Pit Bull Attack...divine intervention

[chasfm11]

Check out Health and Safety Code, Title 10, Chapter 822, Subchapter B. Sec 822.013

"(a) A dog or coyote that is attacking, is about to attack, or has recently attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowls may be killed by..."

If it's good enough for Rick Perry it should be good enough for us peasants.

The difference was that Gov. Perry shot a wild coyote. This is another domestic animal. While I'd like to believe that I could have taken the attacking dog out without consequence under the Health and Safety Code, I don't.

[Jago668]

Check out Health and Safety Code, Title 10, Chapter 822, Subchapter B. Sec 822.013

"(a) A dog or coyote that is attacking, is about to attack, or has recently attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowls may be killed by..."

If it's good enough for Rick Perry it should be good enough for us peasants.

The difference was that Gov. Perry shot a wild coyote. This is another domestic animal. While I'd like to believe that I could have taken the attacking dog out without consequence under the Health and Safety Code, I don't.

At least you know there is a law for it though. Like with anything regarding shooting, you never know what a cop, da, judge, or jury is going to do.

[striker55]

Rural country living is different than an urban setting, probably why the judge sided with me and my neighbors. I know just living next to someone with an aggressive dog is disturbing. One neighbor who went to court with me sold his house and moved, didn't like the stress. I ride a bicycle every day and I carry, I see people walking pitbulls quite often and most are respectful but if one locks onto my leg it is going down.

[striker55]

One more point, a dog doesn't have to bite someone before being declared a dangerous dog, being aggressive can.

[chasfm11]

One more point, a dog doesn't have to bite someone before being declared a dangerous dog, being aggressive can.

I have two things which refute that expectation.

1. According to the Animal Control officer, only when an attacking dog actually kills its "prey" has there been any success in getting the offending animal declared as a dangerous dog. Even some cases where humans are attacked,the court will not agree to the dangerous dog designation. I took her through the attack on my leg by a doberman and she said that I would have had a near zero chance of getting that animal declared a dangerous dog.

2. My sister in Pennsylvania, through the local animal control and district attorney's office, took the owner of the pit bull that attacked her Pom to court and won dangerous dog and a judgement for the $1,200 in medical bills The owner, acting as her own attorney, filed an appeal. The assistant district attorney represented my sister. The owner called herself as a witness and lied to the court on the stand about the circumstances of the attack. My sister's vet testified and was attacked as not being a credible witness about the damage done to my sister's dog. The appellate judge enforced the payments for the vet bill at $50 a month but overturned the dangerous dog. The dog is now free to come back outside my sister's fence that it jumped. In response, my sister increased the height of her fence to 6 feet. I'm not certain that is enough.

For those who don't know, a person with a declared dangerous dog must post signs to that effect at their residence, not have their animal out in public without a muzzle carry $100,000 worth of liability insurance and, in PA, pay $500 per year to the State for having a dangerous dog. The owner of the pit bull that attacked my sister's dog was already making payments to the State for unrelated past legal judgements against her and was not capable of meeting the financial requirements for having a dangerous dog. My editorial comment is that the owner's financial situation played a large role in the case being overturned on appeal. It is likely that the owner would have had to give up the dog or euthanize it if forced to meet the dangerous dog requirement. The owner showed pictures of her dog with children and the court bought it. How the dog behaves around children is irrelevant to the dog's behavior against animals like other pets that it considers to be prey.

[chasfm11]

At least you know there is a law for it though. Like with anything regarding shooting, you never know what a cop, da, judge, or jury is going to do.

When this is settled, I plan to schedule an appointment with the head of the animal services unit to discuss the Health and Safety wording. They would play a big role in any prosecution, I suspect.

[striker55]

One more point, a dog doesn't have to bite someone before being declared a dangerous dog, being aggressive can.

I have two things which refute that expectation.

1. According to the Animal Control officer, only when an attacking dog actually kills its "prey" has there been any success in getting the offending animal declared as a dangerous dog. Even some cases where humans are attacked,the court will not agree to the dangerous dog designation. I took her through the attack on my leg by a doberman and she said that I would have had a near zero chance of getting that animal declared a dangerous dog.

