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I have lived in NE Oregon for the last 4 yrs, and it is a constant problem out here for both dogs, and cats. Till I dumped FB I was on a pet lovers group where many folks said that this is the worst area for roaming pets that they have ever lived in.
The paper in the larger town over had an article on the animal control officers that cover the smaller towns also. They do a commendable job but the article mentioned a pit bull that was constantly getting loose, and had killed 7 different cats in the area that had 3 different owners. All that carnage only gathered a warning, and not an impoundment.
Pets are constantly getting hit by speeding cars since two two lane highways intersect in town, and speed limits are pretty much ignored. Some creeps go out of their way to hit animals. Anyway, yes it is a problem here which is considered rural. It is also dangerous when you are walking your dog, and dogs at large come after your dog. As much as I love walking, I've come to dread it because of the dog problem. Or I should say the owner problem. Pepper spray is my friend.
And yes, we also have the usual coyotes, wolves, great horned owls, foxes, rattlesnakes, golden eagles, and hawks. And who knows what else.
I can relate. Where our property is, there are rules about keeping your dog contained. Keep it on your lot, or on a leash. And yet...there are always loose dogs. One time, I was walking my dog, and 2 big shepherd type dogs came charging at us from their yard.
I was so scared, I just yanked my dog up by the leash, didn't even think if I was choking him, I just was trying to get him off the ground. I was kicking at the other 2 dogs who were trying to charge us. Finally one of the neighbors came and scared the 2 other dogs off, and then some guy comes out of his trailer and calls his dogs home and asks if everything was OK.
Well, no, everything is NOT OK. My heart is beating out of my chest and I nearly strangled MY dog, who was about to become lunch to two other dogs.
Not every dog out there is a stray from a neighboring farm. We have roaming dogs within our gates just as well.
I can relate. Where our property is, there are rules about keeping your dog contained. Keep it on your lot, or on a leash. And yet...there are always loose dogs. One time, I was walking my dog, and 2 big shepherd type dogs came charging at us from their yard.
I was so scared, I just yanked my dog up by the leash, didn't even think if I was choking him, I just was trying to get him off the ground. I was kicking at the other 2 dogs who were trying to charge us. Finally one of the neighbors came and scared the 2 other dogs off, and then some guy comes out of his trailer and calls his dogs home and asks if everything was OK.
Well, no, everything is NOT OK. My heart is beating out of my chest and I nearly strangled MY dog, who was about to become lunch to two other dogs.
Not every dog out there is a stray from a neighboring farm. We have roaming dogs within our gates just as well.
That had to have been terrorizing. It's good that they didn't come after you, and bite you, or your pup. We can be pretty helpless out there on our own. An elderly neighbor man told me a horrible story of how their two German shorthair pointers years ago tore a poor little poodle dog in pieces that had innocently wandered into their yard when the people weren't home. I can't imagine. I think our small dogs look like prey animals to the larger dogs.
I've posted a link to Red Sabre pepper gel before on here. Got it several times on Amazon. I'd post it again but don't want people to think I have stock in the company, lol. But I've been very happy with it. It's very strong, and stops them in their tracks. I use it as a last resort when yelling, and throwing a fit doesn't work. Just don't spray into the wind, or you will be in agony.
This thread is rather horrifying to me. I live in New England, where almost everyone (well, everyone with a WORKING BRAIN) spays or neuters their animals. In my specific area (southwestern New Hampshire), we have so few adoptable animals (especially dogs) that our shelters import them from elsewhere (very often from down south).
I have literally NEVER seen a dog roaming around off-leash in my 10+ years in this town. I HAVE seen a few cats, and I hate seeing them outside, but the ones I've seen, I know who their owners are at least, and so far they've been lucky.
The mentality of pets being so disposable is just horrific to me, and sad beyond words.
... Submariner, I love so many of your posts, but I am totally horrified by this. Why do you let them go outside if you know they will be "coyote feed"?
This is not an uncommon attitude here in New England.
Sometimes we have had a cat who will do just fine for many years, even against the hawks and coyotes.
I imagine that you likely live in a city where you seldom see wildlife [eagles or hawks].
Since living here I have had to stop my car twice for beaver. They cut down trees and try to drag their trees across the road toward the river. Obviously I must stop my car [or else hit the tree], but after that the best option I can see is to go out and help the beaver to drag its conquest across the pavement.
Utterly disgusting attitudes. And I say that as someone who NEVER lets her cats go outside, which means they bother no one. Our screened porch is as close to nature as they get, and that is when Mom is nearby.
I would hate having cats spray on my car, but holy crap, I'm not going to SHOOT THEM for that.
Submariner, I love so many of your posts, but I am totally horrified by this. Why do you let them go outside if you know they will be "coyote feed"?
