UA-12921627-3 Jump to content

Boxer Shot


celeste

Recommended Posts

My friend told me of an incident that happened when she was staying with friends on the West Coast of Scotland last weekend. Friend she was staying with was out on a hack through the forestry near her home when she heard two gun shots, thinking no more about it she carried on. On returning home she cleaned up and went in for her breakfast, she had just sat down when she heard piercing frantic screaming coming from the cottage a few houses down. She found out later that day that the newly moved in family from London's Boxer had been shot by the farmer of the adjacent farm, apparently the Dad had gotten up that morning and let their 3 yr old dog out into the garden unsupervised, despite there being a hole in the fence which he knew the dog escaped through into the field ,which had ewes and lamb's in, the Dad then went back to bed. When he got up half an hour later he realised the dog had run off again, but decided that there was time for a cup of tea before he bothered to go and look for the dog. He say's he looked into the field from his window but didn't think the dog was there as the sheep were grazing peacefully, so went out to see if he could track the dog down. Unfortunately the dog was in the field and had gathered up the sheep and brought them to outside his garden and had sat and watched them ( bit dubious about that bit) farmer comes along see's dog, tells his 11 yr old son to stay and watch dog until he went home to get his shotgun, he now goes past the owners house, who he knew owned the dog, got his gun, passed the house again, went into the field, shot the dog, which he botched, then chased the injured dog on his quad bike and shot it in the head, he then dumped the dogs body on the peoples front path where their wee girl found him. Police were called, but no charges were handed out, the farmer claims the dog had killed some lamb's in the previous week, but the family claim they and the dog were on holiday then, and if the farmer suspected it was their dog, why the hell didn't he go and have a word with them. The farmers son is now ostracised at school, being a very small community everyone knows everyone else's business, the farmer is also receiving a fair bit of hate mail.

While the Dad was in the wrong for letting the dog escape in the first place and then being so slow to go and find the dog ( being from London he probably didn't appreciate how serious a missing dog is in sheep country) the Farmer was completely out of line, fair enough, he's worried about his sheep, but to pass the dogs house and not even say anything, and then dump the dogs bleeding body on their path is just sick angry.gif

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

being from London he probably didn't appreciate how serious a missing dog is in sheep country

 

I think most people from London (myself included) would appreciate the seriousness of a missing dog around live stock- or just a missing dog in general. It is a tragic situation, but it could have been prevented if the father hadn't been so irresponsible in the first place. But I am sure he is already feeling incredibly guilty as it is.

 

 

The farmer is a f****ng c**t :grrr: :grrr:

 

 

My thoughts exactly. :mecry:

 

If somebody done this to my dog I would be paying them a visit with a shotgun of my own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The farmer is a f****ng c**t :grrr: :grrr:

 

That poor dog, and girl :mecry:

 

I totally disagree with that statement, having seen what a dog can do to a herd of ewes both pregnant and with lambs, it's not a lot of fun clearing up afterwards.

Yes I feel sorry for the girl and the dog, the farmer should not have dumped the dog like that, but the father knew the sheep were there, knew there was a hole in the fence, who knows how many times thedog had been in the field before.

The farmer was protecting his livelihood, don;t know the laws in Scotland but in the UK the outcome with the police would have been the same and possibly a prosecution for the dog owner

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I totally disagree with that statement, having seen what a dog can do to a herd of ewes both pregnant and with lambs, it's not a lot of fun clearing up afterwards.

Yes I feel sorry for the girl and the dog, the farmer should not have dumped the dog like that, but the father knew the sheep were there, knew there was a hole in the fence, who knows how many times thedog had been in the field before.

The farmer was protecting his livelihood, don;t know the laws in Scotland but in the UK the outcome with the police would have been the same and possibly a prosecution for the dog owner

 

Whilst I appreciate that the farmer was protecting the sheep, he apparently walked past the dogs home to get his gun, instead of knocking on the owners and giving them a thorough talking to and a warning. But instead he decided to kill the dog and then leave him/her on the door step for the owners to find, knowing how much upset and pain that would cause them. In my opinion, that makes the aforementioned statement quite accurate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd be the last person to condemn a farmer for protecting their livestock, supposedly the dog hadn't distressed the sheep, whether or not that's true I don't know, but I find it a little hard to believe knowing how excitable Boxer's can be, however, the fact the farmer would have been quicker at getting the dog away from his sheep by alerting the owners rather than driving back to the farmhouse ( 30 min round trip by quad) is what gets me. The owner also has a big chunk of blame too, how long would it have taken to fix the fence.

 

Apparently the laws are a bit different in Scotland, farmers can't just shoot a dog for being in a field with stock, the dog has to be actively chasing or mauling the animals before they can be shot.

I just wonder if part of the farmers reason for his actions was racism sad.gif.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fraid so, a lot of small communities will give, what they term " white settlers" the cold shoulder, although from what I've been told this wasn't the case with the majority of the locals, but it's felt to be quite likely with this particular farmer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a sad tale with a tragic end for the dog and the child of the family. However, there has to be accountability on both sides, that of the farmer who was protecting his livliehood but went about it in a cruel way when he could have approached the family to control the dog unless it was actually chasing and attacking the lambs and ewes at the time (the description doesn't sound as if it was). The dogs owner is, in my view, most accountable, however. He knew the dog was out, he knew there was livestock close by and seems to have taken his time before looking for the dog. Where does common sense prevail as a caring responsible dog owner. Even for 'townies' did he not worry about his dog straying in an area new to him? Did he think his dog was going to play with the sheep or any other livestock in the area? He doesn't appear to have had much thought for ensuring the safety of his pet and has paid a very high price.

This kind of thoughtlessness can have such sad consequences; having lived in both rural areas and coastal regions I've seen people walking dogs on cliff paths and being totally shocked when their dog chases a rabbit and goes over the cliff edge or falls into the sea because they are off lead and run off the promenade at high tide and get swept away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

how very sad :mecry: yes there is blame on the owners part for the dog escaping but as you say if the farmer thought their dog had been worrying the sheep the previous week then he should have said something..... also why would you leave your young son in a field with a dog that was worrying your stock :unsure:

i hope that poor little girl can get over seeing her pets body dumped on the path..... don't know that i would

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair enough he caught the dog worrying his sheep he had the right to shoot it but he could have kept the body and made sure he spoke to the owner and returned the body or left it where he fell rather than picking him up and dumping the body for a child to find!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

was it "reported" that the farmer left his young son there to go and get his gun etc or is it fact? most farmers will shoot a dog on sight if it is worrying sheep,and ordinary pet dogs can devastate a flock by just playfully chasing them, but this story sounds a bit fishy to me. Either the facts have not been reported correctly,easily done by word of mouth,or the farmer is particularly nasty.I think the owner has to shoulder the blame for what happened to his dog.x

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...