Buck Attack Caught On Trail-Cam

Justin Peacock, of Eatonton, hunts near his home on the Morgan/Putnam county line. Checking his trail camera in early November, he was hoping to find some images of a big buck since the rut was wide open. After scrolling through his photos, he came across one of a nice buck, but the rest of the image was disturbing.

Three dogs were directly behind the buck, and blood could be seen on the buck’s back leg, stomach and hind quarter. The surprising thing was that the dogs weren’t wild—they were household pets.

Justin knew who the dogs belonged to and met with the owners. Justin said the conversation went well, and there were no hard feelings between them.

However, since the photo was snapped in November, Justin has captured additional pictures on his trail camera of these same dogs.

“The dogs are still roaming on my property, and they continue to chase the deer,” said Justin. “The deer are not in the same photos but were there minutes before pictures of the dogs are taken. I’m working with the landowner by asking him to keep the dogs off the property and letting him know about the situation. As of now, it’s still a problem.”

Justin Peacock, of Eatonton, was surprised to find this image on his trail camera in early November. Three household dogs have bloodied the deer.

It’s still a mystery how three house dogs were able to catch up, wound and very likely kill a mature buck.

“There is no way to know if the deer was hurt prior or that he was worn down by the rut,” said Justin.

Justin said he’s still looking for the carcass.

When the photo was put on Facebook, there were claims it was Photoshopped—definitely not true. It’s a real photo straight off a Moultrie trail-cam. GON took the photo off its Facebook page when the discussions turned toward claims the picture was fake and an off-topic debate about legal deer hunting with dogs. There was also discussion about shooting dogs, which should never occur. Folks keeping dogs put up and not allowed to run wild is a discussion worth having.