Shoot a dog

I suggest you write to the Sheriffs Department- address the letter to the head there and advise him in the strongest possible terms that these dogs pose a threat / clear and present danger to humans.

Register the letter to him.

He will then know that if he does nothing he may get sued- often has the appropriate effect.
 
Dogs are bad enough...

Try dealing with mountain lions. The biggest meanest baddest dog on the planet is lunch to a mountain lion. I have also had to deal with coyotes.
Both predators can be a handfull if your not carefull. Coyotes are easily scared off...mountain lions are not. :eek:
 
OK, I will tell my viscious dog story too.

A neighbor of mine two doors away across the Cul de sac had a real lousy Black Lab mix of a canine.

I came home and got out of the car and his dog was loose in front of his house and he was sitting on the porch.

This son-of-a-bitch watched as his son-of-a-bitch charged me. :mad:

I turned and faced the dog and the dog had the good instincts to see that I was not afraid. He got to within about 20 feet and wisely hit the breaks.

We stood there looking at each other for several seconds and the owner came across the street to retreive his dog... The dog wouldn't come when he was called.

He apologized for the dog and said, "I'm sorry if my dog scared you."
I told him I wasn't scared. :p

I unfolded my arms, turned my palm up, and he saw my .38 Snubby.
(It was hot weather or I would have been carrying the 1911 .45)

Oh how I wish ya'll coulda seen his face! :D

I never saw the dog again. :p ;)

A couple of years later the guy was arrested in a Metro SWAT raid and sent to prison for operating a meth-lab and posession of a couple of pounds of the crap. (5 years in the Utah State Prison System) :)
 
shojin,

Certainly sounds like the dogs are out to find something to kill. If the police don't want to get involved, I woudn't hesitate to shoot the dogs. Not only are your cats in danger, but your daughter is in danger as well, definitely against a pack of pit bulls.

For the record, I'd give the police a call first and tell them that you plan to shoot the dogs if they threaten your cats or family. If the police want to come out with animal control and try to take the dogs away, that's their call.
 
I had a conversation this morning with the dog owners and stated that if the dogs came into my yard and attacked one of our cats, I would kill the dog. They haver been working all day on replacing the fence and called me later this evening to reiterate that they were committed to making their yard dog escape proof this weekend and to apologize for letting their dogs get loose. I think that thought I was serious (cause I was) about killing their dogs. Now after all this, I want to let ya'll know, I like dogs... I have a large rottie that I love and who is a great dog, but just as in the human species, there are dangerous dogs too.

Re: paper trail, good advise. I am going to talk to Animal Control Tuesday and talk to my county superviser (who's a friend) as well.
 
I would check your local laws. I know that in MA, if a dog is off it's property, and attacks *you*, you can kill it - is written right in the state laws. And no, I am not a dog hater - I always say that most dogs are nicer than most people! :p

Not sure about the pit bulls, but some dogs are escape artists - they can dig under a fence, jump over it, even climb a chain link fence.
 
Cant hold with any dogs that might be the slightest threat to children.
But any dog that kills cats cant be all bad.
I live in a very rural area and feral cats and stray dogs are a frequent problem.
We practice the three S system -shoot shovel and shutup.
 
I think a pre-emptive strike is in order and Pointer's advice would be my first option. Unless the dogs are on your property or a direct threat to you on public property, you might be tap dancing in court explaining your actions. If you have to shoot, make sure you can articulate a threat.

I've had to kill two pitbulls this year alone because their idiot owners didn't think they were a threat to anyone and didn't take reasonable precautions. Stray dogs in general get shot when found within the confines Ft. Stevelyn due to too many past problems. I also live in an area where hardly anyone raises an eyebrow when the hear a gunshot.
 
