Some of you folks can spin it anyway you want and do all the preaching you want, but dogs can and do get out control of the owners with a regularity that most folks here acknowledge. If a dog escapes and gets shot without reason in many cases the law will not regard it as theowners fault as some here claim, it will be the person whopulled the trigger. YES, YES ,YES, people need to control their animals and if an animal is clearly being a nuisance there are times when they need to be taken down.On the other hand, any escaped dog does not automatically qualify for a death sentence. You really might want to check with your local lawauthorities about that. It is easy to play internet tough guy and Mr. Perfect whose dogs have never gotten out of his control (which I dont believe) and talk about dropping any dog that happens to be running lose. It will be a much different story if you get caught and the facts don't add up in your favor. I guess that I was just raised in a great area by a better class of people. In my neck of the woods you understand that people make mistakes.The world is not perfect and you try to help your neighbors withanimals that get loose, even when, GULP, it is somewhat of an inconvenience to you.You dont play Mr. macho and shoot them with the attitude that they deserved it just for being out side of the owners sight or for coming within sight of your deer stand. And the few people who do pull stunts like that are pretty low on the social order and pretty much find themselves as the ones who need to be confined to their own property because they arent welcome any place else. (Lanse quietly steps down from the soapbox, takes his ball, and goes home to watch Hogan's Heroes re-runs in honor of the Colonel Klinks of this thread)[8D]