[Gharrissc]

Over the last past few weeks there have been increasing problems with a pack of feral dogs charging people who walk late at night (between 11pm and 1am).The pack is about 15 dogs strong and they hide in wooded area in my neighborhood. A couple of weeks ago I was walking my dogs around 1am. I noticed that my dogs kept stopping and looking back and that's when I saw the pack of dogs running towards us. They were within several feet of me and a few of them started to go wide, like dogs do when they are trying to corner something off. The only thing that I could do was to yell 'get'(I am sure my neighbors appreciated that at 1am). Fortunately this was enough to get them to run away.

I did visit animal control the next day and the officer told me to 'if they don't hurt anyone, then they can't do anything.' The woman even made the suggestion that I don't walk at night.

Since I have visited AC, these group of dogs have charged me again and several other people. My area is considered residential, even though all of the homes are on large parcels of land. Because of this, it is illegal to shoot the dogs.

 

[Malachi'sMama]

I can't believe that woman told you that. I would march my happy butt back over to AC and ask to talk to someone in charge. The whole purpose of calling AC, and having AC, is to prevent 'something' from happening. Where I live, AC responds to calls of dogs or cats running loose regardless of the situation. I can't tell you how many times I had to go pick my cat up from AC years ago bc my neighbor would call them every time she stepped foot on their property.

It seems crazy that she wouldn't send some officers out there to try and track these dogs down. I would try again before it does escalate to something serious.

Hopefully some other posters will chime in...

 

[doggiedad]

ok, it happened to you several times. i would find another place to
walk. put the dogs in the car and drive somewhere where it's safe
to walk. speak with Ac again but speak with someone in management.
if you insist on walking where the feral dogs are arm yourself in some
manner.

 

[Gharrissc]

It's not a matter of me 'insisting' on walking where the feral dogs are. They travel through the neighborhood and you don't really know where they are going to be until they are there.

 

[JakodaCD OA]

contact your local TV or newspaper, I find once something starts popping up in the news media you see swifter action

 

[llombardo]

I can't believe that woman told you that. I would march my happy butt back over to AC and ask to talk to someone in charge. The whole purpose of calling AC, and having AC, is to prevent 'something' from happening. Where I live, AC responds to calls of dogs or cats running loose regardless of the situation. I can't tell you how many times I had to go pick my cat up from AC years ago bc my neighbor would call them every time she stepped foot on their property.

It seems crazy that she wouldn't send some officers out there to try and track these dogs down. I would try again before it does escalate to something serious.

Hopefully some other posters will chime in...

This is the same way the police work...if someone is threatening you, they can't do something until the said person actually physically does something. I would imagine it would be the same way with AC. I would either choose not to walk in that area at night myself, why risk it? Especially until something is done.

 

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

I would not walk until something had happened to stop this. I mean, how awful would it be if something happened to one of your dogs - it is insisting on continuing to walk if there are places you can go otherwise, or if you can occupy them on your property in safety. Just because you should be able to do something, doesn't mean you should do it, if you have knowledge of a true safety threat, which a pack of dogs should be considered.

I agree with Diane. Before I did that I would talk to my elected officials - this sounds like an area (residential, large parcels) where they would be responsive to constituents and wary of the media.

http://www.lawserver.com/law/state/south-carolina/sc-code/south_carolina_code_47-3-310 as of 2009

http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/stusscst47_3_10_47_7_170.htm

 

[Ross H]

Personally I'm more concerned about your dog it has no choice it has to follow you. There must be somewhere else at worse dont walk in dark , stay home whatever. Just sayin but find it hard to believe no help . Call 911 when it happens just leave dog at home they're after it . Carry a can of wasp spray for protection. Good Luck

 

[Gharrissc]

I have decided to walk on our property until this is settled. It is big enough and I won't have to worry about the other dogs until this is taken care of.

 

[Shaolin]

We had a feral dog problem as well and they didn't start trapping/baiting until the pack killed another dog. Until then, we were told to not walk after dusk and watch putting dogs out at night.

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[jafo220]

Over the last past few weeks there have been increasing problems with a pack of feral dogs charging people who walk late at night (between 11pm and 1am).The pack is about 15 dogs strong and they hide in wooded area in my neighborhood. A couple of weeks ago I was walking my dogs around 1am. I noticed that my dogs kept stopping and looking back and that's when I saw the pack of dogs running towards us. They were within several feet of me and a few of them started to go wide, like dogs do when they are trying to corner something off. The only thing that I could do was to yell 'get'(I am sure my neighbors appreciated that at 1am). Fortunately this was enough to get them to run away.

