dogs roaming loose

I've read alot about this topic and as a victim a blind man could see the true problem. Irresponsible pet owners. I know some don't agree, but accountability is the issue. Say you continuely catch your neighbors dogs leaving "gifts" in your yard. This is not a 1 time issue. Dogs relieve themselves in the same place because of habit and marking and lack of a clean yard at home(owner doesn't pick up waste) I have heard every excuse in the book. Bottom line is an excuse is a lazy reason for not doing something right the first time. Aka Laziness. The best excuses are=how do you know it's my dog/dogs? my dog/dogs never run loose/out of their yard, if my neighbors who have NO pets would fence in their yards my dog/dogs wouldn't roam loose, the list goes on and on. we are in the middle of spending OUR money to repair our neighbors fence, (who by the way has NO pets) to keep his next door neighbors dogs out of our yard. Is it fair? Abseloutely not. But this is the only way we can enjoy our property in safety. The dog owners have aggressive dogs. 2 of their dogs chased me in my own frontyard! Witnessed by another neighbor. Call the Humane society you say, we did. as soon as the Humane officer left they were pounding on our door throwing a fit harassing us. Thank you Humane Society for keeping your complaints confidential as to who the complaintant is. Once again the responsible people have to take on the responsibility of those irresponsible. Only in America!

It is upsetting when other peoples dogs harm your property. Last year, a neighbor 1/2 mile away, decided to get a young pit bull. He did not train or leash her. He told me dogs will learn on their own. (I own three, trained and contained Great Danes.) He and I had several conversations, due to his lack of feeding his dog who had become part feral and developed a taste for my poultry. (His dog had dug under another neighbors work shop and dragged a deer carcass there to eat.) After the seventh (caught in the act) chicken kill; I had it with the guys long list of excuses and failure to repay any neighbor for damages. I told him I would not be calling animal control for his failure to follow the county leash law; nor the county laws against owning a dangerous animal...I was setting out coyote traps on my acreage and neither he nor his dog are welcome on our property...ever. (while I do believe this animal should be put down, I could never be cruel to an animal.) He took care of HIS problem; I of course, did not set out any traps. We do still exchange waves on the road; however, neither he nor the dog have been back. Also, the three other neighbors who had losses have never seen the dog again. Sometimes you just have to call their bluff. They are not just lazy; they are manipulators....who dump their responsibilities on to others. When you take on their responsibilities, sadly, you are enabling them! I suggest you worry less about whether or not this person likes you or thinks you are a nice neighbor.

I guess it depends on where you live, and the difference (which varies also depending) between "the letter of the law and the spirit thereof" but where I used to live in rural GA, shooting was a legitimate answer (even according to the sheriff), and it was practiced so consistently (deer hunting was popular in that area, and deerhunters regularly off roaming dogs, since they run the deer off), that it wasn't really a consistent problem. Any roaming problem dog would catch it sooner or later somewhere in the neighborhood....usually sooner. But some people never learn....our neighbor lost two dogs to this "discipline" in less than ten years, and still has not fenced her land.

My Husband offered to Help the neighbor fix the fencing next to us. Help turned into us paying for it somehow. My biggest concern is the 2 dogs growling,snarling and chasing me in my own yard. It happened at 3PM just about time for the children to start coming home from school on the bus. Neighbor who witnessed/called about the incident confirmed what I told my Husband. The best solution is to remove dogs access to our property which falls on our shoulders not the Dog Owner.

I really do appreciate your help. You are kind to offer any suggestion/suggestions.

Hello to N. CA! (Prior S. CA, now rural VA)

Our laws are the same here as well; and, avid deer hunting here too. Shooting strays or wild packs is very accepted...shooting the neighbors dog is legal but frowned on. As most everyone has pet and hunting dogs (and do care for their animals); it would make them think you would shoot any ones dog. We have several neighbors with unfenced and unleashed pet / watch dogs; however, the others are trained to stay in their yards or at least out of others. This was one of my bad neighbors excuses and subtle threats to everyone...report me I will report everyone else. As our dogs were all raised with fences, we do not allow them to free roam the property; as we are not certain they will stay on only our property. Our private decision on the pit bull matter was that if he did not take care of his semi feral dog; next chicken (or goat) she went after would be her last. Had it come to that, we would have kept quite. Where as, if we need to shoot any stray or wild dogs, we would let animal control know. It is sad to hear your one neighbor is so clueless as to have had two dogs shot. Calling his bluff did not work. Some people should not be allowed to own animals; they need stuffed toys only. For the other persons situation, I think they need to call the bluff; not pay for a fence. (If shooting, coyote traps are not legal...warning the neighbor that due to harm to garden they are putting out snail bait, rat poison, etc....which just happens to be dog lethal...they best keep their menace secured at home if they want it to live.) The fact they seemed intimated by this ugly neighbor screaming at them after animal control; I feel they really need to stop letting this bully manipulate them. If in an urban setting, a nice restraining order for that harassing behavior might even shut the problems down. Taking on the manipulators responsibilities means the manipulator will just keep on doing as is or worse.

