THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL)-- A man in Thomasville shoots his neighbor's dog following several complaints of the dog being loose on his property.
It's a case of man vs. beast, but in this incident that beast was a dog that couldn't seem to stay in its own yard. Several complaints were filed with the Thomasville Humane Society that the dog was constantly getting out of its fence and terrorizing the neighborhood.
The dog's reign of terror came to an end Thursday, when the owner's neighbor shot it after entering his yard.
That man is now speaking out. He tells ABC27 he had no other choice but to take matters into his own hands.
"I got a 3 year old grandson that comes over here and he can easily get bit. I can say that my momma could have been bit many times. And nobody would do anything because they had no evidence. Well now that I shot the dog, we're getting some attention about it. That's how it usually goes. Nothing is done until it is too late. I felt I had to shoot the dog and that's exactly what I did," said Robin Manning.
The dog's name was Rugrat. He was a 15 lb rat terrier that the Evans family adopted from a rescue shelter less than a year ago.
Rugrat's owner admits that he would often get out of the fence, but his intentions were never to harm any neighbors or their pets. Now the Evans family is dealing with the loss of a loved one.
"It's an empty spot you know because he had personality. You can scold him and he'd let his ears down. When he was happy, he' d let you know it. And he was always wonderful whenever we came in the house, he'd jump on us and let us know he's glad we were home. Just like he knows he's not supposed to be in my bed when my grandbabies are with me, but he'll slip in and be like 'I know I'm not supposed to be doing it, but I'm not moving either.' He's just one of us. He's one of our babies," said Jennie Evans, Rugrat's owner.
The humane society requires physical evidence either in the form of a picture or video, before it can follow up on any complaints about loose animals.
At this time no charges have been filed against the shooter and the owner has not been cited for the dog being off the leash. ABC27 will keep you updated as this story develops.
