Almost had to shoot a Dog lastnight...

[inluvwithsara]

Man, I was on my way to the range, so I strapped on my sbh 44 4 5/8ths bl...said my normal prayer, (He listened, thanks God) and threw my gear in the van, swinging by my sister's house to drop of some B-day gifts for my niece...suburbs in Northern VA...
So, I turned the corner only a block from my sisters, there is this Pitbull running loose...dumb thing ran infront of my van...he headed off down the street, but as I got out of my van a block away from it, he ran till he was across the street from me...I cleared my coat behind my gun and was ready to hop up on my van and shoot, the dog and I faced each other...him with his head lowered...me thinking I really don't want to have to explain to the local Law why I shot a dog...I yelled at him...and he hesitated and then slinked into the woods...
I am so sick of people not secureing/controling their dogs...he confronted me infront of my sisters, with my little nephews and nieces inside...what if they had been comming home and it had squared off with them...

The other time, about a year ago...walking on county park land...in the woods...and over this hill comes a rodeisen ridgeback(dog) barking, snarling, growling...I drew as it closed our distance, cocked the sbh44 and right before I touched the trigger a man came running yelling at the dog, for all our sakes the dog listened and came back to him...he placed it on a leash, and yelled from a distance as I am reholstering...How dare I try to shoot his sweet dog...(still growling)...I let him know that there is a leash law in the county, and that little kids play alot in these woods...that unless his dog heels always, he should leash it...he turned and ran away...yuppies with puppies...

I guess Woodrow Call knew what he was saying when he said
"Better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it."

[rockbilly]

:evil: You done got me started on a subject that makes me mad as heck.  I agree, some people don't secure/confine their dogs.  Lots of people can't live without that "cute puppy", problem is they grow up.  They take care of their dogs like they take care of their kids, no training, no manners, just trow them out in the yard and forget about them.  Then when they get tired of the dogs they drive out near my place in the country and dump them.

We have a real problem with this.  There is a roadside park about 1/4 mile from my place.  Folks drive out there, dump their dogs and drive off, a lot of the time it is a mother and a litter of pups.  They are either eaten by the coyote or pack up with others and kill live stock.  An 82 year old man that got out of his pick-up to see what was wrong with some stock.  A pack of dogs had a calf down,  they were not eating it, just playing with it.  The man walked back to his truck and got his 30-30 and went back to kill the dogs and finish the calf off, the dogs turned on him.  He only had 5 rounds in the gun and there were 12-14 dogs.  He did get two before they chased him back to the truck.  Often they make it to my front door, I give them a meal, catch them and haul them back to town to animal control or one of the adoption centers.  I watched a beautiful animal for about three weeks at the roadside park, he was a male German Shepard, looked like a quality dog.  He was dumped one night and stayed three weeks waiting for the sorry so-and-so to come back and get him.  The dog would not eat or drink, he lost weight and was starting to look bad when a young lady finally got him to come to her.  She took him and kept him, he has made a wonderful pet and friend for her.

I just can't understand how anyone can be that cold.  If I take an animal, I assume the responsibility for it and will take care of it to the best of my ability.  Anyone who can't do that does not deserve to have one.  

My friend, the 82 year old is now the proud owner of a SKS with two 30 round mags.  Said he won't run out of bullets next time.

[Patriot_1776]

I'm in the same boat as you guys:  If a vicious dog were to ever come charging at me, and I had a gun at my side I would, if necessary, shoot first, and ask/answer questions later.  I'd rather be there to answer the questions, than in the hospital with maul-type wounds asking myself questions (like why should I be missing a finger because of someone else's irresponsibility).

rockbilly,

Glad to hear the 82yr old man was alright.  When I read the first part, I expected the worst and thought he was done for.  Thank God Almighty for watching over him.   Patriot

[Nanuk]

I've been there too. When I lived in El Paso, actually in the desert 30 miles east. We had a big problem with pit bulls. Everybody wanted one, so they let them run. They were taking goats, horses, other dogs. Finally a bunch of us in the area got together and hunted them all down. Yes an SKS works good.

[Mikey]

I live in the country and on occasion find a stray dog wandering around.  Most often they have a collar on and it winds up that they just got loose from their owners who are very happy to get them back.  

Found one fella one day who had been lost for a couple of days and was a hungry critter.  After I fed him and got the cockleburrs out of his tail and ears I found his collar.  He was owned by one of the fraternities at the local college and the guys were worried sick about him.  Apparently, he went out hiking with a bunch of them but took off after a wabbit and didn't come back.  I have to tell you that it was a joyful reunion.  When the kids drove up he recognized the car and didn't hesitate jumping right into it - the kids were all very glad to see him and treated him well.  I was happy with the ending of that story.  

