Cultural Differences

My mother-in-law's dog was shot yesterday. He's still alive, as far as I know, but the outcome is far from clear.

My mother-in-law is understandably upset. This dog is the one she kept when all the others went to other homes after her divorce. She trains him for agility. He's a good natured lab. She's been traveling around the country with him, spending nights in a pop-up camper.

She went to Canada, and left him with a friend in Idaho who lives on 10+ acres. It seems her friend didn't mention his presence to her neighbors, though she had been out walking him so she thought her neighbors had seen him. They had him off-leash, and he went running over to the neighbor's house to see what was going on. There were small children outside. The children were frightened; the dog was excited. They ran inside, and dad came out with a gun. There were two shots. One hit his head, but did not penetrate his skull. The other went through his hips.

My mother-in-law has pronounced the neighbor "psycho." Who knows, maybe he is. And I understand her anger and grief. But I grew up in the country, and even as a pro-gun-control type it is hard for me to assume his response is crazy. Over-the-top, but not unusual in that environment.

Urban people don't realize how common it is, and how frightening it is, to encounter strange animals in the country. When I was a kid we must have taken at least half-a-dozen dogs to the pound, and we took in more cats than that. All had been dumped in the country by owners who couldn't do the right thing and turn them into the SPCA themselves, and instead said "take them to the country, where they can fend for themselves." Being domesticated animals, the first place they went was the nearest house. Some of them were friendly. Some of them we kept. Some of them tried to bite us and were very very frightening. One in particular could not be caught by anyone, spent several days chasing us children, and appeared to be possibly rabid. In the end, I'm pretty sure my dad got out the 22 rifle and dispatched him. He didn't tell us that, but the dog disappeared one day.

We also had a dog that liked to escape and run with the pack. The local dogs would harass local livestock. One day our dog came home with a bullet wound in his side. I remember it clearly; it was quite a sight for a seven-year-old. But the general feeling was: if a dog runs with a pack and harasses livestock, he will get shot. There wasn't moral judgement. One day that dog didn't come home. We always figured somebody shot him.

My mother-in-law has always lived in the big city or in a small town. She's never lived in the country. In most cities, it is misdemeanor animal cruelty to shoot a dog. In the country, though, dogs can be scary. They can harass livestock. They can bite children. I wonder how long my mother-in-law's friend has lived in the country, as I'm assuming she came from a more urban area. Was she naive? Did she not realize how common a reaction this is to a strange dog? I think the neighbor was trigger-happy. He should have checked to see that the dog was wearing a collar; he should have verified it was dangerous before shooting. But the dog's host should have realized that people have stronger responses to strange dogs in the country. In my neighborhood now, a loose dog is a loose pet. When I grew up in the country, a loose dog was a dangerous stray. A loose dog on someone else's property may get shot, especially if someone thinks they are protecting children or other animals.

It is tragic for the dog. Think healing thoughts for him.

Update: Sadly, the dog died Friday night.