am I the bad guy if I shoot a mean dog?

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jhgreasemonkey

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Here's the scenerio. I came outside on the way to my truck and was greeted by a pitbull rumaging through my front yard. I told it to go home and it stopped, barked at me, groweled at bit then proceded to snoop around uninterested in my presence. I decided to immediatly call animal control. In the meantime I thought about getting out the 12 guage and shooting it while it was on my property. I and my neighbors have little kids and the dog seemed pretty aggresive. All the kids were inside so there was no immediate threat. I live in city limits and there would have been witneses so I decided to let animal control handle it. Of course the dog was gone by the time they arrived. If it shows back up can I legaly shoot it or will I be the bad guy on the evening news who is in jail for shooting a local familys helpless dog?
 
If you "tell" authorities you just had to shoot in self-defense or family defense etc., make sure the shot is found in his front rather than the rear... :D

If you cannot do this the least that will happen to you is being cited for firing a gun in the city limits... :rolleyes:

AND you might set sued by the owner either way... :mad:
 
Legally is one thing. Morally is another. Personally, I wouldn't kill something that isn't threatening the life or well-being of a loved-one or myself. You should check your state and local laws on animal cruelty: http://www.animal-law.org/statutes/washington.htm

Do you know who the dog belongs to?

My recommendation:
1. Contact the owner and ask very kindly if they would please keep their dog in their yard. Give the owner sound reasons for your request; make it a friendly, neighborly call. So often we tend to bring the "authorities" in when a simple phone call will suffice. This should solve the problem.
2. If the dog returns, hit it with some O.C. spray and call animal control. Give your neighbor a call and let him know that you've called the authorities.
3. If the dog returns again, repeat step 2 and then file a police report against your neighbor for failure to control his dog. Contact your local prosecutor's office and ask about bringing charges against the dog's owner.

Unless the dog was threatening or attacking, I wouldn't shoot it.

JMHO. :)

-Dave
 
Definite bad guy

I understand not wanting someone elses dog rooting around your yard. Especially if its growling at me. You did the right thing calling animal control. Its not the dogs fault it has a stupid owner. Im guessing you have a phobia about pits? DONT! Any dog with a stupid owner can be dangerous.
 
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