My Dog Killed A Cat

Question
I have a 3 year old American Pitt Bull terrier that I have had since she was 4 weeks old (I rescued her from a mal nourished mother) She was raised with a Labrador Retriever (male 4 years old). During a recent relocation I dropped my dogs off to be baby sat until their flight out (so I can settle in before they get to the new house ..... 2000 miles away). I dropped my two dogs off at this house that they are very familiar with. They visit this place a lot maybe when I want them to socialize a little more or just run their energy out. This house has a 6ft privacy fence. Fencing in about 3/4 acre. The fence also has one of those underground fence collar combos (to prevent digging since mine are houdini's). This particular day I dropped just my one pet off here because she wasn't ready to fly (she was ill) so I redid her flight for another. Somewhere in the next 3 days she started doing her houdini act and dug a tunnel underneath the fence... it wasn't until I contacted the local pound (3 hours missing by this time) to find out she had indeed escaped and been captured due to killing my neighbors cat. Apparently she had teamed up with 2 other dogs in the neighborhood and between the 3 of them killed 2 cats (both running free). She is microchipped with HomeAgain, while people spent time searching the neighborhood to find her I called 3 different local animal shelters. Mind you, growing up in a different area she was allowed to roam the neighborhood and never had any problems arise. So when she first got the hunt was to find her before she got caught and I paid city fines. She is WELL socialized... between putting on the team jersey and roaming the tail gating areas having more than 5k tailgaters with pets at any given time, she had tons of socializing with all different types of dogs (from chiuauaua's to Rottweiler) and people (drunks to sober)... never cats. Anyway, we discovered the battery had died in the collar and she escaped (which is how she got out). Mind you THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED IN THE 2 YEARS SHE'S BEEN BEING  DOGGIE SAT THERE. This was a freak accident that she was even there to begin with and even more so that the collar died 2 days after me dropping her off! I checked the collars and changed the battery before I left and checked the fence. Apparently one of the other dogs she was running with ran up onto a lady's porch and started setting off the cats. She caught one and pranced around with it. The story is my dog went up to "steal" the cat and thus played tug of war. I totally know this is my fault because I play tug of war with her all the time with ropes during playtime and I've never tried explaining to her that cats are off limits. It's hard to teach against nature so I just never exposed her to it (cats I mean). However, by the time animal control got there the dogs split except for mine. She was rolled over on her back wagging her tail. The cat owner is requesting her be put down for killing her cat. She has NEVER done this before. She is well socialized with most dog breeds and sizes as well as people. I have spent time with her teaching basic commands (sit, stay, go to bed, stop, and of course what "NO" means). She has been kept as an inside dog most of her life and gets treated like my child. Because unforunately I'm not able to have kids. Im 23 years old, my dog is my child. My daughter. I have pleaded with the cat owner and finally reached an agreement. They don't want her put down but they want to make sure it doesn't happen again. I can see the point and I know how hard it must be for tham and I just have been trying to take it easy and find the words. I try to think of what someone might be able to say to me had it been someone's animal killing mine. I love animals. It'd be a rare occasion that I'd want to see one put down. This incident happened in GA i now reside in CA. I have been requesting them to release her to the care of my Vet so they can transport her for her flight here. Where I will register her with AlpineDogranch and we will spend time there together in "rehab". I ensured them that everything will be verifiable and the pound here has already been notified of the circumstances. The training at Alpine is $600, pound fines are $900 and I offered to pay them grievances if they so desire. I live here in a house with a 6 ft privacy fence, electric fence at the bottom, an underground fence with collar, and beware of dog signs on every side just to prepare for her. I am not able to get a response from them that this is good enough? I keep getting "we'll discuss this and let you know how we feel", but when we disucss I keep getting the same thing "We don't want to put her down, but we want hard proof that this won't likely happen again." I offered to pay them for the loss of their cat, offer a new cat of the same breed, and offered to do training classes in GA. I have told them I will do whatever they think necessary to save my dogs life. They don't seem to ever have a response just that they don't want to put her down, but they want to be sure she won't get out again. They said it's not because of her breed or the fact she killed the cat, but because how vicious the dog she was with was toward the cat. They think we're harboring the other dogs. Like they think the other dogs were in fact ours as well and that if they hold out long enough we'll relac and they'll finally see them. When in fact they're not ours! The only dogs in the fence was her and a obese 8 year old pug. The other dogs are not ours. We've offered to let them search the house and fence: they decline. My question is ... what could i possibly offer them other than what I have aleady offered? Is there something I have not thought of yet? What do you suggest I do?

Answer
Crystal,
This isn't a question that can best be served on this forum. You would be better off calling a lawyer or posting to a legal site of some kind.
This is more about the law and the rights of the cat owners and of your rights as the owner of a Pit Bull.

As you know, these dogs were bred to kill and that is something that is always in their bloodlines. Chihuahuas are not a breed that was ever bred to kill so they have never gained a reputation as killers because it just isn't in their bloodlines.

Golden retrievers are not normally killers either but they are capable of it by sheer size. The point I am trying to make here is that you are fighting a hard battle because of the breed your dog is. I know she is great with you, socialized, etc- but I have seen MANY great Pit Bulls KILL other animals. She may not be a human killer but when she saw this cat and has never been around cats, her instinct was to kill it.

"Apparently she had teamed up with 2 other dogs in the neighborhood and between the 3 of them killed 2 cats (both running free" This is pure conjecture on your part. You weren't there- you didn't see it at all- so you don't know for sure that your dog didn't attack these cats.
Yes the cats should have been inside, and yes your dog shouldn't have been loose. I would think it's more the responsibility of the pet sitters if they are being paid for this than the person NOT THERE at the time.

"Apparently one of the other dogs she was running with ran up onto a lady's porch and started setting off the cats. She caught one and pranced around with it. The story is my dog went up to "steal" the cat and thus played tug of war. I totally know this is my fault because I play tug of war with her all the time with ropes during playtime and I've never tried explaining to her that cats are off limits"

It is not hard to teach against nature but it is hard to teach a dog that a cat isn't a play toy if she has never been around them. You can't "explain" this to a dog. That is the owner's failing when the breed in question is a Pit. I have seen 18 month old Pits kill cats in our own hospital! The kennel girl left a pit puppy in the back room and it killed our own kitten back there in about two minutes flat.Never trained otherwise and the kennel girls fault for not putting it in a cage.

So your dilemma here isn't appeasement. It sounds as if you have done all you can for the owners. I don't understand the hold up on shipping the dog out to you. It certainly won't happen again if the dog isn't in Georgia but they need to get past this and let the dog go.
You need to treat your dog like a dog and not your baby. She is capable of killing and you need to always remember that and treat her with some authority and respect or this WILL happen again.
I don't mean to sound harsh here Crystal but you need to wake up too.
I hope you do get her back but if you don't please let this be a life lesson for you.
Contact a lawyer and let me know what happens. Good luck to you both.