More dog shooters!!!!

[Tusk Hog]

  Alright guys need some of you computor guys help. Where are the links for the Texas laws on shooting dogs. This dog was less than 100 yards from my fence line and was shot by 3 unsupervised minors. No cattle in this pasture and walked up to a campfire. In a county with a burn ban. Need to be ready with the laws and  how they read. The bad thing is this was a neighbor that only a couple of months ago I took their dog home after it showed up at my place. Go figure!!!!!!!!!!!

[Reuben]

You probably have a good case unless they say the dog was trying to attack them. I would have called the county cops on them.
Sorry about your dog...

[uglydog]

first you have to call the law and file a report as a criminal case of animal cruelty ect. for shooting your dog in a non threatening situation, but call the law. and talk to a lawyer and here is a lawyer that specializes in those cases http://texasdoglawyer.com/ after got done in criminal court I would go to civil court and sue them for anything I could

[Blake F]

Sorry about your dog. Make an exampl out of these people though. We need this kind of stuff all over the news to prevent or detour it from happening again. People should think twice before shooting a non-threatening dog.

[djhogdogger]

This is traggic and awful! Sorry to hear about your dog. 

[Tusk Hog]

  Game Warden has been on top of it, he's handling it great! Slipped up on them this morning. Doing his regular checks. Scared the Jesus out of them. All these shooters are a bunch of juveniles so we will be going that route. The really bad part of this is one of the kids involved, I had his border collie come to my house and I returned him home since he was out of state. This is the thanks I get. Hope the gallows are high!!!!!!!!!!! 

[DSmith]

It wasn't clear to me from the original post, who did the dog belong to?

In regards to the animal cruelty, in the state of Texas, it's not against the law to shoot a dog.  It is against the law to kill one in a cruel and unusual mannor, ie; torture, slow death, drowning, etc.

Not knowing the facts of the case, there could be many variables involved to either make a case in court or not? 

It sounds like the Game Warden is going to follow up on it, so let's hope the outcome is favorable to all.

[MAV]

if those kids got their stand close to the river i would be skeet shooting at daylight right on your property line at every sat and sun morning during deer season. the more i think about it the more it pisses me off that some stupid azz kids would shoot a dog that was walking up to them they have no idea how hard it is to come up with a dog that was as good as him.

[Skeeterkiller]

Sorry to hear that happened to youre dog. I had the same thing happen to me. The only thing I do not know shot my two dogs in Woodville Mississippi. You may try talking with the kids and show them a little about dog hunting so they will under stand how hard it is to replace a dog.

[Doggie]

I have read this several times and it seems pretty black and white that you CAN NOT KILL ANY ANIMAL WITHOUT OWNERS PERMIISSION UNLESS YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR LIFE OR THE LIFE OF YOUR LIVE STOCK IS IN DANGER!     

  Shooting “stray” Dogs and Cats (Penal Code 42.09 Animal Cruelty).  Any person who shoots a non-livestock animal, which includes any stray or feral cat or dog, and a wild living creature previously captured, can be charged with a felony offense.  Penal Code 42.092 of the State of Texas law states that a person must have the owner’s consent to kill the animal (exceptions to prosecution are provided in Section 42.092(e)(1)).  It is clear that a “stray” dog or cat either has no owner or that the person who shoots the animal did not get the owner’s consent.

      Dogs Dangerous to Animals (Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 822 Subchapter B).  The owner or keeper of a dog that the person knows is accustomed to chase or kill livestock, domestic animals, or fowl may not allow the dog to run at large.  The penalty of the owner who allows his dog to run at large is in violation and can be punished with a fine not to exceed $100.  This law became effective in 1989.

      Keeping a Dangerous Dog (Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 822 Sub-Chapter D).  A dangerous dog is defined as one that makes unprovoked attacks or acts like its going to attack a person when it is out of the enclosure which it is being kept.  State of Texas law (Chapter 822.041) states that the owner of a dangerous dog must register the dog with animal control office or the Sheriff Office in areas without an animal control office and restrain the dog at all times on a leash when outside its secure enclosure.  The owner must also purchase a $100,000 liability insurance policy specific for the dog to cover the cost of potential damage to a person.  This law became effective in 1991.