Hi Laurie,
Just read your new posts. So sorry for your scary situation! You are the good neighbors...the one your husband offered to help should be politely presented the bill. They should have stepped up and asked for it; but, since your offer was "help" not pay, then provide them the receipts. You do still have the option of small claims with the dogs guy; however, I would look into a restraining first, since he is volatile. Being nice only works in mannered society; and, unfortunately, this neighbor (with dogs) as shown he is neither mannered nor responsible. (Nice meant death to 7 of my pets.) What recourse did animal control offer you? I know here, they will fine the owner and if on my property when they arrive pick it up. Most places have leash laws, so I am puzzled why animal control did nothing. I hope the current fence situation solves the dog problem for you.

Tried to explain to my Husband it was a bully situation,us as the victims. It just amazes me how the Dog Owner could blame our neighbor because his fence is down. No accountability as a pet owner to secure his property himself. Knowbody is stopping the Dog Owner from erecting his own fence after going through the proper steps of permit and land survey. Their cheap, just like our immediate neighbor is. I think they were/are mostly mad because they got caught letting dogs roam unleashed.

Laurie,
That is awful! Your husband and you should not be the ones paying for everything. Show him some posts from those of us who have been through similar problems. Maybe he will re- think how he sees this matter. Sometimes it is hard when you are made to feel...your the one complaining...your the problem! I am so glad I have a copy of the book "boundaries" when I am thrown off kilter by these types, I refer to it and find my balance. Remember...We are responsible TO people; NOT FOR people. So much truth in that; I do wish you the best in this matter!

iamme no offense but you made me laugh. I needed it too. You said almost exactly what my Momma used to tell me. "We are not here on Earth to bring others happiness, they are responsible for their own happiness. It comes from within ones self through kindness." I told my Husband after moving here "were not in Kansas anymore." We'll be putting up the fencing this weekend cause I feed Mother Earth's creatures and I don't want them killed by the Roamers. Be like leading the creatures to their death. Omaha Nebraska seems to have many opportunities as to the animal control issue. No surprises there.

Laurie, no offense taken! Always glad to make someone laugh...it tends to help get a perspective! Please do note, my prior suggestion was in calling the "bluff" not actually doing anything to hurt his dogs. In our situation, we had to also be prepared to take it to the next step...our animals were being eaten alive because I was not willing to shoot a "pet". I was so glad when my calling his bluff (with forceful determination) resolved the problem! I do hope the problem dogs you are dealing with are not diggers...half of mine were killed inside their pen, inside a fence. As yours sound more like wanderers than hunters, you and those critters you feed should be fine! We too, are in a new environment; finding the balance is not easy! It is such a help as you noted, remembering why you moved to begin with! No place is perfect...but, yes, we can all bloom where we are planted! Ps. your mom was right.

We have a no tolerance policy here, learned the hard way from leniency in the past. If it's a neighbor's dog, has ID on the collar and comes to me when called so that it can be restrained for pick up..he is allowed one visit to the property. One only. When picked up we explain that we have free range chickens and cannot risk another visit by their dog. 'Nuff said.

After that it is SSS...shoot, shovel(actually, we don't shovel..just put them in a gully) and shut up. The standard answer to questions about if we've seen said pooch? "We saw him earlier today but haven't seen him since." The truth, unvarnished and whole.

Any stray without a collar is an unwanted animal and is disposed of, quickly and humanely. Or one wearing a collar, who runs away when you call him or approach him? This is also considered an unwanted animal or a habitual stray, that is used to getting shot at...which means that he does this quite often.. All of these types are shot on sight and, again, disposed of without fanfare at the far reaches of the property.

