No vet bill for man who shot dog

A man who shot and wounded a dog that threatened the safety of his 4-year-old son does not have to pay a $2,156 veterinarian bill, a Yuba County Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

"The Second Amendment does apply in this country," Judge Julia Scroggin said in court. "You don't have to put up with somebody else's growling dog on your property."

Anthony Moua, 37, was sued in small-claims court by the dog's owner, Ernest Williams Harris, who said Moua didn't call Animal Control first to pick up the dog after it entered his property when getting out of the his yard two houses away in the 2100 block of Erle Road on Feb. 5.

Moua said after the judge's ruling that the animal, which he described as a large black dog, had his teeth on the 4-year-old's shirt and was pulling the boy.

Harris could not be reached for comment after the judge's decision.

"I had to do something," said Moua, recounting that after getting his son inside the home that the dog went to the back door where his son was nearby. "I'm just protecting what's mine."

Moua, who has about 20 ducks and 30 chickens on his property, said he yelled at the dog, which then came after him. Moua said he fired a warning shot from his .22-caliber rifle and shot a second time when the dog continued to come toward him.

The dog had a gunshot wound behind its right shoulder, according to the small-claims case filed by Harris.

Scroggin said when making her ruling that Moua isn't responsible for the dog's vet bill and that "any parent would think about protecting their child."

"He lawfully could protect himself and his child," the judge said. "The dog should not have been on the property in the first place."

Moua said his son has had nightmares about the incident. Moua said he was unaware the animal belonged to his neighbor until after the incident.