2. My sister in Pennsylvania, through the local animal control and district attorney's office, took the owner of the pit bull that attacked her Pom to court and won dangerous dog and a judgement for the $1,200 in medical bills The owner, acting as her own attorney, filed an appeal. The assistant district attorney represented my sister. The owner called herself as a witness and lied to the court on the stand about the circumstances of the attack. My sister's vet testified and was attacked as not being a credible witness about the damage done to my sister's dog. The appellate judge enforced the payments for the vet bill at $50 a month but overturned the dangerous dog. The dog is now free to come back outside my sister's fence that it jumped. In response, my sister increased the height of her fence to 6 feet. I'm not certain that is enough.

For those who don't know, a person with a declared dangerous dog must post signs to that effect at their residence, not have their animal out in public without a muzzle carry $100,000 worth of liability insurance and, in PA, pay $500 per year to the State for having a dangerous dog. The owner of the pit bull that attacked my sister's dog was already making payments to the State for unrelated past legal judgements against her and was not capable of meeting the financial requirements for having a dangerous dog. My editorial comment is that the owner's financial situation played a large role in the case being overturned on appeal. It is likely that the owner would have had to give up the dog or euthanize it if forced to meet the dangerous dog requirement. The owner showed pictures of her dog with children and the court bought it. How the dog behaves around children is irrelevant to the dog's behavior against animals like other pets that it considers to be prey.

All I can say is that the judge agreed with our complaint and the dog in my neighborhood was declared a dangerous dog. The owner had 30 days to appeal the decision and didn't. The owner had to comply with all the restrictions.

[flechero]

You and I see that very differently. What if the pit had instead attacked you or turned on you when you tried to defend your dog? The Divine Intervention may well have been the Lord reminding you to never leave the gun home when you are out on your walks.

That dog needs to be put down.

I doubt if killing the dog would have made any difference in the outcome. The damage that has been done was done by the time I could safely shoot arrived. I say "safely" because I would not put my own dog in jeopardy with my gun. Shooting the dog might have landed me in jail. That would definitely not have helped the situation. The animal control person pretty much told me that I have no rights in the matter.

Maybe/Maybe not, but you were extremely lucky. Next time is the unknown/concern now. You or someone else faces a "next time" since the dog wasn't dealt with this time. Not to mention it now has a taste for blood that it may not have had the other day. I hope you never see it again, but not being prepared next time, after a big warning, is unwise.

[Archery1]

Chas, I hope your girl is going to be okay. She may end up quite a bit afraid to outside for walks from now on, so hopefully you can find something else to do when she recovers.

The person that told you a dog will fight through the pain may have thought your were talking about OC spray and not Open Carrying a .45ACP. Although, we know they will fight through that until and unless something vital is hit that stops them.

Since you know who the owner of the Pit is I hope LE can handle this and they will pay for all your girl's medical and the Pit is quarantined and evaluated whether or not it should be put down.

You are right about OC meaning pepper spray when I was talking to her. I deliberately did not mention that I normally carry a gun in that conversation so the OC was not open carry. A .45ACP round through the back of the dogs head would probably have stopped everything.

Animal Services is handling this. She said that she will evaluate the dog for excessive aggressiveness but indicated that she was unlikely to find that. The more she talked, the less I felt any security that the matter wasn't simply going to be brushed aside. We'll see. Right now, I'm just trying to get through the night with my dog. I'm watching for more symptoms. A trip to the emergency vet in the middle of the night could still be in my future.

Sounds more like you have an animal "activist" working in animal control. That person is not working off the laws and just working for dogs. Just for comparison on luck of the draw as to animal control, I was jumped by 2 pit bulls while walking. Reported it to animal control with just an address. A week later was on a plane waiting to taxi and phone rang. The animal control officer was at the residence, verified address, and asked me what I would like for them to issue, a warning or $300.00 ticket (helped that this residence already had a few on file). I said give em' a ticket.

[chasfm11]

Maybe/Maybe not, but you were extremely lucky. Next time is the unknown/concern now. You or someone else faces a "next time" since the dog wasn't dealt with this time. Not to mention it now has a taste for blood that it may not have had the other day. I hope you never see it again, but not being prepared next time, after a big warning, is unwise.

