The person is on public property...
... but in the examples given so far, the dogs haven't left private property.
So, yes, I'd press charges, and I'd sue.
Quite frankly, I've seen more people abuse dogs, than I've seen dogs abuse people. I remember one neighbor whose dog used to get sticks poked at it through the fence, or rocks thrown at it, by some brat kids in the 8-11 year old range. Funny thing, that dog got loose one day, and the kids' parents wanted to sue when the dog chased a couple of them home.
Can a dog hurt a person? Certainly.
Will most dogs do so? No.
Are there people out there who can't tell the difference? Yes.
But there are people out there who are scared to death of minorities and teenagers, too. Granted, those are humans, not dogs, but you don't see anybody here saying "if in doubt, blast away, those teenagers can hurt you if you give them an instant."
And while I wouldn't advocate violence, I can say that as a juror I'd be tempted to jury nullify if somebody beat the crap out of somebody who harmed their dog, on their property.
... but in the examples given so far, the dogs haven't left private property.
So, yes, I'd press charges, and I'd sue.
Quite frankly, I've seen more people abuse dogs, than I've seen dogs abuse people. I remember one neighbor whose dog used to get sticks poked at it through the fence, or rocks thrown at it, by some brat kids in the 8-11 year old range. Funny thing, that dog got loose one day, and the kids' parents wanted to sue when the dog chased a couple of them home.
Can a dog hurt a person? Certainly.
Will most dogs do so? No.
Are there people out there who can't tell the difference? Yes.
But there are people out there who are scared to death of minorities and teenagers, too. Granted, those are humans, not dogs, but you don't see anybody here saying "if in doubt, blast away, those teenagers can hurt you if you give them an instant."
And while I wouldn't advocate violence, I can say that as a juror I'd be tempted to jury nullify if somebody beat the crap out of somebody who harmed their dog, on their property.