This has dual benefits...the neighbors soon learn that this property is the black hole for dogs, and the coyotes are fed a banquet of carrion that will keep them on the perimeters of the land and not looking for food where we live.

The dog in my yard, with collar ID and a home that loves him, well-contained with electric fencing system, will do the rest about warding off 'yotes. In the six years this dog has been alive he has not stepped paw on another person's land without express permission of the owner and always accompanied by me, fully controlled by good training.

Get a reputation in your neighborhood of zero tolerance...and then make sure you keep your own dogs at home. Problem soon solved.

Hi Jay,
Thank you for your input; more applicable to myself than Laurie. While our area rogue appears to be contained (or gone); your advise is sound for future situations. I did note that here locally, some one shot and hide the neighbors dogs carcasses and he got in trouble; they even dug up the yard and ID fox and raccoon bones. I would not leave the carcass near my property if I knew the dog I shot; as to stray or wild I would let animal control know they were attempting to get my livestock and had no choice but to shoot. (Animal control does not remove carcasses; but would note I had reported it and a description.) Their carcasses could be edged for our foxes and bears; a better choice than buried composting. If my neighbors pit (who will not come and snarls at you) is ever back, she will be shot and disposed of away from our area. The only other dog issues we have had here are dogs that broke out of their yard and were lost; and, hunting dogs. The lost ones do come when called and are not after the poultry; and, the tags get them back to the owners desperately searching for them. The pack of hunting dogs that went through our property cornered and mauled a buck just off our land. The idiot with his sons showed up a half hour later in their pick up. (They were driving around and dropped the dogs to hunt from the truck and lost track on the lead. ) We let the guy cross to get his dogs; but refused him backwards access ( a 2 mile hike with his pack) and let him know to never let it happen again. We have not seen him since. While the hunter was as irresponsible as our neighbor with the self training pit; he at least understood instantly, he was lucky his dogs were not shot...he was quick to say he did not realize that there was livestock in the area.

IMHO good fences make good neighbors. We had a neighbor whose dog would growl and snarl at us on our own deck and I had an 11 month old baby. We put a good strong fence around our yard. It served us well over the years. My dad used to shoot dogs with the BB gun. It hurt them enough they often never came back. He did accidentally kill a cat once, the BB went in its eye to its brain. But mostly the BB's only hurt them. If you want the owner to know how often their pet strays maybe paintballs? I've heard they hurt.

I read once about a guy that catches these dogs and paints a bull's eye on their side and lets them go back home. Said he doesn't see the same dog come back twice. LOL It's an idea....

Haha...that one made me laugh! I was picturing the look on the hunters face...all his dogs with a target!

Renate, I wish I could afford the cost of a security fence around our 11 + acres...we can't nor can any of our neighbors. We have fencing up for our dogs (a yard) and a paddock attached to the barn where our livestock are. Standard fencing is adequate to keep our critters in; not able to keep a dog on the hunt out.

That's when a couple of big ol' Great Pyrenees dogs would come in handy in your pasture. They are pretty dog aggressive when it comes to their livestock and they will often kill the intruder. Problem solved.

My GP mix was great for keeping out stray dogs and I miss her dreadfully. She was death on them and I have pulled her off a couple before she could do the dirty deed all the way. Sure wish I had one like her again and I wouldn't have to shoot anymore dogs. My current dog was her partner~ but not her breed~ and so he is too dog friendly to keep dogs off the land.

But a lot of Pyrenees also roam, right? So they'd again face fencing in the 11+ acres, to keep in their dog, which they feel is too expensive.

My heeler is very dog-aggressive when they trespass. And he stays home. Good dog. I don't know how he'd fare against a mean pitbull, tho.

Anatolian Shepherds?

Jay and Renate,

Jay our dogs have the same problem as yours, too dog friendly. We have considered GP's for the paddock area as well as a Turkish shepherd (I owned one when I lived there). As the problem is currently not an issue, we would prefer to not to acquire an additional dog at this time (we own 3 great danes). Which brings me to Renate, you must not have read my posts (Laurie with out the fence and no dog is a different poster)...Our dogs are contained; they never roam, they have over a 1/2 acre fenced yard to access at will. We are not interested in taking a loan out to pay to enclose over 11 acres of land with a 6-8' privacy fence because a nut case a couple miles over thinks his dog (a pit bull no less) can train itself and it is fine for his dog to hunt for his food; hence, my informing him of the coyote traps for his predator. And, hence Jay's shot gun recommendation. Honestly Renate, I can not fathom why you think I should spend over 30k to protect ourselves a semi feral dangerous dog that someone else barely owns versus protecting my goats and poultry via a shot gun, should the need again rise. You would spend 30k vs buying shot??? No offense, Renate, but that is way more amusing than the painted bulls eye suggestion!

