Back in the 70's and 80's, in rural farming/ranching communities, if you saw a dog running wild and unattended where it didnt belong, you were supposed to shoot it! It was right in the game rules and everything! Lots of abandoned dogs back then come to think about it...roaming wild and forming packs...
Even a good dog can get bored and go harass wildlife or worse yet, the neighbors ranch...I had this one big old Lab mix named Louie....He lived outside under the front porch...When he got bored, He would go and chase deer or rabbits and otherwise entertain himself...then he discovered the New Neighbors Hobby farm and started bringing me home all sorts of chickens and even a turkey once! So yeah, he was some sort of retriever!
Well, the Hobby Farm guy moved out here in the puckerbrush from Chicago, and decided he and his Family were gonna try a 'Little House on the Prairie' kinda lifestyle...They soon learned It wasnt as easy or as fun as it looked on TV...His organic garden attempt was a hot mess, every wild critter from coons to chipmunks had a feast! ...Anyway, one Spring, He planted a whole stretch of fruit tree saplings, The guy did a hell of a job, and then the deer showed up and commenced to nibble...
So one evening about sundown he comes on over to the house, he had a big long chain with him, he says, the deer and wildlife are destroying his fruit trees and garden, and that he has tried every discouragement tactic Mother Earth News had to offer...hair clippings, dried blood, milorganite, 6' fence, scarecrow, Christmas tree lights even! But nothing was repelling the animals, and he was desperate!....
So he figured he would ask if he could borrow Louie, chain him up in his 'orchard' for the night...Me and my little daughter stood and listened to his request, She was not too keen on the idea of 'Her' dog getting staked out and chained up, and stood there silent and frowning... But I figured I owed him one for all the nice chickens and the succulent turkey, and as a good neighbor, I obliged....So off he went with Louie and that 30' chain!
Well...about 2am, I heard that chain rattle up and across the boards of the porch...I thought, well, Louie pulled the stake, so theres another lesson learned for this guy...and went back to sleep...
Then about Sunrise into the yard comes this guy all screaming and going nuts! Seems Louie didnt think much about spending the night out of doors, so he commenced to running in a 30' diameter circle, ripping up any kind of living plant life in the process until he pulled the stake! He was under the porch, still with the chain, but also with every damn fruit tree and tomato plant tangled up in it! It looked like he robbed a fruit stand or a nursery!
So this guy was hollering! Hopping mad! Blaming Louie for the whole disaster, I didnt know what to say or how to respond! My little daughter, waited for the chance, pulled her thumb out of her mouth and said..."Well, it was all YOUR idea!
Tragically, I had to put down Louie myself about a year later...there was no way I could cover for him or eat that entire Shetland Pony he brought home quick enough...He just went too far on that one, got greedy...Left a hell of a drag mark right to the porch! Guilty murder scene Evidence all over the place like OJ Simpson!
.. Louie was one hell of a Retriever! He shoulda stuck to chickens though and I coulda easily defended him by blaming the Coyotes like normal!....I got $50 for the saddle though..Didnt say dick about that..."Saddle? What Saddle?...I figured Louie woulda thought that cool, plus now I gotta find myself another good dog, and that aint easy, so we are even....
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