I'm not going to speak for submariner, but on a farm there are three types of cats - barn cats, pet cats, and feral cats. Feral cats are effectively wild (some are offspring of barn cats) and live and die according to nature. If they are a pest, they are eliminated like any other pest. Barn cats get some feed and a place to live, but are expected to work for a living catching rodents and other pests. Sometimes they get stepped on by a cow (not a pretty sight) but that is their life and they can be part of what makes a farm successful without resorting to other methods of rodent control. A pet cat or house cat never gets to go outside. It might catch a mouse or two, but it lives upon largesse.
I don't have need of a feral cat or an outside cat, I have hawks and foxes and racoons and other critters in the local ecosystem that do the job, however some people who have animal feed or livestock may have need of a good mouser that prefers the outdoors. Coyotes are just part of that existence.
Emotional attachment is another story. When you have a pet and are emotionally attached, protecting your pet, even against natural causes of death, becomes a priority. If you are "mom" to your pet cats, not only are you attached, but have anthropomorphized enough that the line between a pet and a child is blurred.
On an individual basis, that is not a big deal. However, when large groups of people only use their emotions to guide laws and social mores, the results can be a mixed bag. The general laws here are dogs can be penned but not chained and may not be loose except under direct leash control, a smart and kind law IMO, especially since there have been a couple recent incidents of women being mauled to death by neighborhood dogs. That emotional impact created by those events forced the needed law, even though the owners insist "MY puppy dog would NEVER do that...".
Cats are less subject to laws, perhaps partly because cats don't herd together and kill people? Spraying by Tom cats is territorial and an act of aggression, often accompanied by other problems such as digging and damaging vegetable or flower gardens, the yowling at night, and a nearby fluffy having a half dozen more Toms.
Such behavior is unlikely to change, although it may be mitigated if the Tom is caught and castrated. In urban situations, that can be a preferred choice, as it limits the fecundity of the ferals. In rural areas, where there is the very real possibility of rabies, a pest feral cat that shows ANY aggression may better be dispatched (almost ALL healthy completely feral cats avoid people), rather than risk a scratch and the series of painful shots, and possibly bringing a rabid animal into a vet's office. I remind you of the cat - (cougar? bobcat?) in New Hampshire that entered a home and was subsequently found to be rabid.
Perhaps a way to judge the level of emotional involvement on the subject is to substitute the word "snake" for "cat." If a neighbor's pet snake was loose and came to visit unannounced, any difference in your reaction to snake vs. cat indicates some emotional bias beyond practicality.
I do understand about pest dogs and cats, but my pest animals are a bit larger. I have had visiting cattle from THREE different area farmers. I'm now thinking of putting up a "Cattle AirB&B" sign and charging for the vacations. A small herd of half ton animals can make serious divots and leave calling cards. I've also joked about having a neighborhood BBQ, but have asked around enough that I now have a pretty good idea which breeds belong to which farmer.
Not really sure what I said to imply that I thought otherwise.
The dogs were on the man's property when he gathered them up and took them to the rescue place. Apparently the dogs DID belong to the farmer, because the man with the property had been in contact with him a couple of times, and he warned the farmer that he would take them to a rescue if the dogs ended up on his property again.
And I am very aware that people will often dump their pets, thinking that the animals will some how be able to fend for themselves. I see dogs from time to time, walking or running along the highway, sometimes ducking into the woods, and I feel bad for them. I assume that they were dumped.
You asked this question and a similar one, and I answered.
Quote:
Is this classic misunderstanding of the differences between country life and city life...or is this particular lady wrong, or was the property owner wrong for gathering up the mother and puppies and taking them to a shelter?
And yes, the woman from Facebook legally committed theft if the dogs were taken from the farmer's own property, but that's a different issue than whether letting dogs run loose is part of rural culture.
You asked this question and a similar one, and I answered.
And yes, the woman from Facebook legally committed theft if the dogs were taken from the farmer's own property, but that's a different issue than whether letting dogs run loose is part of rural culture.
Here's what you said. "No. Most of us who live rural aren't uneducated hicks with passels of unfixed critters hanging 'round the back door."
No where did I imply ANYONE was an uneducated hick, and your answer "no"...'No' to what exactly?
AND, again...the dogs were on a MAN'S property when the dogs were rescued. Not on the farm. It was a MAN. Not a woman. On his own property.
Our area is rural and I've really been shocked that people just let their dogs go and don't keep them on their property. A lot of people complain, and they are not new comers, no one likes unknown large dogs on their property or coming up to them while they are out for a walk.
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I'm now thinking of putting up a "Cattle AirB&B" sign and charging for the vacations. 
A small herd of half ton animals can make serious divots and leave calling cards. I've also joked about having a neighborhood BBQ, but have asked around enough that I now have a pretty good idea which breeds belong to which farmer.