I have wrestled with the same dilemma when it comes to obtaining an additional dog to help my dog friendly one...he is great for all the other preds and does a fantastic job in that respect. Do I get another dog, with all the training, feed and expense, to protect one flock of chickens? Or do I just buy some .22 shells or shotgun shells and be vigilant, while continuing to develop flocks/birds with good free range skills? I think the latter is the common sense action at present time.

Chickens are cheap and replaceable with minimal fuss and expense, whereas taking on another dog is a long term commitment fraught with unpredictable expenditures. For now, I'm pretty darn sharp with a gun and have not lost a chicken yet to any strays or other preds, so this is the best solution.

I've had a lot of issues with this too. I have a thai ridgeback that can be dog aggressive and has a guard dog type disposition. It's frustrating to me when other people let there tiny little dogs roam on our property so that mine can try to eat them. Grr. I spend so much time saving other people's dogs. I even went to one neighbor and explained the situation to him, but he just told me to shoot at his dog or hit it with a "few good rocks." Another neighbor refused to keep her dog in (this one in a small town), and the mail carrier stopped delivering to my house because he didn't want to pass the dog. I told her he wasn't going to bring her mail anymore either (a lie) and she finally started closing her gate. I can understand why people become upset enough shoot dogs, especially when they kill their animals, but I have a wonderful 30lb mutt that's gotten out twice (in seven years). She was severely abused before I got her and so she is very skittish around strangers. She's never killed animals, but she wouldn't come when called to a stranger. She also doesn't have a collar because she gets them stuck on the fence, but she is microchipped, not that anyone could tell from a distance of course. I guess my point here is that not all dogs that are skittish are habitually let out, I kind of felt like I should say that out of respect for my dog, kind of like I'm sticking up for her, if that makes sense? Probably not, lol.

Paintballs do seem to work. My mom uses them on vultures and foxes when they come after her cats. I also put a collar on a guy's dog once, just for the heck of it when it was roaming, and he stopped letting it out after that. Possibly because he thought someone was trying to keep it. Something weird like painting bullseyes as mentioned, or tyedyeing them with food coloring, would probably get the message home as well. My mom takes all repeatedly roaming cats and dogs and gets them spayed or neutered (which is only $15-30 here). She mainly does this because they kept having puppies/kittens in her yard, but it has the added bonus of encouraging people to keep their pets indoors.

The problem where I live is that there seems to be this cultural norm to impose on all neighbors all the time. Like if someone isn't home people park in front of their driveway, even though there is a space right next to it because "they ain't usin' it." I come home constantly to cars blocking my driveway, or occasionally I get blocked in so I can't leave. Random people on the street just park in the middle of the road as well, right next to a parking space as if it's just too much effort to move over that single car space, lol. Drives me batty.

People do shoot dogs a lot around here, and it's seen as the dogs fault and not the owner's. One lady get's a new dog a couple times a month but she just let's them roam and they are killed or taken to the pound. One of my dogs actually used to be hers.

I'm kind of reclusive and a touch paranoid, so fencing in my 10.5 acres has always been a top priority. I've used horse fence for large areas before, but it rusts. I recently found some livestock fencing that is supposed to last longer that costs about $120 for 300 feet, so that's relatively affordable for me. One day I dream of having some massive, fort-style, log post perimeter ;p I do think it's the other party's responsibility to fence in their own pets, but dealing with people is just far, far too frustrating for me. I get tired of border disputes, neighbor's cutting down my trees, and so on. I'd rather just have a visible, physical boundary to end the discussion. but that's just me. Other people seem to do better with the whole diplomat/social aspect of this kind of thing.