Sometimes however, dogs that get lost out here are taken by coyotes.  I wouldn't wish that on a domesticated dog.  Just my two cents here.  Mikey.

[rockbilly]

With the exception of a couple of gun shy labs that ran like hell when their owners started shooting Dove, I have never found one with any identification even if they were wearing a collar.

Most of the dogs dumped in my area is by owners that do not have the guts to take them to animal control or one of the adoption agencies like "Rescue the Animals."  Often the dogs are sick and the owners can't afford medical treatment.  They think if the dog is dumped in the country someone will pick it up and take care of it, or that it will just die.  They don't realize that us folks out here can only take in so many, I currently have three that I've adopted, can't handle any more. I sure the other folks feel the same way.  They don't take into consideration the pain and suffering the animal goes through when left out like that.

By the way the guys that owned the labs were almost ready to kiss my feet when they picked up the dogs.  Seems one of them had been the wife's dog, she had owned it several years before getting married and didn't want the husband to take it hunting.  I think she was more attached to the dog than her husband, she was sure chewing on his back side when they arrived at my place.

[Mikey]

rockbilly - I have a similar problem.  I too live in the country and often see people lose or just plain leave their dogs.  Often enough I can get a license plate number and find out who left the dog and then I can return it.  Most often it results in a family squabble (I'd rather have this dog than you layin'  around, etc.), but at least I don't have to deal with the animal shelter end of things).  Sometimes college students will lose a fraternity dog once in a while but they are always glad to get him back and the dog is always glad to see them (who's got the beer.....).  

A couple of times I have put some of these caring souls into a bit a a bind when I call and let them know I have found their dog, like right where they dropped it off on my property and have instructed them to come pick the animal up so I don't have to call the police on them for animal cruelty.  Then I see why the dog didn't have a problem getting out of the car - some of these people shouldn't have pets, much less children, and when the dog cowers before getting back into the car, or if the owner is abusive, I will keep the dog and turn him over to a friendly vet I know who always has a bunch of customers looking to adopt.  The ones I get the most pleasure from is the Labs - they are such great dogs.  I have turned two over to this vet and he adopts them out to the right kind of families - he even keeps pictures of the adopted families and pets, and that almost always brings a bit of a tear to me ol eye (just one of them though, lol).  Labs always seem to know who likes them.  Mikey.

[daddywpb]

This is also a sore subject for me. In one of our local WMA's it is legal to run deer with dogs, a practice I do not understand nor condone, but that's another subject I guess. After the end of the general gun season, the small game season opens and I usually take my daughter out with me to look around. We ALWAYS see dogs running loose out in the woods during this time of year that the dirtbags who use them to run deer don't bother to look for. We had an encounter with one that was squared off with me and growling, but he decided to retreat before I decided to shoot.

I had a brief conversation with one of these "hunters" who informed me that he just shoots the dogs that don't perform well and leaves them in the woods. When I politely expressed my opinion about his comment, he started to get down off of the buggy he was driving, and mentioned something about my mother and explaining something to me. Keep in mind, my eleven year old daughter was standing next to me. I have a CCW, so I turned slightly to my side, away from my daughter, and made sure he got a good look at the Glock 30 on my belt. He grunted, flipped me the bird, and drove off. Classy guy.

I know that as hunters, we have to stick togeather since, as a group, we have so many enemies. Live and let live, right? But.....in my opinion, the dogs are the only ones doing the hunting, and anyone who shoots a dog because it's not doing the "job" it's supposed to be doing should be criminally charged. Had I been able to get a license plate number, I would have given it to the Sheriffs Office. I would have had more of a problem shooting that dog, than shooting "Bubba" off of that buggy.

During the archery and muzzle loading seasons, all of the people I've met in the woods around here have been the best. In my opinion, 99% of hunters are the nicest group of people you could ever meet. But, once the general gun season opens, every redneck with a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a rifle in the other comes into the woods. The campsites in the WMA's fill up with garbage, and there are beer cans alongside the roads. Personally, I choose to stay out of the WMA's during this time of year. I use this time to get out in the cane fields and get some rabbits in the freezer.

Sorry I've rambled on so, but like I said, it's a sore subject for me. That 1% of hunters ruin a good part of the season for the rest of us. Once again, just my opinion.

