My dog has just done the worst thing

[93sdb]

Hes just chased a sheep into a pond in the snow. Im heartbroken.

When he was younger he chased sheep before and he has ALWAYS been on a lead since then. Sheep or not.

We were walking down a field a walk through daily that has never had sheep in in the 20 years I've lived here. He was on his extendable lead and it was on loose but he was right next to me. I opened the gate to go through and felt him pull on the lead. Saw the sheep and put the clip on so he couldn't get any closer and the lead snapped. He chased the sheep and would not come back. One jumped into a pond and I finally got him back.

Another girl from the house nearby helped me get the sheep out but it went into shock but was still breathing. I put my coat around it and sat with her whilst she called the farmer and another lad came over and said the farmer was going to be furious as this had happened earlier this morning. I gave them my number said I would pay any vet bills etc and left it with my coat wrapped around it.

The farmer has just called and spoken to my dad as I was too upset. He's shouted at my dad (understandably) and is threatening to get the police involved and wants immediate compensation and threatened to come and shoot my dog. The sheep is alive and is warming back up in this man's house and is expected to make a full recovery and I am going to walk up there later (WITHOUT THE DOG) to check on it.

I just wanted somewhere to write and be devestated. Im upset how the farmer spoke to my dad as it was a complete and utter accident but I understand his frustration. I wouldn't of even walked in the field with my dog if I had any clue there was going to be sheep in there. He hasn't got excited around them since the first time but I would never risk it.

[quote MrsHusky]@Notgoingouttoday no, the dog musn't stay on the footpath, YOU have to, the dog does not.

The Dog doesn't even HAVE to be on a lead while being walked on a PRoW, unless the place is subject to a PSPO, in which case it would legally have to be signposted as such.

While its strongly advised that dogs be kept on a leash around livestock to protect all parties involved, and there are obviously legal consequences if a dog worries or attacks livestock or other people, as its illegal to do that, or to have your dog be a danger in a public place, its not a legal requirement to leash them without a PSPO in place.. you just have to hope dog walkers have some common sense.

www.gov.uk/control-dog-public[/quote]
So its ok for me to let my dog wander of the pavement into your garden providing I don't go with it?

Has your garden got a public footpath through it?

@derxa - Taking someone to court is fair enough. That’s a completely legitimate way to deal with a dispute and for the farmer to be financially compensated. Threatening to shoot someone’s dog for revenge isn’t.

Why should farmers be allowed to act like thugs? The law wouldn’t be on my side if I threatened someone with a gun because I had incurred a business loss - why should a farmer get away with it?

@Mischance - What a awful place you must live in. Backward, primitive.
Why would anyone tolerate that sort of terrorism?

No - not an awful place - it is a farming community, reliant on the safety of their stock to make a living - just as the whole nation is reliant on food production.

It only takes one incident with a dog and one sheep and many in the flock can miscarry.

There is a grim photo on our local website of a sheep whose guts have been torn out by a dog. It is serious stuff.

Of course, no farmer would ever see it like that because they only see animals in terms of financial worth. Obviously.

I can understand why, as they would need to be seriously detached from an animal in order to kill it. They become desensitised in the same way that soldiers do, I suppose.

But just because they see life as cheap, it doesn’t justify shooting a dog as an act of revenge. I can’t believe that anyone in a civilised society would support this.

@Mischance - Yes, just as I am reliant on parents not breaching the terms of their contracts to make a living from my business.

But if they do, I have to follow a legal process to recover my financial losses. I can’t threaten to shoot someone. That’s how a civilised society works.

I take it you're vegan, EYProvider.

The farmers do not shoot "someone" - they shoot a dog - an animal; not a human being. They are following the law.

It is legal for a farmer to shoot a dog that is worrying their sheep; it is not legal to shoot a human being.

And sheep farmers would be the first to say how much they rely on their dogs - they are not dog-haters. Shooting a dog is for them a last resort.

@Mischance

The farmers do not shoot "someone" - they shoot a dog - an animal; not a human being. They are following the law.

It is legal for a farmer to shoot a dog that is worrying their sheep; it is not legal to shoot a human being.

And sheep farmers would be the first to say how much they rely on their dogs - they are not dog-haters. Shooting a dog is for them a last resort.

Human beings are animals. Dogs are animals. Dogs are not human beings.

As an animal lover I see animals as a 'someone' and find the assertion of an animal as 'something' to be quite offensive. I know animals do not have equal rights to human beings but surely we are all worthy of equal consideration?

Also in some instances a court may deem the shooting of another human being as legal.

@tenbananasaday - Yes, in an act of self defence. Not revenge over the loss of a business asset.

Unless you think it is ok to live by the rules of the Wild West. I accept that’s how it is in farming communities - plenty of people on here think it’s absolutely justified. But I think it’s backwards and primitive.

@Mischance - This particular farmer threatened to come to the OP’s house and shoot her dog.

That’s not a last resort - it’s a cold blooded act of revenge. That’s a monster who sees animal life (except that he deems as a business asset) as disposable.

