The title says it all...

So a couple of days ago the dogs got out again! This time my mother in law left the gate open. And so what do I hear... a knock at the door!! Yep, "excuse me ma'am but I think your dogs just ran down the street!!" UGH....here I ago running down the street calling for Kato and Karma. No signs of them anywhere. A lady calls me stating she found Kato, and is chasing him down towards my street. I see him and he immediately runs towards me and into the house. BUT...where in the hell is Karma??? So she tells me that she is still running loose on the busy street over.

I get into the jeep, and drive towards the street...there I see her sitting in a truck with another lady. So she gets Karma out and gives her to me. What a relief they are both okay.!!

THEN....a pissed off man in a white truck pulls next to me and slams on his brakes...scares the hell out of me...he says "who's dog is the white one?" I look at him and tell him he is mine...so the guy tells me Kato killed one of his mom's chickens...and that the cops are on the way. To make a longs story short...i'm probably going to be sued over a chicken.

I'm super scared...and I've never been sued so I don't know what's going to happen. Has anyone ever had something like this happen to them? or do you know of anyone that this has happened to? I don't even know if Kato did kill the chicken...there was no blood or any signs of a chicken kill.

I'm freaking out!

Oh and I received a violation for having an animal at Large.

Wow thats crazy,
Cant you explain to the guy that it was an open gate and offer to pay for the chicken?

I mean its a chicken.......wtf dude

I'm sorry I dont have much insight, my mind is a bit blown by the idiocy. Does he have PROOF that it was Kato?

and by idiocy I meant him not you, we have all had open gates at one point.

Kelly-I did try to explain to him that it was an accident that the gate was left open. But he was so pissed that he kept saying I intentionally left the gate open. I even offered to pay for the chicken, but he kept saying it wasn't just "a chicken" and that it was his mom's pet. Who leaves a "pet chicken" outside? He stated that his mom would feed the chickens in the house.

He didn't have much information like...where was the chicken during the attack? Did Kato actually kill and eat the chicken? I really don't know other then he wanted all my info because he said he's sure his mom will want to file a law suit.

Just a couple of days before that I got a phone call asking if Kato was loose? This call was from the humane society.. I said no. Both my dogs are home. So my dogs aren't the only huskies around the neighborhood. I mean I'm not making any excuses if he did kill the chicken...i'm willing to take full responsibilities for my animals.

Look at your state and county laws.
I didn't share this on the forum when it happened because well I was waiting for it to come to head and blow over and it has.  In August Django killed a cat.  We were walking the dogs the cat came around the corner of the car and swiped at Django.  Django grabbed it by its head and broke its jaw. We tried to find the owners but couldn't.  Everyone we talk to told us that it was this one house's cat.  Turned out is wasn't.  When we told them what had happened they threatened to sue and told use we were horrible people and had a vicious dog (all the while Django just sat there obediently)   To make a long story short, turns out because the cat was not on their property it was considered roaming and they had not done anything to secure their animal they couldn't sue us.
If the chicken was not secure they may not have a case at all.

Erica-that's exactly what I need to know. If for example the chickens were just roaming on the street....or did kato actually go into the owners house/coop...I really don't know. And where's the proof?? Did he take pictures of the kill/kato? Where's the blood??...I took pictures of Kato when he came home, because he was clean...no blood..no feathers...nothing!

I think I need to drive down the street it happened to see if I find roaming chickens.

I second the recommendation to look into the laws. Offering to pay for the chicken is a good start because it shows you are trying to work with the guy in good faith. If it comes to a lawsuit, most cities have pro bono hotlines you can call for legal representation. If that doesn't work, it would probably be fairly easy to find an attorney to work on contingency, where he only gets paid if he successfully defends you in court. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Even if it does, it would more than likely end up in small claims court, where you are not required to have an attorney, and often the judge won't hear from attorneys even if one is present in small claims.

Hope it works out for you. Remember that if he can't even give an accurate description of what happened, or provide any proof that your pup killed the chicken, he doesn't have much of a case. Even if he does sue, the small claims limit is $7,500 in Nevada I believe. If it goes to small claims, you should be fine on your own, but if it goes to a higher court (which seems unlikely based on what you've said) you should lawyer up. I find it pretty unlikely that a judge would rule in his favor for anything other than the value of the chicken, and maybe a small fine for your dog getting loose. But, I'm not a judge, or a lawyer, just a legal secretary, so take all this with a grain of salt lol. Keep us updated!

Thanks guys!! I'm looking into my state laws now.
I really hope it doesn't go that far. The officer says maybe because it was all too recent the mother is upset she may want to sue now...but later may back off. We'll see...I will definitely keep everyone posted.

Like my Fiance like to says a lot "Shit happens" You didn't mean for this to happen. You weren't being malicious, it isn't like you sicced your dogs on the chicken. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail later on and the mother realizes that is was an accident. Unfortunately I still get dirty looks every time those people drive by my house.

