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The unfortunate shooting of two pets[
unlicensed unvaccinated untagged unfed ]in Exeter Township underscores the obligations of both pet owners and property owners.
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Dog incident holds potential lessons
The best that can be said of unfortunate incidents is that they sometimes hold lessons for us all.
Such is the case of the shooting of two dogs owned by Daphnia Davis of Ash Township at the hands of neighbor Jan Jay.
More than likely a very Nice Person .Who lives more than a Mile away .
Mr. Jay shot the dogs on his Exeter Township property, fearing they were going after him or his livestock.
Dogs had goose in mouth under paw in the goose pen .Was run of by yelling and chinking on head , then leaving property .911 called on non emergency number . Told 911 will not take call must call animal control , remember this happened on Martin L King day AC closed .Demanded to speak to supervisor and did so advised he would speak with LT. MCSD .
Mrs. Davis contends Mr. Jay was cruel, used excessive force and should be charged with a crime.
The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office reviewed the case and determined no crime had been committed.
The dogs were shot on Mr.
Jay’s property and he has a right to do that under a 1919 law, prosecutors said.
Obviously, there are high emotions on both sides of this issue. On the one hand, no one wants to see their pets harmed. By her account, Mrs. Davis’ dogs are gentle and the chances that they would have harmed Mr. Jay or his geese are remote.
Even so, Mr. Jay wasn’t familiar with the dogs and wouldn’t have known their dispositions when they showed up on his property.
They apparently were undeterred after he hit them with a rake and menaced him. Also, anyone who has livestock and lives in rural areas of the county can understand the frustration of losing valuable animals at the hands of stray dogs or other marauding critters.
Anyone who has dogs knows that they can sometimes get loose and stray from their owner’s property.
Indeed, one of Mrs. Davis’ wounded animals was picked up by Monroe County Animal Control after Mr. Jay called 911. Apparently, they had been missing from Mrs.
Davis’ home for a while.
CCTV at farm showed dogs for over four days before MLK day .not viewed until after . No reason to.
One of the dogs might be blinded in one eye from being shot. Both dogs needed medical care. But the outcome could have been worse. Mr. Jay could have tracked the dogs after the shooting and made sure to kill them.
Would of been illegal police notified .
Or, they might have injured him or his geese. No one knows for sure.
What is sure is that pet owners have the responsibility to keep their animals under control and are responsible for the consequences of any injury or damage to others they may cause. Mrs.
Davis might have recovered her pets sooner — or perhaps they wouldn’t have been shot at to begin with — if they were wearing animal licenses as the law requires.
It’s tempting to interpret Mr. Jay’s response as overreaction, but it’s also easy to second-guess under such circumstances. A larger question might be whether Mr. Jay, or anyone else for that matter, needs to use a gun to repel marauding animals or whether any number of chemical repellents might be less destructive or traumatic, but more effective and appropriate, if they are at hand when needed.
Regardless, both pet and livestock owners can take lessons from this unfortunate episode that will prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
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Copyright 2010 Monroe Publishing Co. 02/01/2010[/align]