Anyway, I hope everyone finds a solution that works for them =]

Hi Jay,
You outlined exactly where we are! That was partly why 7 ended up dead; our neighbor considered them next to worthless, our cost problem since poultry will be eaten, and easily replaceable (the dog ate our two lead roosters to start). As you noted, they are cheap to replace vs building a massive enclosed entire property structure (If paying to fence in our property it would need to keep out the foxes, cats, etc. as well) or taking on a long term costly responsibility of a guardian breed. As long term Great Dane owners, we fully understand that cost factor. And shells are cheap and the best solution for our property as well at this time.

Hi Alice,
It sounds like the culture in your area has some similarities to our area. Thankfully, our neighbors for the most part, are far more courteous than the folks you are dealing with. I had a friend in So. Cal. with a guard dog ridgeback and experienced similar issues with small dogs; except, there they think his dog should be killed for attacking strays in his own yard. At least your neighbors are not that crazy!
I appreciate your defense of your other dog. Laws being different in areas are reflected in both yours and Jay's take. I know here, all dogs are required to have their county tag on at all times (shows owned and rabies shots). Any dog without is assumed wild / feral and possibly rabid. I do feel it wrong that a "pet" dog pays the price for a bad owner; hence, my neighbors pit was given pass after pass. Unfortunately we all have neighbors who are irresponsible; each of us have to decide how much we and our animals under our care are going to suffer as a result. I do not live in a large neighborhood, and, know who owns what dogs...tags or not, come or not they are known to me...first step on any of them would be to get them back to their owner and resolve any poultry damage (they try to take down my goats or Alpacas, no pass). The neighborhood 6 miles away has dogs get loose from time to time and they tend to come our way; those I look for a tag and call to me; even a very scared (peeing on herself) medium dog came to me. While she was dirty from running, you could see she was a pet; she also was not after my animals...just lost and scared. In each case, I got the pet back to the caring owners. I did let each know that we and several neighbors have livestock and it would not be safe for their pet to get out again. To date, we have not had to shoot any ferals. We have had to deal with foxes and cats.
I appreciate your ideas on no kill options. I do think they are very valid for casual trespassers. However, the pit we had an issue with was hunting and devouring poultry (ours and others). (The owner believes he should only feed his dog when she does not find enough food.) Animals hunting their food source do not scare away... they just try to hunt more stealthy. Upon acquiring the additional livestock, we needed to be able to immediately stop any attack on them as they are not so easily replaced.
The type of property perimeter that would prevent all problems is not feasible. We are also in a culture that believes fences are "rude". Prior to moving in, the guy two parcels down had to apologies for putting up a fencing on a third of his property that was where other neighbors could see! (He had bought 3 horses and needed it for them! BTW we are all on Ag land). We have gotten a lot of negative feedback about enclosing a front / back yard area (no view of it for anyone...and it is picketed) and for enclosing the paddock field and barn (also no view issue) with wooden horse / livestock fencing! I do not understand this as I am very accustom to fences. I could understand a dislike for cheap metal or chainlink fencing that is in plain view on the edges of our forests, but being upset over quality fencing hidden on our interior? Hence, between the cost and the backlash we just do not see any permanent containment structure for our acreage perimeter an option. We will be planting lots of wild blackberries on the edges to feed the critters and encourage all animals to stay on the outside...a live fence will help a lot! It does take time to establish though.

If you don't want to shoot to kill get a high powered paintball gun. Shoot the intruder up and he won't be back, your neighbor will get the idea when his dog is all colored and bruised.

Fencing is rude? Now that's a culture shock for ya! And I thought the place I lived here in WV beat all for weird cultural habits! LOL

I see the dog that is running all over the neighborhood and unwanted by their owners as being in constant danger of being hurt on the road(I've had to end the life of a puppy left screaming in pain from injury sustained on the road while the neighbor was out running around and not tending their animals), injured in fights with territorial dogs, coyotes or even in traps.

I single and humane shot and a quick death are not what I call a "punishment" for these dogs having bad owners. Punishment is a negative reinforcement for a prescribed period of time with the purpose of correcting a particular behavior. Death is not a punishment but a removal from possible pain and suffering, or from causing another animal~such as livestock~to be in pain and suffering.

A dog does not measure out the days, nor know time like a human, so death is not cutting short any preconceived expectations that a dog may have of living a long and happy life. They live for each and every second and every moment is a new day...they are blessedly free of the worry of tomorrow. Death is final and no punishment is involved, just darkness and nothingness for the animal.

