An asshole Banker shot a neighbor's dog for.....

[savalez]

BARKING! And now he's out on bail.

A prominent” Washington state banker who became enraged by a barking dog reportedly tried to kill the animal in front of its owners but shot the wrong dog, KIRO reported this week.

According to The Bellingham Herald, 55-year-old David William Latham had heard a dog barking for hours on Sept. 13 so he grabbed a rifle and walked across the street to where the dogs were confined in a neighbor’s fence.

Loyce Andrews told the paper that her dogs did not know Latham, and ran to the fence when he approached. She said that Latham fired a single round into one of the dogs’ chests without uttering a single word. He then turned around to walk home.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/irate-banker-tired-of-barking-dog-shoots-wrong-corgi-in-front-of-horrified-neighbors/

[villager]

1. Copyedit note: You used the redundancy "asshole Banker." The former is *always* inferred...

...by the latter.

[AverageJoe90]

2. Douche. Bag. nt

[badtoworse]

3. One of my neighbors has really annoying Jack Russel that barks constantly

I can't condone what this guy did, but I understand where he's coming from.

[Egnever]

5. +1

I would never do what he did but there have been times it crossed my mind.

On a side note people should have some courtesy and bring their non stop barking dogs inside. I have also had a neighbor that let their dog bark for hours on end. I always wondered what kind of asshat leaves their dog to bark like that.

Like you said I don't condone what he did but I can certainly understand the trigger.

[bullwinkle428]

8. You understand the dog he shot was not the "guilty party"?

[badtoworse]

9. Would it make any difference if he had shot the right dog?

[KurtNYC]

13. the first step is tell the owners

2nd, if necessary, is file a police report or otherwise involve local government in the solution:

If a barking dog problem in your neighborhood doesn't improve after your efforts to work something out, it's time to check your local laws and see what your legal options are. Armed with this knowledge, you'll be better prepared to approach your neighbor again or go to animal control authorities, the police, or a small claims court judge.

In some places, barking dogs are covered by a specific state or local ordinance. For example, Massachusetts law allows neighbors to make a formal complaint to the town's board of selectmen (city council) about a dog that is a nuisance because of "excessive barking." (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 140, section 157.) The board holds a hearing and makes whatever order is necessary to stop the nuisance—including, in some cases, ordering the owner to get rid of the dog. (See Commonwealth v. Ferreri, 572 N.E.2d 585 (1991).)

Similarly, state law in Oregon declares any dog that disturbs someone with "frequent or prolonged noises" is a public nuisance. (Or. Rev. Stat. section 609.095 (i)(f).) The county investigates complaints.

Keeping a dog whose barking is a nuisance may even be a minor criminal offense. In 2006, a Pennsylvania judge sentenced a woman to 10 days in jail because the noise from her five dogs was "torturing the neighbors." He offered, however, to cancel the $300 fine and the jail sentence if she could find new homes for three of the dogs. ("As barking angers neighbor, law puts bite on dogs; owner," Harrisburg Patriot-News, Oct. 13, 2006.)

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/dog-book/chapter7-4.html

[badtoworse]

15. Thanks. I've talked to the owners and they say they've tried everything.

I believe them - if I had a dog like that, I'd try everything too. The dog is even on Prozac. The problem occurs in the summer, mostly on weekends, when they're outside, by the pool with the dog - he goes crazy and it's a yippy barking that really gets on your nerves. We're usually away on weekends, so we're not exposed to it often enough to take it to the town. I grew up with a dog and I know what a part of the family they become. Annoying as it is, I'd rather put up with it a few days a summer than see them lose the dog. Doesn't mean I haven't fantasized about shooting it at times.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

4. I hope they throw the book at this asshole.

I don't know if I would be able to restrain myself.

It sounds to me like he should be charged with felony assault for threatening the owner too. The other charges are relatively minor. This guy needs to be removed from society.

[mythology]

14. I don't want them to throw the book at the guy

I'd prefer they use rocks or bricks, or just drop him on a deserted island since he can't seem to interact with other human beings.

Yes I get a dog barking for hours is annoying. I've dealt with that while having migraines. But shooting the dog, or the owner never crossed my mind.

If the dog barking for hours on end happens regularly, call animal control or the Humane Society/APSCA. Or god forbid, go talk to your neighbor face to face like a grown up.

[Ken Burch]

6. Disgusting, and again, I do hope...

...that everyone who condemned the banker for shooting a dog would equally condemn him for shooting a homeless person or an employee he'd just laid off on Christmas Eve.

[ck4829]

7. No sentence will be enough for him

[lame54]

10. Was the dog from Reno?

[randome]

11. The guy is a danger to himself, as well. He shouldn't have been released.

Latham has been ordered to turn over all firearms, and to stay away from the dog’s owners. He was due back in court on Oct. 26.

The first thing to do should have been to collect all his weaponry since he clearly is not a responsible user. Not give him time to do it on his own.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers, it's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[H2O Man]

12. That's terrible.

Many years ago, I lived on an isolated farm. We had hundreds of acres of property, which was surrounded by state land. It was on a "seasonal" dirt road, meaning that where I lived was well beyond where snow plows ventured.

One sunny afternoon, while I was doing yard work, a car stopped in my driveway. It was the town's dog warden, a petty, violent man. I had gone to school with his son, and knew that the guy was brutal.

I had two dogs at the time, that were just aging out of puppyhood. They were playing on the lawn. The guy pointed to them, and said, "You better keep them tied up, or I'll shoot them." I asked, "What did you say?," as I walked over towards him. He repeated the same words.

I told him that, if he shot one of my dogs, I'd shoot him. He said, "Oh yeah? Well, then you'd spend the rest of your life in prison!" I said that he might be right -- assuming anyone might find where I disposed of him -- but that either way, he'd be dead.

A couple of days later, my old friend visited me. He said that his father told him that I was "crazy." I never saw that dog warden again.