OT: Problem with my dog

So....this is probably kind of random to post here....but I just had a really horrible experience and I need to get it out and see if maybe someone has an idea. Our dog (Molly, a boxer/shephard mix) was FRANTICALLY barking and the neighbors dogs were all going crazy...and then I realized that I could hear that there was clearly another animal out back with our dog....I grabbed a flashlight and a hammer (the first weapon-ish thing that I could lay my hands on in my frantic race out the back door) and flew out to the backyard where I could hear that Molly was clearly attacking something. I went into the backyard and could see that she had gotten hold of one of the neighborhood stray cats (I dont know why it went back there, all the cats here are very smart about not going back there as she barks her head off at them whenever she can see them). She had it right around the middle and was crushing and shaking the heck out of, I had to give her a couple good knocks on the back of her nose with the handle of the hammer (not hard, just enough so she knew I meant business, and I didnt want to reach out for fear that in her frenzy she would hurt me) to get her to leave it and go away. She killed the cat, it wasnt dead when I got her off it but it died pretty quick. She was never in the least bit aggresive toward me, even when I put her leash on her and walked her away to tie her to the fence so I could take care of the dead cat....so I am not worried that she would ever hurt one of us...but our neighbrohood has lots of cats, a few strays and lots of families have cats that roam freely.....I don't ever want to have to fight her off of another animal and I can't even wrap my head around what I would do if she got hold of a neighbors pet. I'm sitting here with tears streaming down my face and I just dont know what to do. I don't want to give her to another family, since I cant say she would never hurt anyone else (she is always very chill when I am around, but, shes MY dog) or another families pet and I know if I take her to the pound they will euthanize her (there are no "no-kills" in our area) because she is too old to be likely adopted again. I just don't know what to do. I guess I just needed to get that out and if anyone has any thoughts, they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for "listening" Shells

That's rough. I know that had to be very traumatic and I hate that the cat died. On the other hand, if she is a good dog and is not aggressive to humans, and cats are coming into your yard even KNOWING there is a dog there...what can you really do? You can't keep her inside all the time, and it is in a dog's nature to hunt prey. It's a throwback to their days as wolves. They very much still have that instinct, even though humans have taken most of it out of them, it can and does occasionally surface. Feral cats face all kinds of dangers, and dogs are one of them. It's not like your dog is running the neighborhood killing cats. In addition, if people let their pet cats roam freely, they have to face the consequences of doing so. It's a trade off. Personally, I keep my cat indoors and have since he was a kitten. He knows nothing of outside and he's perfectly fine. If I did let him roam and a dog killed him, I would personally feel that I had a big part in his death. I would think twice about taking her to a shelter for this one solitary act. You got a glimpse of her true animal nature. It's not always pretty, but it is a part of what she is. Just my thoughts.

Thanks Ken! I am feeling a lot better this morning and you are absolutely right, what she did was totally natural. I don't feel she did anything wrong, my main concern is really just not wanting to have to fight another animal away from her again, however, in the calm light of morning I don't think it is going to be a regular occurence. Like I think I mentioned, we have had her 5 years and in all that time all she has ever caught are a couple birds (which she leaves at the gate like gifts, yay! LOL). She is a 100% outdoor dog (just TOO big to come in, and she really prefers to be outside anyway) so that yard is totally her territory and I'm sure all she did was defend it......good doggy...lol. I am going to call the vet and check to see if I should take her in, some of the stray cats in our neighborhood have been known to look a little sickly and I am a little worried that she might get sick, she had managed to break the skin on the cats stomach and I'm sure got some of the blood into her system. Other than that though, I am not too worried anymore. Thanks!!! Shells