You need to check your state laws...not because of lawsuit but because of the "dangerous animal" thing. In New York state, if a dog kills someone's pet or livestock, they can declare the animal "dangerouse" and you have the choice of putting the dog down or forever keeping leashed, tethered or other wise confined and with muzzle off of home property. Also, 2nd incident, dog is put down. Hopefully your animal control officer is sympathetic.

Make sure those pictures are date stamped to show no blood. I would definitely look to see if those chickens are loose. Also, you MAY want to notify your insurance company if the possibility of a suit is real and there may be significant damages awarded (I hope not - the chickens should have been locked up!). If at all possible, if lawsuit, you pay out of pocket. But still don't know the implications for you house insurance.

If lawsuit talk continues more than a few days, probably you need to contact a lawyer. Sorry for being a worry wort. Your situation is my worst fear with a husky

Thanks Amy!

I know I've also been preparing myself for the worst! I really don't want to put my dogs on lock down, and I also don't want to put them down.
It worry's me as they already had killed a couple of pigeons, and stray cats. I know husky's have such a high prey drive. But it's gotten worse. They now have the taste for blood. They haven't eaten any of their kill...they just do it for the thrill. That's what scares me.

Also check town ordinance. It may not even be legal for her to have a chicken inside the city limits. This is something that comes up in a town near me all the time. Chickens are actually not allowed in many city and subdivision limits and if you can prove that of where this chicken was living then the case will be thrown out. Also, if you can get a statement from the Humane society that there have been other Huskies, not yours, that they have been called about being loose, you can chink their case that it may not have even been your dog that killed the chicken, especially if you have time stamped pictures of a bloodless dog.

Iluvmyhuskies wrote:

Thanks Amy!

I know I've also been preparing myself for the worst! I really don't want to put my dogs on lock down, and I also don't want to put them down.
It worry's me as they already had killed a couple of pigeons, and stray cats. I know husky's have such a high prey drive. But it's gotten worse. They now have the taste for blood. They haven't eaten any of their kill...they just do it for the thrill. That's what scares me.  

Kristin - you may want to consider installing an invisible fence either around your property, the fenced and gated area or use the pawz away mats to keep them from running out the front door when you are not there. The fence is working with Ami and Archer, it's just a pain to install and train.

I'm sorry you have to go through this - the female I had years ago was an efficient killer of small animals...as is Ami with raccoons and little furry things under the snow!

Just an update to my story...

Well it's been over a month now, and I haven't heard anything from crazy chicken man!!
Hopefully it's safe to say I'm not going to be sued!!
But I will still keep a look out for papers. ugh!!

I've been super careful on who comes in and out of the front yard when the dogs are out.

That is good to hear! I was wondering what had happned. Hopefully things stay clear lol.

I really wouldnt stress about it if I were you. In most states, the person could sue for pretty much whatever dollar amount they wanted for that chicken, but should they be awarded, they would get the value of a chicken...being a *pet* doesnt up the ante...nor does "emotional distress" play any part...basically whatever it would cost to go and replace that chicken.

There's no proof and no one caught him in the act. That guy is an asshole, time to move on. Haha

Yeah, I was pretty worried after the incident. I just gotta keep a better eye on my dogs.
Exactly, with no proof he'd have a hard time winning over the judge.
I even offered to replace his chicken..

Iluvmyhuskies wrote:

Yeah, I was pretty worried after the incident. I just gotta keep a better eye on my dogs.
Exactly, with no proof he'd have a hard time winning over the judge.
I even offered to replace his chicken..

Warning...sick joke

Did you bring him leg quarters?

I was going to say something to that effect.

Sorry, been stalking the thread this whole time. Glad everything seems to have worked itself out. I don't know what I'd do if faced with a situation like that!

Glad it seems to be working I I have been stalking too. Bourb has gotten out but there has been no incidents but you always wonder gotta worry etc

I'm a CHICKEN...when it comes to dealing with any type of court related situations!!

Amy-lol...its a good joke!!! Sometimes you gotta laugh about the situation!!

Liz-yes..it was very scary. I was very nervous about it. So glad nothing's happened since.

Colleen-that's good! Just always have to keep an eye out.

I worry about it a lot - the neighbors to the north of us have a small farm. Beef cows, a couple of donkeys, a few turkeys, a bunch of guinea hens...cats (the original home of "our" cat ). To the east of us, about a mile down the road, there's another family with a flock of guinea hens (apparently they are voracious tick eaters - she even offered me some chicks, said "oh they can fly, Ami won't catch them. Uhhh...he's a husky. He's already eaten some bird from the rhodos in front of the house, now he is always prancing along there, looking avidly into the bushes.)

But, I have to say, the invisible fence certainly seems to be working with him and Archer. (Fingers crossed, eyes and ears open!)