I'm floored by the "fences are rude" concept as well! It really is startling how different cultural expectations can be. I forgot that tag are required in some places. Honestly, they probably are here too, but no one ever enforces anything. Here there is little standards for the appearance of fences or houses in the county. If its made out of anything purchased its getting fancy; our neighborhoods are full of fences made from scrap parts and scavenged lumber. I used to think it looked horribly tacky, but I've come to see it as just a form of frugality and re-use/recycling. Still, I wanted something more aesthetically appealing, and due to time constraints (college, kids, building a house) I'm settling for a cheap metal livestock fence. I also kind of want deer to be able to roam on the property (although I plan on keeping them out of the immediate food growing area.

I'm sort of between two properties at the moment. We own a house in a small town, and then bought 10.5 acres in the county. The standards are definitely more relaxed out of the city. So far the new property hasn't given us any issues, other than a small (like 15lbs) black dogs that visits us when we are prepping the site for building. It's so little and meek it just seems doomed.

When my dad was growing up in Kansas, supposedly dogs were expected to feed themselves, although somehow the dogs were supposed to be able to tell the difference between livestock and wild animals. I can't even fathom how that was supposed to work. I have 3 dogs: a Thai Ridgeback (rescued from negligent neighbor) with zero prey drive but a strong guard instinct against other dogs and certain human behaviors, a 30lb mutt (rescued from a house I made a delivery to when I witnessed her being abused) with a small prey drive and is very skittish, and a very old dingo/german shepherd hybrid who does nothing but try to hunt and kill other animals. After working with the last one over the years, I agree that a dog that regularly hunts and eats its meals (she won't touch her dog food in spring because of all the birds and small animals she catches) cannot be stopped without fairly extreme measures. The fencing I had to build to keep her from going on hunting trips was insane. She never got neighbors animals though, just local wildlife (she always brought the bodies back, and the area she got out in was free of farm land) but even with the fencing animals would get in her yard and fall prey to her. When dealing with a dog like that it would be impossible to work with without the owner stepping up and keeping the dog confined. I was so excited the first time a bird landed next to my Thai Ridgeback and he just looked at it with bored indifference!

Regardless of the temperament of the dog, I 100% agree that they should be kept from roaming. I grew up in New Mexico where there were a lot of starving coyotes and any pet under 40lbs left outside was dead by nightfall. In TN people tend to be more lax because it takes longer for pets to meet bad ends, but it still happens with cars, other animals, and such.

Ack, my kids are climbing all over me while I try to type this. I apologize for incoherency and poor editing. I've been trying to type this off and on for what feels like days now, and I think I'm going to quit before it gets deleted by stray fingers ;p

I see that the problem we had is a common one from the number of posts. We bought this 5 acres in 2005. The field fencing around the back and sides was down and not repairable. We replaced it but did not fence across the front. That was before we realized that out here in the country loose dogs are just as common as in the city. They just have to travel further to aggravate you. We had gifts left and then they started taking our yard shoes from the porch, tore through a new bag of mulch and had a great time playing in it, took work gloves and chewed them up, treed my cat a couple of times to her dismay and nearly knocked my elderly mother off her feet. That did it. We now have a 5 ft chain link fence across the front. Pricey since the front was the longest of our property line but it is nice to watch the pests running along the fence but not being able to get in. My cat, who likes to lounge on the front porch likes the new set up as well.

Most folks don't have fences around here and I suspect it is preferred that you allow access for folks and their dogs if they need to cross your property. I too had some neighbors down the road who liked to visit the man across the road and park across my driveway because his was hard to turn into and get out of and mine was nice and level, paved and allowed easy visibility for the traffic. After attempting to talk with them the first two times about parking on the county access and not my driveway I simply called the Sheriff the third time. It hasn't happened since.

When dogs leave, it is in my experience that they should be praised for coming back, not scolded for leaving. This might be a step in the right direction for some of the owners who's dogs tend to wander...

Shock collars would work really well... ON THE OWNERS!!! Shock the owner any time the dog leaves their property.

Seriously, this is the same problem as the Paul and kids thread--irresponsible parents.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral
far as I can tell.
most states and city's you can carry an fire arm on your own property excluding (D.C.) which Is a whole other country.
My opinion it is, it's not contained or other wise controlled it's FERAL
You would have to check your state laws on feral and dealing with it or keep it silent