Texas Penal Code 42.09 Animal Cruelty
§ 42.09. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.  (a) A person commits an
offense if the person intentionally or knowingly:
      (1)  tortures an animal;                                                     
      (2)  fails unreasonably to provide necessary food,
care, or shelter for an animal in the person's custody;
      (3)  abandons unreasonably an animal in the person's
custody;               
      (4)  transports or confines an animal in a cruel
manner;                   
      (5)  kills, seriously injures, or administers poison to
an animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats,
belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's
effective consent;
      (6)  causes one animal to fight with another;                                 
      (7)  uses a live animal as a lure in dog race training
or in dog coursing on a racetrack;
      ( 8 )  trips a horse;                                                           
      (9)  injures an animal, other than cattle, horses,
sheep, swine, or goats, belonging to another without legal
authority or the owner's effective consent;  or
      (10)  seriously overworks an animal.                                         
   (b)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the actor was engaged in bona fide experimentation for scientific
research.
   (c)  For purposes of this section:                                             
      (1)  "Abandon" includes abandoning an animal in the
person's custody without making reasonable arrangements for
assumption of custody by another person.
      (2)  "Animal" means a domesticated living creature and
wild living creature previously captured. "Animal" does not include
an uncaptured wild creature or a wild creature whose capture was
accomplished by conduct at issue under this section.
      (3)  "Cruel manner" includes a manner that causes or
permits unjustified or unwarranted pain or suffering.
      (4)  "Custody" includes responsibility for the health,
safety, and welfare of an animal subject to the person's care and
control, regardless of ownership of the animal.
      (5)  "Necessary food, care, or shelter" includes food,
care, or shelter provided to the extent required to maintain the
animal in a state of good health.
      (6)  "Trip" means to use an object to cause a horse to
fall or lose its balance.
   (d)  An offense under Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), ( 9 ), or
(10) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state
jail felony if the person has previously been convicted two times
under this section.
   (e)  It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(5)
that the animal was discovered on the person's property in the act
of or immediately after injuring or killing the person's goats,
sheep, cattle, horses, swine, or poultry and that the person killed
or injured the animal at the time of this discovery.
   (f)  It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)( 8 )
that the actor tripped the horse for the purpose of identifying the
ownership of the horse or giving veterinary care to the horse.
   (g)  It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under this
section that the person had a reasonable fear of bodily injury to
the person or to another by a dangerous wild animal as defined by
Section 822.101, Health and Safety Code.
   (h)  It is an exception to the application of this section
that the conduct engaged in by the actor is a generally accepted and
otherwise lawful:
      (1)  use of an animal if that use occurs solely for the
purpose of:         
         (A)  fishing, hunting, or trapping;  or                                     
         (B)  wildlife control as regulated by state and
federal law;  or           
      (2)  animal husbandry or farming practice involving
livestock.             
   (i)  An offense under Subsection (a)(1), (5), (6), (7), or
( 8 ) is a state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of
the third degree if the person has previously been convicted two
times under this section.

[Reuben]

I have read this several times and it seems pretty black and white that you CAN NOT KILL ANY ANIMAL WITHOUT OWNERS PERMIISSION UNLESS YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR LIFE OR THE LIFE OF YOUR LIVE STOCK IS IN DANGER!     

/quote]

hard to prove the dog or dogs not running livestock if livestock in vicinity. Went to court 2 years ago with lots of what we thought was good facts on our side but the man said the dog was running cows and we showed on video that the dogs were 10% cow broke but the judge ruled against us...She said we should of had the dogs on leash which I think is a bunch of bull...

[Doggie]

hard to prove the dog or dogs not running livestock if livestock in vicinity.

I disagree with this if there is no injured livestock to prove the act of causing bodily injury to livestock.  I just personally feel in the apologetic society we live in judges and juries find it hard to convict a person for shooting a "vicious" hog dog.  This is our fault for not educating the public and  the cold hard fact that there are unethical hog hunters out there that don't care what they run or where they run.  We as doggers that are passionate about our sport should stand together and show our dogs are not the vicious killers they are perceived as by Joe public. 

Tusk Hog, I am truly sorry your dog was shot and hope justice prevails. 

