Detroit, MI asked in Animal / Dog Law for Ohio

Q: Neighbor brandished handgun & threatened to kill our dog. Seven days later, they shot our dog.

Our dog is hyper, overly playful and everyone loves our dog. Just about 7 days ago, our dog wandered just 3 houses over. The guy came out with a handgun, directly aimed at the dog… in front of my kid and her friend - a few yards away.

My kid coaxed our dog away from them - traumatized and angry with these trigger happy adults. Husband went to speak with this deranged guy. He was told, “I will not hesitate to shoot to kill!”

Today, I our dog got loose and I was just about no more than 15 yards, running after this pup. I’ve yelled the dog’s name to come back and I was getting closer, there was a *bang*. Seeing the neighbor had a handgun. I found our dog bleeding out the leg and immediately went to the vet. Terrified, unsure what to do. Now I’ve got vet bills.

Now that I’ve processed this knowing (1) we did receive a threat to harm/injure or damage to property And (2) now firearm was discharged, resulting in (3) injured animal (damage to property). What should I do?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Matthew Williams
Matthew Williams
Answered
  • Cleveland, OH
  • Licensed in Ohio

A: First, you should report the incident to the police. It's not clear where your dog was vis-a-vis this nut's property at the time he was shot. But unless the dog was attacking or about to attack a person, you can't just shoot them.

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