Another hypothetical question...

H

Harry Callahan

New member
From time to time I read in the papers about people having their pets stolen. Many times I understand these pets are then used as "bait" for fighting dog competitions and are doomed, unfortunately:(. I was wondering what lengths a person can go to to defend a pet. Is drawing a weapon asking for trouble in the eyes of the law even if it comes down to protecting what most people consider a member of the family, a pet?
 
Pets, no matter how dear, are legally viewed as property in most states. Very few states permit the use of deadly force to protect property.
 
Sad as it is! Animals are property and you may not use "DEADLY FORCE"..


I personally if caught them in the action would come about 2 microns from it!:D

I would plea, Defence of Personal Properties!:rolleyes:
 
They are property, so I would probably not do anything other than yell a blue streak and get the coppers on the phone.

It's pretty state-specific as far as the law goes, though. My criminal law professor a few semesters ago told us that in Michigan you can threaten to use deadly force to defend property... as long as you don't actually do it. I don't think I would ever do that. It seems like an easy way to escalate a situation that you can not follow through with. Seems like a bad idea.

I think Texas and LA have some interesting laws regarding defense of property as well.

IL, I suspect, does not.
 
Our Texas laws go back to the days of fence cutters & cattle rustlers and stealing cattle one could get in a world of hurt.

For a dog, I might not shoot to kill but a 22 through the foot or 410 with birdshot might motivate him to leave the dog alone.

Now if he's on the property & is packing a gun that could be another story.
 
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