Man Finds Dog's Collar Along with Note on Mailbox Saying Beloved Pet Was Shot
Many places have leash laws that apply to dogs — and for good reason. Even the most well-behaved dog can be triggered by something, get in a scuffle with a less-friendly dog or dart into traffic and cause an accident in pursuit of a ball or critter.
But these leash laws are meant to protect people and dogs. Dogs don’t understand human territory or laws, and they shouldn’t be blamed when they act like dogs.
And they certainly shouldn’t be shot and killed for harmlessly breaking rules their canine minds cannot compute.
Sadly, that’s exactly what happened to one 10-month-old dog, Nymeria, owned by Chad Stricker of Picayune, Mississippi.
When Nymeria got out, Stricker said he and his friends searched for her and didn’t know anything about her status for six days. As it turns out, on her very first night out, she had been shot and killed by a local for rummaging through trash and being off-leash.
Stricker said that he received a ziplock bag containing a typed note and his beloved dog’s collar on his mailbox on Dec. 12, and discovered the horrible truth just as he and his daughter were setting out to celebrate her birthday, according to KSAZ-TV.
“I am sorry to inform you that your dog was shot and killed Saturday night while digging through my garbage,” the typed note read. “It did not suffer and I did not take pleasure in killing it. There is a county leash law which you should abide by so that I do not have to kill any more of your pets.”
Stricker was shocked. He described his dog as sweet and he was understandably upset that he hadn’t been given the chance to right the situation and spare her life.
Nymeria is a wolf-looking dog, and while it is possible that perhaps the neighbor mistook her for a wild animal and then realized the mistake afterward, people shooting off-leash dogs is not unheard-of in the area.
“Unfortunately we see that a lot,” Pearl River County SPCA shelter manager Elizabeth Treadaway said. “This dog lost its life over an invisible line it can’t see. As soon as an animal goes onto someone else’s property, that leash law goes into effect.
“But just because it’s law, doesn’t make it right what this person did,” she added.
Stricker said that he knew the property owner has the “legal right to shoot an unleashed animal on their property if they want to” — but obviously when it’s someone’s pet, that is an incredibly harsh punishment to deal without contacting an owner in a neighborly fashion to sort the matter out.
Stricker posted his story to Facebook in the hopes that people who would shoot pets on sight, leash law or no, would reconsider before making that final decision.
“RIP Nymeria, you were worth more than garbage to me baby girl,” he wrote. “First off, thanks to all 670 folks who shared my post it really meant a lot knowing there are still people out there who have a heart for animals.”
“I received a ziplock bag with Nymeria’s collar and an anonymous typed note in my mailbox tonight that stated she had been shot and killed because she was in someone’s trash on Sat night. There are soooo many things wrong with this I can’t even begin to name them all. I hope this post reaches the person who shot her. This is to the coward who shot my girl …”
“I want you to know she was one of the sweetest dogs anywhere around and very loving. You, my friend, are a POS for one, not calling me to let me know, man to man, you shot my baby Sat night. You allowed myself and countless other people to waste their time looking for my baby who was already dead. Secondly, you never gave me a chance to correct the problem, you never came to me and told me my dog was tearing up your trash.”
“The type of person I am, I would not only have picked it all up but would have made sure it didn’t happen again. You made reference to a leash law and unfortunately she was off for a brief moment (I take responsibility for that). That gives you no right to shoot my dog without giving me a chance to make it right.”
“It’s sad to think I have a neighbor of your moral character living so close to me that would do this. Do I hate you, no, I pity the person you are and those who have to tolerate you. Only thing you did right here was return her collar and let me know you had killed her. Ohhh and btw, I was only about a week away from having her 1 acre yard completed and fenced and she would never have gotten into your precious garbage again.”
“To think Nymeria was worth less than garbage or a damn phone call. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble could you please leave me another note in my mailbox (because obviously you’re too much of a coward to call me) and tell me where her body is so that I can give her a proper burial or if you’d like just put her at the beginning of my road. I hope you feel good about your actions as they reflect the type of person you really are. I pray one day you come to realize what you have done and teach those in your household to be better.”
The only legal “justice” Stricker could take is small comfort: “Only legal action I could take would be a civil case for what I paid for her,” he explained.
Every dog lover, however, knows that the purchase price of a pet is no real indication of a furry friend’s true value.
Hopefully anyone of the mindset that dogs can and should be dealt with in such a heartbreaking manner will see the love and humanity in Stricker’s story and do the right thing rather than do what’s “within their rights.”
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