I did visit animal control the next day and the officer told me to 'if they don't hurt anyone, then they can't do anything.' The woman even made the suggestion that I don't walk at night.

Since I have visited AC, these group of dogs have charged me again and several other people. My area is considered residential, even though all of the homes are on large parcels of land. Because of this, it is illegal to shoot the dogs.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App

Sounds like a good time to purchase a paintball gun. I know it sounds wierd, but they are mostly none lethal and pack a pretty nasty punch. I would use it in close though. No long distance sniper shots. But make sure there are no local laws prohibiting thier use. They may consider them a firemarm, don't know. But you could paint some feral dogs up with them and keep your dogs safe.

 

[fuzzybunny]

I agree with going to the media. Write your newspapers, call your local news station. It's amazing how quickly action gets taken once you go public.

 

[arycrest]

I agree about contacting the people already mentioned.

Do you have some type of local government official you could contact ... a mayor or city councilman ... someone who has an influential say as to what AC should and should not be doing? If so I'd add him/her to the list of contacts.

Also, can you legally carry something like bear spray (or whatever that stuff is called)?

GOOD LUCK AND STAY SAFE!!!

 

[doggiedad]

how are you going to keep the feral dogs off your property?

I have decided to walk on our property until this is settled. It is big enough and I won't have to worry about the other dogs until this is taken care of.

 

[Malachi'sMama]

This is the same way the police work...if someone is threatening you, they can't do something until the said person actually physically does something. I would imagine it would be the same way with AC. I would either choose not to walk in that area at night myself, why risk it? Especially until something is done.

The police, yes. AC, no. Here, AC comes when someone calls even if no harm has been done. Seems like a waste of taxpayers money sometimes, but I suppose it's done that way to try to prevent an 'incident'.

I had a serious problem with coyotes-much like feral dogs-they hadn't actually attacked me, but I know they killed my dog. One came after me one night when I was carrying my then 8mo son from my car to my front door. I made it to the door before he got to us..but it was scary. I, too, was under the impression that AC wouldn't respond unless I had actually been attacked, but I called on the premise that my dog had been killed by them-even though I had no proof. They told me I should have called a long time ago.

Maybe they respond differently for coyotes than feral dogs, but I would think it would be the same. In any case, they came out and set up live traps and trapped them for the next month or so. They trapped four in one night, one night. I could tell every night that the pack was dwindling. They only seemed to make their screams and pack calls when they had made a kill or were after something. Their calls got quieter and quieter as they were trapped.

I agree with going to the media if your calls to AC go unanswered. It's good you are keeping your dogs on your property, but keep them close. I was devastated with what happened to my dog. I had to keep my horse in a stall locked up in the barn until they were gone. Even though she was a big draft horse, I knew that enough of them could take her down. I'd hate for you to lose any of your dogs, as others have mentioned. It may not be a bad idea to get a shotgun or something from Walmart-if for no other reason than to shoot in the air to scare them away I did this MANY nights to get the coyotes to be quiet when they were waking me and my son at 4am...

Just be safe, and do whatever you can to get the issue resolved. It's a truly unsafe situation..

fyi these were not your typical western scrawny/puny coyotes. They were like small wolves. Absolutely beautiful animals (my neighbor shot and kill three females-and the females were easily 50-60lbs) Before this, the only coyotes I had ever seen were when I lived in so.cal..and they looked like foxes to me)

 

[robk]

A dog pack is extremely dangerous. Especially if they are made up of stray pets. Packs of dogs will kill for sport. If this is a residential area, these dogs need to be hunted down and eliminated.

 

[Heidigsd]

Gharrissc: Be very careful with those dogs. A few years ago a woman was killed by some dogs and if I remember correctly they were not feral...scary.

http://austin.legalexaminer.com/pro...-bites-in-vicious-attack.aspx?googleid=200388

 

[Gharrissc]

I am going to go the media route to see if that gets any results. I know a few of my neighbors have had some issues with these dogs too and they said that they would either give a statement to whoever they needed to or do whatever else is necessary. An elderly woman down the road said that her husband was charged back in their house by the dogs when he went out to get the paper one morning. The dogs were laying in an unlit area on the side of the house. We had this problem in the area with another pack of dogs, but AC didn't try to catch them until someone called about them killing her cat who was on her porch. After the dogs were caught and euthanized at the shelter, there was a lot of public outcry from individuals who thought that the dogs should have been 'left alone'. I also found an area that I could drive to if I wanted to take the dogs off the property late at night, but I think them going outside with me in the fence is fine if it's just for a little late night air. Thanks for the tips everyone.