Not all the time is it the owners that are letting them out. Thier children or someone that had come to visit them do by accident though. I have that problem with a dog nearby and I know what the situation is. They have a son and when a friend goes over to play with him opens the door shhooowwwssshhh out the door the dog goes. They have a runner that they hook the dog to but if the childs friend lets it out by accident by the time they know it got loose the dog has already run to it's hearts content. By then they have little idea on where to find it. If i am out and about i try to get it to stay around so the owners can get it back quicker. But again i do not know of your situation so it would be hard to say what the case may or may not be. Either wayI can not shoot someones dog and as another stated here it is a felony if you get caught...