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So I am reading GetOfftheX forums and one of the guys there had to shoot at two dogs who attacked his dog while on a walk. Police ticketed him $75 for discharging a firearm within city limits (not sure which city). what the heck?

I guess I need to talk to my local LEOs to get their take on this - as I am walking the biggest wuss on four legs nearly every night....usually late at night. On several occasions I've had dogs rush up to us, but I could tell it wasn't an aggressive rush, only excited. However, if it was an attack, I would have only one way to prevent it...even if it cost me $75.

If you have to shoot a dog that someone owns, you need to make a convincing case that shooting was the only way to prevent greater harm. PC § 42.092 makes it a felony to kill an animal that belongs to someone else without the owner's permission.

- Jim

Sorry, had a chuckle when I read that. All I could imagine is:

"Hey bud...This your dog?!"
"Yeah!"
"Mind if I shoot it?"
"Naw, you go right ahead. He don't smell too good nohow."

Wow....felony.

I love dogs. I have two and would never shoot a dog without good reason. But I have zero tolerance for vicious dogs.
Having a vicious dog is the EXACT same as randomly shooting into the air. You have no idea where that bullet or dog is going to end up or who it's going to hurt.

The permission part is to cover veterinarians who put down a dog at the owner's request.

- Jim

airmotive wrote: "Hey bud...This your dog?!"
"Yeah!"
"Mind if I shoot it?"
"Naw, you go right ahead. He don't smell too good nohow."

That one had me blowing coffee out of my nose! Thanks...sure needed a good laugh.

For 1/3 of that $75.00 he could buy some Fox labs Pepper Spray (OC) and have a non lethal solution for the vast majority of dogs (and people).

I can certainly think of a few scenarios where shooting a dog would be appropriate, but when a person only carries a "hammer" the whole world begins to look like a nail...if you know what I mean.

He should've said they were attacking him and his dog rather than just his dog.

I was attacked by a small mutt dog when I was a kid. I hit it with a 2 x 4 in the back and head several times before it stopped. I have also seen dogs take on large hogs and be wounded very bad and still continue the attack. If a dog is in attack mode pepper spray will do nothing to stop it. It does work well on pest dogs but not one pumped up and attacking. The only answer is to put something between the dog and the you or shoot it. That is my experience and opinion.

shootthesheet wrote:I was attacked by a small mutt dog when I was a kid. I hit it with a 2 x 4 in the back and head several times before it stopped. I have also seen dogs take on large hogs and be wounded very bad and still continue the attack. If a dog is in attack mode pepper spray will do nothing to stop it. It does work well on pest dogs but not one pumped up and attacking. The only answer is to put something between the dog and the you or shoot it. That is my experience and opinion.

being on the recieving end of a couple dog attacks and having a friends 4yo daughter ripped open (exposed all ribs on one side) by their family pet, the only thing I can say is......

shootthesheet wrote:I was attacked by a small mutt dog when I was a kid. I hit it with a 2 x 4 in the back and head several times before it stopped. I have also seen dogs take on large hogs and be wounded very bad and still continue the attack. If a dog is in attack mode pepper spray will do nothing to stop it. It does work well on pest dogs but not one pumped up and attacking. The only answer is to put something between the dog and the you or shoot it. That is my experience and opinion.

I don't think you can say this with any degree of certainty. It very much depends on the dog and the nature of his attack.

Folks living in the city limits are unlikely to encounter a "hog dog" something I am most familiar with. The Cur dogs, pits and mastiffs we hunt with are tough and experienced, but they all have their limits.

I will concede that some dogs would be fully capable of "fighting through" an application of OC. This is true of some humans as well.

Just the same, OC is used successfully to repel dogs all across the nation every day. If OC were not somewhat effective...we might expect to see it dropped as a means of defense, but that is not the case.

In the event of a full on (dedicated) attack.... then resorting to your firearm, knife, stick, etc...would be appropriate. But, if the only thing I have with me is a lethal weapon then my options are quite limited, don't you think?

Actually, the most effective thing I've seen used on a dog (video) was a Taser. The Rotty went down immediately, got back up and left the premises post haste.

Would a dog being tazed sound like this guy?

http://13gb.com/videos/3349/

The one experience I have had with dog attacks was quite a few years. My brother and I saw I pit bull attacking a smaller dog. The Pit had the smaller dog in his mouth and was biting down very hard. The owner of the Pit was kicking his dog full force in the gut with no success. My brother sprayed the dog with 15% OC in the face with no success. Finally, my brother sprayed the OC stream up the dogs nose and the Pit finally released. After that, the Pit walked several feet away and began coughing and wheezing like he had been sprayed with OC. Now keep in mind it was a Pit Bull and was probably trained in non-gentle ways but you never know what a dog is capable of or will do.

Also, I asked a police K-9 what was the best thing to do if a dog attacks you and you have no weapons. He told me to grab the underside of the dogs throat and squeeze to choke him out.

To me, if a dog attacks me or my dog while we are out walking, I would escalate my attack until the dog stopped. If that means I have to shot the dog in the head, so be it. If I can get away with a simple strike to the head, so be it.

The reason I posted this originally is this. I have two rescue greyhounds - one a 12 year old lady, the other a 2 year old pup. Neither dog has a mean bone in their body. Neither dog has been around an aggressive dog or have been attacked. Both dogs would be helpless if attacked. Lastly, greyhounds are not very tollerant of physical injury and what would be a serious bite on a lab would be a fatal wound on a grey.

That said, I would confront an aggressive dog verbally, loudly and aggressively. If he continued to approach....zero tollerance.

Am I obligated to wait for him to get my greyhound by the throat?

I am going to ask the next Roanoke LEO I meet. I'll post the answer.

airmotive wrote:The reason I posted this originally is this. I have two rescue greyhounds - one a 12 year old lady, the other a 2 year old pup. Neither dog has a mean bone in their body. Neither dog has been around an aggressive dog or have been attacked. Both dogs would be helpless if attacked. Lastly, greyhounds are not very tollerant of physical injury and what would be a serious bite on a lab would be a fatal wound on a grey.

That said, I would confront an aggressive dog verbally, loudly and aggressively. If he continued to approach....zero tollerance.

Am I obligated to wait for him to get my greyhound by the throat?

I am going to ask the next Roanoke LEO I meet. I'll post the answer.

Hi A-M,

This subject has been discussed here in good detail in the past.

If you search, you may find some information that will prove beneficial to you.

Shooting a dog that is a threat (or potential threat) to your pet only (and not yourself) is kinda dicey business per the law.

You are well protected under the law as concerns defending yourself or livestock, but pets kinda get overlooked.

Since you are dog lover (me too ) and spend some time around them, perhaps you are already familiar with the "body language" of an aggressive canine.

Knowing what to look for might help you avoid an attack on your dog or own person.

As I said in my earlier post, I can easily see a situation where "shooting" a dog might be appropriate, but most encounters can be ended without the need for lethal force.

IMO, good quality pepper spray and a cane will serve you better than your gun most times.

Asking your local LEO about this... will most likely yield you his "opinion" more than fact based law.

But, since that is who you will ultimately have to deal with if you discharge your weapon, it couldn't hurt to know his/her position.