Rottweilers attack llamas.

On October 28, the Associated Press reported the saga of Kim Fedje when she checked livestock on her property in Douglas County, Minnesota, a few days earlier.

Fedje had heard dogs barking, so her fiance urged her to take her .22 caliber rifle, which she did. Not thinking it would actually be needed, however, she did not fully load it. "I only put in about 10 shells," she told AP, "but am not sure because I wasn't counting and didn't expect anything to be wrong."

After checking her barn animals, Fedje went to the pasture that she shares with neighbors who maintain a herd of llamas. She immediately knew there was a problem because the llamas were standing in a tight circle, something they only do when fending off predators.

Fedje called the llamas, but they did not budge. Instead, a pair of large Rottweilers appeared and began charging toward her. "I thought 'Run!' and at the same time knew that if I ran I would be dead," she recalled. "I aimed my .22 and started firing.'"

The first three shots missed, but the next killed one dog at a distance of about 20 feet. Her last round wounded the other. After reloading the rifle, her fiance tracked the wounded dog and put it down. The couple then checked the llama herd and found that all 13 animals had been attacked. Nine required stitches and one had a hamstring ripped out. The llamas' owner, Joni Neal, told AP, "The whole herd is ruined."

Douglas County investigators, who would usually have handled the case, referred it instead to Alexandria city prosecutors because one of the owners of the dogs is director of the county's land and resource management office.