Hi Val
This regards our French neighbours, but I would really like to know where we stand legally.
I’ve been trying to get the Mairie’s advice but they are ‘en congé’ until later in the week and I’m reluctant to go to the Gendarmes.
As you know, Tara our little rescue dog, has been with us for three years now and a year ago, Bella, an abandoned and traumatised hunt dog turned up here, very frightened and decided to stay. She still won’t approach us or come into the house but she’s quite happy living outside on her own terms. So, effectively, we have two dogs.
We chose to live in the countryside so that Tara could have her freedom, our garden is large and unfenced so both dogs come and go as they please but never go far. Neither dog is aggressive. One of our French neighbours now says that the dogs are raiding their rubbish and constituting a nuisance so they are threatening to shoot them. It seems that they keep their rubbish in sacks in a trailer rather than in bins. Our rubbish is in bins and the dogs never touch them. No one else has complained. We have immediately provided our neighbours with two dustbins and will be getting them two more when we go shopping but we’re living in fear of hearing shots. Could they really do this? Should we be reporting the threat to the Gendarmerie? Or are we in the wrong?Love
Linda
Val says I am sure they have no rights to shoot the dog and it is just a threat made in anger. I think buying them the bins is a stroke of genius and hope that works, but I would tell the Mairie when it is open next week. Your Mayor lives in the house with the flag as you drive in, why not pop to see him and let him know of your concerns. ( The Mayor could be skiing of course!)
Any other thoughts from readers?
Malc says could Linda fence her garden?
Val says with the hunting dog who comes to be fed but will not enter that makes fencing difficult.
Dear Val,
I read your post about Linda’s problem on Tag. The neighbour does not have the right to shoot the dogs. However, Linda might not get much sympathy from the Mairie or the gendarmes as the dogs would be considered « errant » (strays). In France it is the owners responsibility to keep their dogs on their own property or on a leash. If they are straying onto the neighbour’s land then he can complain (not shoot) and Linda would be told she needed to keep her dogs fenced in. If the worst came to the worst and he did shoot them, I think, unfortunately, that the worst he would face would be a telling off from the gendarmes and Linda would be told she ought to have kept her dogs off his land. I am afraid, if it were me, I would fence the garden to keep the dogs in.
Love,
Jacynth
Gill S says
Go to the gendarmerie, they are approachable. No one can just kill dogs or threaten to. After the " je suis Charlie" I think they will act quickly with threats involving guns. GOOD LUCK
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