The dog I am dealing with is not a mean dog, but he is jumping the fence and killing my chickens. They have a hotwire and keep turning it off. This has been going on for a year.

These people are white trash who bought three poor-quality English Mastiff pups from puppy mills so they could become a puppy mill themselves. The dogs are just breeding machines. They have had no training, they are not pets. They aren't bathed, they aren't played with, they get virtually no attention, the yard reeks from the huge poops. I've climbed over the fence to put water in their bucket on a warm day, I've collected newborn puppies from the wet grass in the rain where the male was dropping them immediately after birth, and put them in a crate with a heating pad until the owners got home. I can't walk them home because they have never seen a leash.

I've called Animal Services half a dozen times. The cops have been out three times. They said I have the right to kill them, esp since I am in an agricultural area. The big male charged the deputy and slammed the fence, and almost got shot right then.

I don't want to kill the dog, because the problem comes from the owners. But talking to them doesn't work. Sending the cops doesn't work. A deputy insisted that Animal Services pick up the dog a couple of weeks ago, but the owners bailed it out.

The next step is white fast-drying spray paint on the brindle haircoat. The last step is lead.

There is no cure for stupid.

Sue