Shoot a wild dog and you might pay

Teresa Platkus discovered eastern El Paso County isn't the lawless Wild West.

When a feral dog came into her yard about a year ago, she let him have it with a .22 rifle - just like other people did when dogs threatened their livestock.

But after a neighbor complained, she got slapped with an animal cruelty charge and was ordered into anger-management and conflict-resolution counseling.

She recently completed seven sessions and the charge was dropped, but she wants people to know there are limits to firing at wild dogs.

"Even though people are saying to do this, be cautious when you do," she said. "The officer can, at his discretion, still press charges."

Sheriff's spokeswoman Lt. Lari Sevene said Platkus' action didn't seem warranted, because the animal had wandered onto her property and didn't pose an immediate threat.

Platkus admits she shot four to six times at the yellow Labrador when it came into her mobile home yard with his neck hair bristling.

"When I went back out with the gun, I think he was coming after my pug," she said. "I fired too many times, and they said that was unnecessary."

The dog recovered from its wounds and was trapped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which captured 12 strays last summer at the county's behest, in response to residents' complaints.

In March, the feral dog problem reemerged out east, an area not covered by the county's contract with the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. The agency will respond, however, for vicious dogs and bites if asked by the Sheriff's Office.

Commissioner Amy Lathen, who has expressed "complete support" of shooting roving dogs, cited a state statute that empowers ranchers to shoot dogs that "worry" livestock.

She noted Platkus is "absolutely right" that certain circumstances can lead to a charge.

"No sheriff's deputy is ever going to say you'll never be prosecuted," Lathen said.

"There's no way for law enforcement officials to answer a ‘what if' because circumstances are mixed."

Sevene said there are no concrete guidelines for when it is or isn't appropriate to shoot a dog.

"We have to look at the totality of the circumstances," she said. "If the dog is threatening, growling, and barking and running in your direction, you take whatever action you have to take to protect your property. But an animal wandering into your property doesn't make it appropriate to use force on that animal."