Why should farmers be allowed to act like thugs? The law wouldn’t be on my side if I threatened someone with a gun because I had incurred a business loss - why should a farmer get away with it?
Unfortunately the Op I suspect is a bit of a stretch of the truth.

Agreed!

@Notgoingouttoday

Funnily enough.. my front garden is basically

House
Grass
Wall
Grass
Pavement

And there are ALWAYS dogs walking on that strip of grass (used to be a flowerbed but we turfed over it) between the wall and pavement, and they use it as a toilet.
Technically they're 'trespassing', but it doesn't bother me, i wasn't bothered at my old house if peoples dogs wandered on the front lawn there if they were off leash either... its just grass, as long as people pick up their dogshit if they poo on it, i dont care.

It baffles me that anyone would be bothered by it.

For those of you wondering why the farmer reacted the way he did:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3483863/amp/Flock-100-sheep-worth-17-000-worried-death-dogs-spooked-rushing-corner-field-crushed-died-shock.html

cerealgamechanger - exactly.

And it is not just the financial worth - sheep in these situations suffer dreadfully. We see appalling photos on our local website.

@cerealgamechanger - That’s very sad, but how would shooting a dog in revenge help the farmer or the sheep?

It’s not like the dog’s actions were premeditated. The dog was just acting like a dog.

And even that is a better death than being herded from a lorry into an abattoir to be slaughtered in cold blood - which no farmer has a problem with.

[quote EYProvider]@cerealgamechanger - That’s very sad, but how would shooting a dog in revenge help the farmer or the sheep?

It’s not like the dog’s actions were premeditated. The dog was just acting like a dog.[/quote]

It wouldn't but if you see it from his POV, he was probably worried/pissed off/panicked about the impact of this incident on the rest of the flock. None of this was the OPs fault but this whole thing just goes to show how something that seems so innocuous, has the potential to cause lots of damage.

FWIW, I'm not an animal person- can just about stand humans- but seeing all those dead sheep and reading about how they died is really upsetting.

I've certainly learned something tonight- I didn't know 'flock shock' was a thing (poor sheep) and had no idea there was such a thing as dog insurance to protect against something like this.

@Mischance

cerealgamechanger - exactly.

And it is not just the financial worth - sheep in these situations suffer dreadfully. We see appalling photos on our local website.

I'm really sad to read this. As mentioned below, I'm not an animal person but the thought of an animal being so scared that the shock of whatever it is will kill it/cause the rest of the flock to become shocked and abort any lambs is heartbreaking.

• What a awful place you must live in.

Backward, primitive.

Why would anyone tolerate that sort of terrorism?*

Yes, it is awful that some people are so ignorant of uncaring as to let their dogs terrorise and often other living creatures, and the dogs and livestock then pay the price for it.

(I'm not talking about the OP, she did know better and the lead breaking was an unfortunate accident and she did what she could to mitigate it.)

[quote MrsHusky]@Notgoingouttoday no, the dog musn't stay on the footpath, YOU have to, the dog does not.

The Dog doesn't even HAVE to be on a lead while being walked on a PRoW, unless the place is subject to a PSPO, in which case it would legally have to be signposted as such.

While its strongly advised that dogs be kept on a leash around livestock to protect all parties involved, and there are obviously legal consequences if a dog worries or attacks livestock or other people, as its illegal to do that, or to have your dog be a danger in a public place, its not a legal requirement to leash them without a PSPO in place.. you just have to hope dog walkers have some common sense.

www.gov.uk/control-dog-public[/quote]
You are wilfully misrepresenting what the legislation says.

What you're quoting has nothing whatsoever to do with public footpaths through private property.

www.environmentlaw.org.uk/rte.asp?id=207

That tells you what the regulations are around dog walking on public rights of way.

Footpaths
This public right of way is meant for pedestrians only. You are allowed to walk your dog as long as it is under your close control. When walking a dog, you must ensure that it keeps to the public footpath and does not trespass into nearby properties. Prams, pushchair or wheelchairs can also be used on a footpath.

@ErrolTheDragon - The point is, the farmer only cares about the monetary value of his living creatures, which are no more to him than business assets.

No one who cares about a living creature could shoot a dog in cold blood. And to do so as an act of revenge is a crime equal to murder in my opinion.

It’s very interesting to me that the responses on here from people who in live in farming communities can’t grasp this viewpoint at all. When you kill animals for a living, you obviously become desensitised to death and suffering.

I don't think you've grasped the viewpoint of farmers who've posted here, who very obviously don't just view their livestock as 'business assets'. (Derxa, for instance - she's one name I recognise from posts over the years who is about as far from your caricature as I can imagine.)

The fault in dogs getting shot is squarely on the shoulders of the owners who don't control them properly. I don't think farmers routinely shoot dogs in cold blood - they do so to defend sometimes many other animals. A flock of pregnant ewes, for instance.

The farmer in the OP hasn't, afaik, actually marched round and shot the OPs dog. That sounded like a stupid thing said in the heat of the moment, not a cold blooded action. The OP, I think, understands this.

I'm a dog owner, not a farmer btw.