DUBLIN, Ga. — Canyea Harris says her dog Zeus was like family.
"I treated him like he was my own baby. Like I don't- I don't even want kids but that right there was my baby,"
She got Zeus a year ago, and they spent all their time together- until Sunday. That's when another neighborhood dog attacked him so bad, Zeus had to be euthanized.
"Just seeing him leave, it really hurt me. And the way it happened, like, I forgive the person whose dog it was," Harris said.
She might forgive the neighbor who let her dog run into her yard, but she won't ever forget what happened.
The neighbor's dog attacked Zeus twice in the same week, and she says both times were completely unprovoked because Zeus was sitting in her yard bothering nobody.
Sonja Adams is a manager for Animal Enforcement in Macon-Bibb County. She said her team gets asked a lot if people are allowed to shoot aggressive dogs.
"Technically the law says you do have a right to protect yourself and your property," Adams said.
But she said you can only do that when it comes down to a life-or-death situation.
"If you feel you're in imminent danger, which means you feel like your life is about to end and you have to do whatever's necessary to protect yourself," Adams said.
If they can, she hopes people call her team and ask for help before they turn to violence against animals.
"Let me hear what you got going on. I can help you with deciphering the animal behavior. Is it truly aggressive? I can give you some tips and tricks on how to get the animal to leave the area, before we resort to people just shooting dogs in residential- or cats, or wildlife, in residential areas and potentially harming another person," Adams said.
She said they often get phone calls from people asking her team to remove a dog from a neighborhood. She said legally, they can't just do that. Her team follows Georgia's "Responsible Dog Ownership Law" which was signed in 2012.
According to that law, they have to consider a variety of things before having the right to separate a dog from its owner. She said it's circumstantial to each situation whether or not they're legally allowed to do that.
"It really is case by case. And examining all of the facts- you know, have we dealt with this person before? Have we been to this address before?" she said.
The phone number to call her team is 478-621-6791. She said someone on her team works 24/7 and if they don't pick up the phone, it's because they're out on a call, so you should leave a voicemail with all your details.