[uglydog]

Here is some cases that may be helpful maybe not, however if you are going to fight it previious cases that have won can help so here is some info that you maybe able to use

Quote:
"The Texas criminal cruelty statute outlines permissible defenses that a person could argue if he were charged with animal cruelty. While a defendant’s actions may technically fall within the cruelty definition, the law does recognize a limited number of circumstances in which injuring or killing an animal is allowable. First, Section 42.09 states clearly that one engaging in bona fide experimentation or scientific research has a viable defense to prosecution under the statute. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 42.09(b).

Second, a person may kill an animal if he is in fear of bodily injury to himself or another person. Id. § 42.09(g). Similarly, in a situation where a person kills or seriously injures someone else’s animal without his consent, the law will not hold the person responsible if the animal was discovered on another’s property immediately after or in the act of killing or injuring livestock or another domestic animal. Id. § 42.09(e). Courts construe these defenses very strictly however. In a case involving a defendant who shot two domestic dogs that were chasing a deer and a fawn, the court refused to extend the defense to him. Bueckner v. Hamel, 886 S.W.2d 368 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1994). The court reasoned that deer are not considered “domestic,” and because the dogs were not chasing a “domestic animal,” the defense did not apply. The defense also tried to argue, albeit unsuccessfully, that the dogs at issue were known to have attacked cattle on previous occasions. The court emphasized that an attack on a protected animal must be in progress, imminent, or recent. Attacks on cattle during prior months were not “recent.”

In another case involving the killing of a dog in defense of a person and property, the court stressed that the danger must be imminent, and a real or apparent necessity must exist to justify killing the animal. City of Garland v. White, 368 S.W.2d 12 (Tex. Civ. App. 1963). In this case, police officers shot and killed a dog that was reported as vicious. However, the dog was killed much later in the day compared to when the reports were originally made, and while the dog was in its owner’s garage and retreating into the house. The court held that the danger posed by the dog must be imminent, and that killing the dog later in the day did not meet this requirement. The court also called attention to the fact the officers did not try to shut door or contain the dog, but rather shot it right away."
So you can see, even police get charged for shooting a dog if the danger isn't imminent. Looking over some of this stuff, perhaps you may be able to get your neighbor charged with animal cruelty for his neglect to keep his animals secured in his own property. As others have suggested, you might want to see what the Sheriff has to say on the matter.

[DSmith]

That's why I asked who'd dog it was?  I wasn't clear from reading the original post. 
And good luck finding a DA that will even take a case of someone shooting a dog on their property if it is not known to have an owner, whether it was threatening someone or not. 
Our judicial system is the best in the world, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to money at the DA's office.

We have solid criminal cases involving real peckerwoods that are thrown out by the magistrate all the time because it's not worth their time or money to prosecute.  So go ahead and take 'em a stray dog that was killed for trepassing on someones's land with no complainant. 

That's a DA that won't get re-elected.

[dub]

I know I had to shoot someone's dog once. We called animal control many times. We had also called deputies out over and over. The dogs were killing other pets and had threatened several people. The problem was that the man knew what his dogs were doing so when they got out he would load them up and leave so when animal control or deputies got here there were no dogs and nobody home.  Finally my friends mom was in her yard with her small dog and granddaughter when the dogs came running in and she grabbed the child and they killed the dog right in front of them. Me and my friend went over many times when we knew he was home but he would never come to the door. Several deputies asked me to shoot the dogs. Finally I shot the alpha dog and they stopped attacking everything that moved.

The point to the story is that even when you can legally shoot a dog does not mean you should.

It is not hard at all to prove they were not threatened or livestock harassed. All it takes is a LEO that cares. All they have to do is ask what happened before telling them the requirments to shoot a dog. Then just catch them with their own words. But you should remain calm, that would be hard for me. If you start threatening them then they are likely to come up with a lie before the cops get there and cops won't like you if you are running your mouth about what needs to happen or threatening the other people. I would talk to that lawyer and I bet he knows way more than me because that is what he does.

[DSmith]

If my dog is just across the fence and is wearing a collar, which mine all do, and gets shot, I'd be upset and make a phone call to the law.  If it's a mile on the other side of a fence and gets shot while running a hog.  I gotta suck it up.  No one loves their dogs more than I do, but it is what it is.  I would hope that the person would not shoot them and would look on the collar and give me a call, but I wouldn't call the law on that one.