I've replayed the incident in my mind repeatedly all last night. On one level, I feel terrible for not being able to protect my dog. But I will very straight forward say.

1. It was nearly impossible to detect the dog coming. I had lost my glasses during the incident. When I finally found them, I knew exactly where the incident happened. Looking backward, the dog's exit of the house was hidden by a parked car. The home owner (not the owner of the dog - that couple is staying with her) said that she understood that the dog escaped through the front door when it was carelessly opened. The car blocked my view of the lower part of that door so it is likely that the dog was at full speed by the time it cleared the front of the car. It is about 50 yards from that car to where the dog attacked my dog. Even if I had seen and could have tracked the dog visually and with a draw to first shot of slightly over a second, it would have been almost impossible to hit it while it was incoming. It is a young male pit bill. I'm guessing that I would have had about 2 seconds.
2. I was not aware that there was a pit bull in that house. The family has two smaller terriers and a very old larger mixed dog. Had I seen the movement, it would have likely taken me longer to recognize that it wasn't one of the resident dogs.
3. Had I seen it coming, my instinct is to pick up my dog (she only weighs 18lbs) rather than draw my gun. Again, it is unlikely that I could have gotten down, picked her up and gotten her out of the pit bulls way before it arrived. As bad as this outcome was, that one could have been worse. Having the dog attacking me at the same time would have likely further impacted my ability to separate them.

The dog was out in a fenced in yard this morning, barking at another neighbor's dog as it was walked down the street. That behavior runs counter to the Animal Control officer's opinion that my dog was viewed as prey/a squirrel. The dog being walked this morning was a large Irish setter. I have no expectation that the Animal Control officer will find aggression worthy of action, regardless.

My resolve is that I will never be out unarmed again. When I leave the house to leave the neighborhood, I never am. I was foolish to believe that being next door to my house did not require it. I won't be that foolish again.

[chasfm11]

Sounds more like you have an animal "activist" working in animal control. That person is not working off the laws and just working for dogs. Just for comparison on luck of the draw as to animal control, I was jumped by 2 pit bulls while walking. Reported it to animal control with just an address. A week later was on a plane waiting to taxi and phone rang. The animal control officer was at the residence, verified address, and asked me what I would like for them to issue, a warning or $300.00 ticket (helped that this residence already had a few on file). I said give em' a ticket.

The Animal Control officer claimed that she rescues dogs that picked up for aggressive behavior. She has German Shepards but apparently picks up others including pit bulls. Our Animal Control has a reputation for a lackadaisical approach to repeat offenders. There was a little poodle mix that used to chase me on my bike. If I get into my pedals, I could easily outrun it but I and many of the neighbors reported it for being loose. Animal Control set near the house, trying to catch the owners in the act. When they did, it was a $25 fine. There were multiple complaints afterward but I'm not aware of any more actions against the owners. $300 would make a big difference. I will definitely ask what happened to the owners in my case.

[flechero]

My resolve is that I will never be out unarmed again.

With your health intact, and your dog on the mend, that's the most important takeaway!

[Archery1]

The Animal Control officer claimed that she rescues dogs that picked up for aggressive behavior.

That's exactly what she was "practicing" and not Animal Control. You have an injured dog, severely, and that was all that was before her and on her plate. Not the welfare of the attacking dog.

[anygunanywhere]

The Animal Control officer claimed that she rescues dogs that picked up for aggressive behavior.

That's exactly what she was "practicing" and not Animal Control. You have an injured dog, severely, and that was all that was before her and on her plate. Not the welfare of the attacking dog.

The animal control person is obviously one of the zealots that values animals above humans.

[Archery1]

The Animal Control officer claimed that she rescues dogs that picked up for aggressive behavior.

That's exactly what she was "practicing" and not Animal Control. You have an injured dog, severely, and that was all that was before her and on her plate. Not the welfare of the attacking dog.

The animal control person is obviously one of the zealots that values animals above humans.

Yes, and that is animal welfare activism. Just like we have activists for human arrest subjects, those are not law enforcement. Combine the two mentalities, activism and enforcement, and you have anarchy at the helm.