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

Shelly,  That is tough, I can understand your fears. We had a dog when I was living in CA and he got into a fight with a coyote and the vet was very concerned. Our dog won (not sure how that worked) but anyway the vet said that in his many years of experience once they attack once, it will happen again. So my brother made the decision to put the dog down as the shelters there told him they would not even consider for adoption, so it was aweful. If I had to do it again, I am not sure what i would do...  Just thought i would give my two cents .... Colleen

If the cat came into your yard, then the dog is NOT to blame!!! The dog was not running loose, the cat happened into its territory and dogs feel like they're protecting their homes, so they attack. Dogs have that aggression in their nature--they can't help it. This does not mean your dog is a bad dog; it just means that it's a dog! My dogs are the same way. I watch a lot of the "Dog Whisperer" if you can't tell, heh. But I wouldn't worry about it too much. You might want to put up a "Beware of Dog" sign if you think someone might get hurt in the future; that way they've been warned and it's not you or your dog's fault they got hurt.

Thanks Neely!   We do have two beware of dog signs up, one on the garage and one on the gate to the fence. =)  I think I knew she was fine, I was just a little freaked out! LOL. Thanks for the support! Shells