[Squirrelsaurus Rex]

This wasn't a sore subject for me, until yesterday.  My 15 year old daughter tried to go for a walk.  She got about 15 yards from the driveway and a local dog chased her back to the house.  The 'lady' of the house where the dog lives (around the corner) was very trashy in her attitude.  They have a yard full of Rottweilers that they let run loose.  When we asked her if it was her dog, she replied "Maybe." :roll: When we told her what happened, she just put a fake smile on and said "We'll try to be more careful", then closed the door.

Our next door neighbor said they've had many problems with those dogs, and when they complained about it once, the lady's kids egged their cars.

So what's a person to do?  Just two houses down is a 50 acre county park (really just a woodlot) where I like to take my sons (4 and 6) for little walks in the woods.  What happens when we're out there walking and one (or more) of these dogs appears and decides it's time for lunch?  I don't have a CC permit yet, or a CC gun.  I can carry a big stick (like a small bat) and pepper spray for now.  One swing with the stick would crush the skull.  But even if I were carrying and had to shoot, or use the stick, why should I have to deal with this in the first place?  We just moved here six weeks ago, to a nicer place to make a better life for us and our kids, and there's already a feud in the works because of these damn dogs and their owner's attitude.  With these dogs running loose, I can never take my own dog for a walk, because it will end up in a fight.  I can only see two outcomes:  I'll end up either having to shoot or bludgeon one of these dogs in self defense, or report the problem to the police because of the constant danger.  Either way, so much for starting a new life...

[Mikey]

Hay Rex - ya'll said: When we asked her if it was her dog, she replied "Maybe."  When we told her what happened, she just put a fake smile on and said "We'll try to be more careful", then closed the door.

I can carry a big stick (like a small bat) and pepper spray for now. One swing with the stick would crush the skull. But even if I were carrying and had to shoot, or use the stick, why should I have to deal with this in the first place?

I can never take my own dog for a walk, because it will end up in a fight. I can only see two outcomes: I'll end up either having to shoot or bludgeon one of these dogs in self defense, or report the problem to the police because of the constant danger.

Rex - first of all you will always find some buttsniff with an attitude like that but the last line of the quotes from your post might be the real answer.  I'm not certain what the 'dog laws' are like in your neck of the woods but up here, any dog that threatens or harrasses a person is picked up by the dog warden, taken to the pound and tested for illness - then the owner has to come pay the tab and pick it up.  It is always a shame when an idiot like that just gives up the dog to the pound for euthenasia because of their attitude.

Don't carry a big stick like a club - then you will be seen as a threat to people, much less dogs.  Carry a long walking stick with a small nail portruding about one inch from the end of your walking stick and use it to jab - it makes for a much more effective deterrent (?sp) than a club - you can keep them farther away and discourage them without killing or maiming them.  Also, adding some sort of irritant to the nail, such as hot sauce or pepper spray keeps them busy for a while.  Used to do that with those dang monkeys in Thailand - pop'em in the but with a small dart tipped with peanut sauce and they would do somersaults trying to get at it - And it looks a lot better on a defensive report to the police when you say you had to keep them away with a long walking stick rather than a club. And, you can always either pull the nail afterward or sink it deeper into the stick so it isn't seen.

But yes, take your dog for a walk and establish yourself in your new neighborhood.  Be prepared to defend yourself.  If it happens more than once you are more than justified in protecting yourself, and that walking stick will work.  I used to use one when I was a kid delivering papers early in the mornings - dogs that had been out all night always chased and bit at me and dogs that had been let out early in the morning were just as bad.  It wasn't too bad when I was peddling my bicycle as I could use the stick as a 'lance' type of affair and believe me, one poke with that nail on the end of a hard jab sent many dogs home cryin' loud.  When it really got dicey for a 14 yr old kid delivering papers was when there was more than one dog - sometimes it would take more than one poke, but never more than 3 hard ones.  

There is always gonna be some idjit who says - oh, they're just being dogs.  OK, so you're just defending yourself against a pack of uncontrolled, unleased, possibly unlicensed vicious attack dogs.  I think when most idjits or bullies see that you mean business they start getting the idea that you won't tolerate their BS and change.  If not, those Rottweillers aren't dumb, they will come to know that when they see you it means pain and I believe they will avoid that.  HTH.  Mikey.

[Trickyasafox]

you guys all have a much better temperament then me. i have no children as im a 20 year old college student, but if i saw any dog attacking any kid i'd drop that thing like a bad habit and throw it on its owners lawn. the fact that someone can take such a fine animal and make it into such a dangerous and tawdry thing makes me sick. people who do that should be spayed an neutered, not the dogs