An Iowa realtor on a house tour shot the pet dog of the homeowners, although whether the shooting was in self-defense is in dispute.
According to a Newsweek report, the incident occurred last Thursday in Shenandoah, Iowa, in the backyard of the residence. The dog, an Australian shepherd-beagle mix, reportedly started barking and came loose from its leash, charging at the realtor who has a conceal-carry permit and had the gun during the house tour.
The dog was shot and injured and is now undergoing veterinary care. Although the county attorney ruled that the realtor acted in self-defense, the homeowners insisted the dog did not attack the realtor while neighbors claimed they saw the realtor kick the dog.
The realtor and the homeowners were not publicly identified.
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WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUBHUMAN, CALLING THEMSELVES A REALTOR, DOING WITH A GUN AND ACTUALLY TAKING IT OUT TO SHOOT THE DOG// BIZARRE AND DISGUSTING TO HAVE TO CARRY A GUN TO A SHOWING! PRAY THE DOG RECOVERS AND THAT SCUM GETS THEIR DUE!
I TOTALLY AGREE with you Francesca! This is beyond horrible and I cannot imagine someone calling themselves a Realtor do this! Have they never read the Realtor Code of Ethics? However, that shouldn’t have been the only ting guiding them……where was their basic decency? Ugh!
Why was the realtor needing to carry a concealed weapon in the first place? I have been a realtor for 36 years and never had a need to carry a gun for any showings!!
Hoping the dog will be ok.
The dog was defending his home. Its owner should have beenmore careful about securing the dog; knowing multiple strangers would be walking through…
Im a realtor-no gun.
I am a broker in Florida and own an Australian Shepherd. They can be aggressive it shooting it???? Totally uncalled for! 😥🏡🐶
I think the Realtor had every right to protect himself and the buyers by shooting the dog! The seller should have secured the dog more firmly and there would have been no reason for the action! I am a Realtor ,have been attacked by many dogs!
Nope. You are at the home as a guest, act appropriately. If there is a chance of getting bit act appropriately and secure another time to show.
Yeah, that’s hindsight. I know lots of people have dangerous dogs, and this guy has right to protect himself. He also has the right to sue the hell out of them. It’s insane the value we put on human life.
I 100% agree with you. Most of the people commenting here have no value on human life. You can never anticipate what a dog that breaks loose and charges towards you is going to do. Most of these people I’m betting are from the Florida area like myself and pit bulls are everywhere, they had every right to protect themselves. Why do they have to get bit and mauled and then go through suing process other than protecting? Maybe they can make the argument that he could’ve used pepper spray, but that wouldn’t have stopped the dog from charging. It might’ve slowed it down slightly. I had a PITBULL break into my backyard, fenced area before and I’m sure these are the type of people that would’ve blamed me for killing the dog.
Pets are the sole responsibility of the Seller/homeowner and can react negatively to unknown and or unfamiliar persons visiting the property. I now ask Sellers to remove pets prior to all showings and or that they are completely contained and or isolated in their crate and not running loose in the house. garage, or yard for all showings. You can never predict how a pet will react to unfamiliar people. They can bite, and or cause falls by getting around your ankles. My husband and I are both brokers, and he has been dog bitten twice, and has had to have a full round of rabies shots for one dog. In the past, we have had dogs and cats to run outside when the Buyers opened the doors, and we had to run around the entire neighborhood gathering up the animals. The issue of pets at showings is an ongoing problem for all Realtors. I feel extreme empathy for the pet owner and the Realtor who felt they had to shoot the pet in this case, but this is an ongoing dangerous problem for Realtors and the consequences can be real and painful for the Realtor, Buyers, and Sellers. Pet owners should own up to their personal responsibilities and liabilities involved with pets and showing property. Realtors should have established policies and guidelines for Sellers regarding all pets during all showings. Trust me no listing is worth the full round of rabies shots, being attacked, or bitten.
I totally Agree!!!
