philip964 wrote:I'm just saying shoot my dog and you better be ready to shoot me.
Those of you thinking that shooting a man's dog is a wise move, better think again. You would be better off shooting the owner first then the dog.
That is an interesting thought. Let me counter with a question: When does the owner of a dog become responsible for its actions and the potential consequences, particularly in light of the fact that those actions may be occurring because the owner has elected to violate Town ordnance?
I probably pass 30-40 dogs on my bike rides per week. Most are on leashes and well controlled. I usually don't give them a 2nd glance. For those off leash, I assess the relative age of the dog and its size. Older and smaller dogs also don't get much of my attention. I really don't care what they do as long as they leave me alone. I'm occasionally chased by a small yapper but at 20mph, most cannot keep up with me.
Right after I was bitten, I had a confrontation with about a 50lb off leash dog. I saw him coming and was off my bike, putting it and keeping it between me and him as he circled me to try to get closer. As the owner approached me, I curtly reminded him that the Town had a leash ordnance, using a single sentence. I was not particularly cordial because I felt that I was under attack. His response was "what are you going to do about it?" He then proceeded to yell at me to mind my own #$%@ business and that he would darn well handle his dog however he wanted to. Keep in mind that I'm on a designed and marked bike trail and, up to this point, have done nothing but ride my bike to try to keep my heart rate up. Faced with an large aggressive dog AND an irate owner, I could make a good case for being threatened with deadly force. Dogs which will show aggression towards strangers will often attack if their owners appear to be in some sort of an altercation. At that moment, the owner was in a flanking position and I was trying to figure out how I was going to deal with both of them at the same time because if one attacked me, I expected the other to do so, too. I had done nothing but to use my bike as a shield.
Those who have never been attacked by a dog do not understand what it is like. I'm not going to stand by and become one of those victims whose face was all torn up by a vicious animal. As far as I'm concerned, the easiest way for me to avoid these kinds of confrontations is to ride off the bike trail if I must to put as much space as possible between me and a potentially aggressive dog. If that dog chooses not to leave me alone, I'll do what I have to to protect myself. The easiest way for an owner not to have his dog in that kind of situation is simply to maintain control of it.
