a legal matter and that varies so much from place to place.
 
Good luck on your quest to save the next victim. This guy is definitely sick.

polarexpress - I do not know where he got the three dogs shelter or ad in the paper. I do know the the shelters keep a record on who gets dogs from them but I called a shelter sometime back on a different dog and person and they said they don`t keep the records forever and it was not in their data base anymore. If I call on Monday and give his name they should be able to check their records to see if he got any of the three dogs from them as it has not been that long ago.
 
I`m sure the police don`t know anything and I`m not going to be the person who tells them - sorry. I did not see him do this in person and I don`t want to be his next target when he gets drunk. I just want him to never to be able to have another dog.

I would say, yes call all the animal shelters around and notify them to whats going on. I highly doubt thats where he is getting these dogs from though, you can also put out the warning on your local craigslist.

Thalie - We live in a very small town so I`m sure he took the dog out in the country to do the nasty deed as we do have a ordinance that says no discharging a fire arm within city limits.
 
I`ll look at the link to the state laws. Thanks for posting that link. That link is going into favorites.
 

This guy is definitely sick. 

 
You are right about that.  If hes drunk its not good.

That's horrible!  I'd at least call the shelters and let them know.  Then it's on them whether or not to let him adopt, you did your part.  Why does he shoot his dogs?  He just gets sick of them? 

An uncle once shot his dog because it attacked my 18 month old cousin twice (unprovoked).  It was a very, very sad situation since my uncle's dogs are his working companions, but unfortunately it had to be the dog or the baby.  I'm not sure what our state's laws are about that, but my uncle is a DNR officer so if anyone would know it would be him.

40-1-21. Killing or injuring animal of another as misdemeanor--Authorized euthanasia excepted
No person may intentionally kill any animal of any age or value, the property of another, nor intentionally injure any such animal. A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor. This section may not be construed to prevent euthanasia by a licensed veterinarian with proper authority from the animal's owner nor may it prevent acts of euthanasia authorized by this chapter. This section may not be construed to prohibit euthanasia conducted by the municipality or under a municipality's animal control activities. This section may not be construed to prohibit activities conducted under chapter 40-34.
 
This what our state says.
 
Little Anne - This guy has no computer and if he did he would not know of craigslist or even how to use the pc. He doesn`t even have a phone. All his money goes to ? I know booze.
 
The thing I hate the most about this is if I was on my toes here I may have been able to save the last dog. I was told last night that the dog was very thin. Whether the dog had no food or was sick and he didn`t have enough money after getting his beer to take the dog to the vet I don`t know. If he still lived across the street and I would have saw that his Saint Bernard mix was skin and bones I would have called the shelter to come take a look and maybe the dog would still be alive today.
 
Why does he kill them - he gets stinking drunk that is why. He is very strange when he gets drunk. When he is sober he is a very nice guy that would do anything for anybody.
 
But he sould never have another dog in his life time.

 

That is just HORRIBLE!  I hope you get it where he can never have another dog again!  I hope then that that action makes him open his eyes and makes him get help and stop drinking!  I wish the best to you!!!

He sounds like a very scary person to be near. For pets or people.

This is a sad situation. At the very least call the shelters so that route will be blocked in the future. If he gets them from the newspaper, there's not much you can do besides calling the police and filing a report. I know of a man who is somewhat similar. He owns and breeds pointers for hunting. He raises them and trains them for their field trial. If they fail their field trial, he takes them straight to the vet and has them euthanized. Sad I know, but there isn't much that can be done. My uncle has asked the man to let him have the next dog that doesn't pass the trial. At least one life will be saved from this.

that's terrible I got chills when I read your post  what a person I don't know what state you live in but if you're in the city it's definitely against the law to fire a weapon within city limits they can arrest him for that but you'll need a witness 

I've only known 2 people who have shot their dogs.  One was during a terrible hunting accident-dog basically gutted itself on a barbed wire fence.  It was the most humane thing to do to end its suffering.  The second attacked the rancher's livestock (I believe horses) so the dog was taken out behind the barn and disposed of.  To me, these types of situations should be permittable, but shooting a dog just because you no longer want it or are simply drunk should definately be considered animal abuse.

I would definetly call AC...even if they don't do much at least they are aware and onto him, also in case anything worse were to happen at least they will have info that you called.

I totally understand why you don't want to be the one that publicly turns this guy in and be "his next target when he gets drunk."
 
Perhaps a shelter can tell you who to notify ANONYMOUSLY. Perhaps a shelter would be able to follow this up on their own if they have an animal cruelty officer on staff. If not, find out who to contact.
 
For example, the local ACO or is there a local dog-loving cop that you could mail an anonymous note to? I bet a shelter would know.
 
The problem with anonymously calling shelters and saying "don't let him have a dog" is that unless the shelter knows you are a reputable person, they could dismiss what you say. For all they know you could be his mean ex trying to stop him from getting your joint-custody kid a dog....
 
Talk to folks and find out who can investigate and then send them as much info as you can in an anonymous note and maybe they can track it. If you are detailed and specific your anonymous note will carry more weight. Give names/ages/descriptions of the dogs and when he got them and when they died. Give the street name the guy lives on now and then. That way they can see if he had dogs licensed for those addresses. If he does and "Fluffy a one year old mix" was registered one year and not registered the next, they will at least have something to make them wonder what happened to the dog.
 
An idea:
 
Dear Officer Smith,
 
I am very concerned about a person who I believe has shot to death two dogs in the last XY years.  Jane Holstein at the XYZ shelter said you would be the person to contact. In the summer of 2004 John Smith got a dog (named Fluffy or just describe "a small black and white dog")  that was about XX years old. He lived on Sally Lane. In June (or whatever) of 2005 he got drunk and shot Fluffy, killing her.  In 2006 while living on Wendi Street he got a Saint Bernard mix. This dog was thin and poorly cared for when he shot and killed  it in April 2007, also while drunk.
 
John Smith can be a very nice guy, but he is terrifying when he is drunk. I have seen his dogs (thin? neglected? other descriptive word) and I am concerned he will get another dog which he will neglect and possibly kill. Is there some way you can look into this and make sure he can't own another dog?
 
Because John can be so scary when drunk, I am afraid he might do something to me which is why I am sending this to you anonymously.
 
 
***If this guy is nuts when drunk he may already be known to the police for other bad behavior. He may have a record of fighting, DWI, or something else that the police know about. Depending on the size of your town, the cops may have very personal knowledge of his scary behavior when drunk. If so, this may send up a red flag and they will take it seriously.
 
In all of the smaller towns I covered while working for a newspaper, the police knew who was trouble. They broke up fights at bars, domestics, etc. If one of the "known" fellas was the subject of a letter like this they would at the very least check out some of it. Cops see the worst of drunks. They will be able to connect the dots from "this is the psycho who tried to castrate me when sloshed" to "this guy could be killing his dogs."
 
I think making some calls and sending a letter is your best bet--be careful in the letter that you don't give yourself away. If only a few people knew the dog's name, just describe it. Don't give either of his exact street addresses.
 
BTW You said there's a law against discharging a weapon inside town limits---it may not have stopped him if he were drunk. If so and the shots were reported they would be on file and could be connected to your dates. Many times cops respond to shots fired and there's nothing there when they arrive, but it is in the police log. Your local paper may report the police log on a regular basis. It might be worth a look to see if there were any reports of "shots fired" during the months in question.
 
Whew--boy do I have a big mouth.[sm=blush.gif] Sorry if I rambled, this just makes me so sick and I wish I could do something to help.
 
Good luck!