ISeller’s responsibility. Showing instructions should always be included. I don’t carry a weapon, but can’t make any judgment against the Realtor because I was not there; his clients and him were the only ones present to make that call. I have been a Realtor over thirty years.
I’ve been a Realtor for 30 years as well. Leave the gun in the car. If you feel threatened, don’t show.
I have been selling Real Estate for 47 years and I don’t carry a gun for showings, well I don’t carry a gun at all and this dumb agent felt the need to shoot the dog. What a jerk, Is the agent helpless or what. Come on guy, Use your brain for goodness sake, I rule against the agent unless he can convince me otherwise.
Hard to rule for or against anyone without the full set of facts, which are not forthcoming in this story. Perhaps gather all info before rendering judgement. There’s always two sides to a story!
I’m a realtor and I’ve had more than a couple of scary encounters with homeowners animals… animals not properly disclosed or put up by their owners. One encounter was terrifying, and if I’d have had a gun, I would definitely have used it!
None of us know the whole truth. If the dog attacked him, the Realtor had every right to protect himself. If he was acting in aggression toward the dog, I hope he is punished. I have no problem with concealed carry, as we should have the legal right to protect ourselves, no matter what profession we are in. We are animal lovers too, but sometimes a person has to do what they feel is necessary. Did the guy go too far? I have no idea, and neither do you.
It never seems to amaze me how people draw conclusions from bits and pieces of information as if they’re facts. Not one single person read this article knows what happened, but he/she knows exactly what the outcome should be. To those who said they’re realtors and never carried a gun in their 100 years career, are you saying this sort of thing can never happen? I have shown houses where the dogs were secured in their crates, but they were so aggressive that they moved the crates in their barking and jumping around. Know the facts before you render your verdict!
You are supposed to qualify your clients by first asking for an id. If a valid Id and professional relationship is established there is no need for a firearm in another persons property. Worried? Lock the doors while you are showing. The dog was where he needed to be. Republican Realtors, sheesh
Rule #1. Never shoot the homeowners dog while showing their home!
What do we know about the Realtor? Any physical disabilities that could prevent her/him from evading the dog? Bitten by lax homeowners’ dogs before? Protecting her/his clients? Sounds like a well prepared Realtor to me. I’m a Realtor with a CWP and I carry all the time. Not just for showings.
this guy went way overboard. I mean what’s the worst that could happen, you get bit by a dog, get some stitches and a rabie shot and call it a day. To shoot a weapon, trying to kill the dog and maybe killing someone else is way overboard.
We have no way of knowing if he just shot the dog. I do not like animals but all these comments about how long you have been in the business and do not carry a gun needs to stop. Why don’t you rent out a billboard and tell tell the public you are not able to protect yourself. Please stop being so critical specially of our fellow Realtor.
This is disgusting. This guys should be prosecuted. Any dog will bark and run towards a person in the back yard. Sounds like the Realtors in Iowa need to do classes on how to react to a dog, how to work with home owners that have dogs and how to write up the listing when there are dogs in the home (pets). Put comment in listing to not go until the home owner secures the dog or do not go in back yard without checking for the dog. The listing agent may also have poor skills in handling this situation. This guy is lying. That breed is not aggressive.
So sorry for this very unfortunate incident. As an antiquated realtor, 54 years, I have been attacked from everything from a bull to a cat. When it comes to domesticated pets, it IS the responsibility of the property owner to secure anything that the homeowner does NOT have 100% control of. I have learned that the safest & smartest approach is to have a pet secured in a crate because they will definitely try to protect their domain. It’s always best to be on the side of caution. I have seen brokers and agents with dozens of stitches and hospitalization with injuries. I’m in the south & would never be foolish enough not to have a concealed weapon….EVER! My husband hates funerals.
Everyone missing one comment. Neighbor saw him / her kicking the dog. Should have retreated to the car. Scheduled showing another day. Guns available, make hasty decisions.
This is exactly why not everyone should be issued a permit to carry. If the dog attacked and would not release, sure then shoot him but better to taze him and not kill an animal. Plus Beagle mix, come on, That dog likely just wanted to play.