Tragic story about a Labradoodle "comfort" dog

[Ginny Nightingale]

This is so sad--I can't believe a neighbor would do this to a family dog. 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-kills-dog-washington-family-got-vega...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Horrible. 
I do have to say that the owners of this poor dog are partly to blame, though. You don't let your dog run loose, period. No, they could not have imagined that jax would be shot, but there all kinds of other terrible things that can happen to a dog who is allowed to run loose. Part of the responsibility that comes with owning a dog is keeping him safe, and that includes keeping him under your protection at all times.  

[Suzanne & Jack]

I agree with Karen.  It sounds like they must live in a rural area, but I would never let my dog run loose unless I was with them.  My DH doesn't even like to leave ours out in our fenced yard

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I don’t  live in a rural area so there is no way my dogs would be running free with my permission, however their lifestyle  is obviously not mine. They live in a place with crazy neighbors, which can happen anywhere. My heart goes out to them. I don’t think it mattered at all the the dog was their ‘comfort’ dog. Aren’t all dogs comfort dogs? Perhaps it was the reporter that emphasized that — like you’d feel less grief if it was any old pet. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

I agree that they were taking a big chance--I have neighbors with a goldendoodle who come up from NYC on weekends --(I live in a rural area that is a weekend getaway for city folks) The dog has never been fenced and she stays around for the most part--but I would go nuts with worry. She is now 13 and deaf and yet still is allowed to wander. Yesterday she was in my yard as I was leaving to go someplace and I shooed her home before starting my car so that I would not worry about hitting her.