Country Code and Shooting Dogs

photo by Kathryn Scott

My dad never killed a dog while I was growing up. A few times he had to jump into his pickup and go run dogs off that were chasing the cattle.

It's the country code. If your dog chases livestock, he is guilty of a capital crime. Horses attempting to flee barking, snarling dogs often break legs. Cattle being chased run and burn off weight, often being off their feed for awhile. Sheep crash into fences and hurt themselves and the list goes on. A livestock chasing dog costs the farmer money, sometimes a lot, and they escalate and begin killing sheep and goats.

Dogs that chase chickens usually catch them and kill them. The attack also stresses out the rest of the flock causing hens to stop laying and molt. These dogs usually get three strikes. The punishment the first two times, is harsh enough. The dog is sentenced to having the decomposing chicken tied around his neck until it rots and falls off. Kind of an echo of Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

If your dog is chasing your neighbor's livestock, he is expected to shoot it. He has no choice. It is rare that shooting your neighbor's dog for chasing your livestock affects your relationship with your neighbor.

Once, when I was hitchhiking in Oregon, I got a ride from an old farmer. He was a very sad man and he broke down in sobbing a couple of times. He told me he just had to shoot his dog for chasing his neighbor's cows. It broke his heart; he'd had the dog for eight years.

The other night, I was sitting on the deck when the woman next door, Trish, appeared out of the darkness. I had a hard time shutting up my dogs so I could hear what she was saying. Our dog had attacked their dog and they shot it. It was bleeding badly and they wanted me to come get him. The only dog that wasn't on the deck with me was supposed to be in the fenced back yard.

I followed them to their house, where my grandson's yearling American Stratfordshire dog, Chompers was bleeding all over the place and playing with their border collie. Trish's husband Brady told me he stepped out on his porch and gave his dog a bone. A few minutes later he heard a dog fight and he and Trish ran to see what was going on. Chompers had their dog by the back of the neck and was shaking it. They tried to separate them, but couldn't, since Chompers didn't have a collar on. Brady called for his son to grab the BB gun. The shotgun was right next to the BB gun, but the son grabbed his pellet gun, probably sparing Chompers' life. He ran out and shot Chompers at point blank range. Chompers broke off his attack.

I couldn't catch Chompers because he was in such a playful mood and didn't have that collar. I borrowed a lead and it took me twenty minutes to get Chomper home. As it turned out, the wound was a through and through and, although Chompers lost a lot of blood, he wasn't critically wounded.

Our neighbors were very apologetic, but it wasn't their fault--it was the Code--and Chompers dodged a bullet. Literally.

Stephen