Strychnine and Hamburger
Click to expand...
I strongly advise against Strychnine! Poisons don't discriminate, and they travel through the food chain. Anything... birds, maybe your cat, other wildlife, everything is vulnerable. When I worked for NPS, the BLM used strychnine laced bait to kill coyotes. A Golden Eagle was found dead in the park, and it was found that the eagle had been feasting on a dead coyote, that had eaten poison laced bait.
 
CaptCharlie

You are, of course, absolutely right...

BUT I specified providing the "feast" directly to the Pit Bulls.

I doubt they would be left in the street for the Golden's, or any other critter, to get second hand. :D
 
Gotta tell ya: I lived in Albuquerque on the west side. Had a neighbor who had a standard poodle and a pit. One day my I see my wife drive up, I'm watching T.V. and all of a sudden she comes bustin' through the door. I could see that she was shaken and I asked whats going on. She said the pit was out and chased her into the house. Now this is about three in the afternoon and kids are going to be gitting off from school soon. I went and got my Mossberg with #4 buck, walked out the front door and just started whistling a low little tune and here he comes around the rear of the car on two wheels (as it were). I hit him right in the face at about 4 yards with the charge. D.R.T. Went inside and called the cops. Told them what I had done. Out comes a police crusier and a sherrif (where we lived they never could get jurisdiction straight). Did the dog have tags? Don't know, but your welcome to dig through the mess and see. Told them where the owners lived. Never had a problem after that from ANYONE on the block. No problems with LEO either. Friggin' amazin'.
 
Holy moly, I'm good! :D

When I read it, that's what my nearest guess was (from context). Even though I'd never seen it used before.

H.M.I.G.!! ;)

-blackmind
 
Do try and get some documentation in the system from Animal Control or whomever so that in the event you are forced to shoot the dog and you get in trouble or get sued, you will have a record of the dogs previously having been reported.
 
I had an encounter myself a few weeks ago. I like to spend my free time in the woods when I can. Where I park is tucked about 100 yds into the woods on a stone rd. I get out of my car and gear up. As I start walking this guys dog comes running at me growling and barking. The fella didn't seem to mind much as his mutt mixed dog came chargin at me. That is until the dog got about 7 or 8 yards away and I revealed my .45 auto and stared the dog right in the face. The dog stopped but was still growling. The guy realizes I'm armed and ready to lay his dog out if he attacks. He comes calling the dog and holds him by the collar. I holstered my weapon and advised this fella that all dogs must be on a leash while in this part of the park. As the sign clearly stated on the tree which read "All pets must be on a leash at ALL TIMES" So I kindly referred him back to the sign. He was more than happy at this point to put the leash on and keep him that way. Sometimes people just need a little help to understand what a leash is for and lucky for me I didn't have to lay out the poor dog! Just for the record, I love animals and shooting the dog would have been a last resort.
 
I have a small dog. We used to put him outside on a leash all the time,
he loved it out there. Watched people drive/walk by and just hang out.
I should have known better, my neighborhood could be a lot better.
There are some worthless people and people who let their dogs roam free.
One evening my dog was outside when two dogs entered my yard.
One was a rot, the other was a collie(?, Lassie type dog).
I tried to reel in my dog on his leash, but it was too late, he tried to defend
his property and all I saw was a dust cloud. I started punching the rot
in the head but it didnt have much affect, he was out for blood. I ran into
my house, grabbed the 45 off the couch, swung open the front door,
the Rot was right in front of me facing left. I shot and killed him.
My dog was hurt very bad and cost me a small fortune to get him fixed.
Cops arrived quickly, checked my gun, checked my wants, talked with
the neighbors (many witnesses). Gave me directions to the nearest
animal hospital and sent me on my way, no charges, no hassles. My
dog lived. The collie was not shot and I have not seen it again. The owners
were walking the dogs down the street without a leash. They made no
effort to stop the attack and ran when I fired. I didnt know that till later
when one of my neighbors told me. Never found the owners, dont think
they will be coming around here anytime soon.

If someone or something is on your property and causing harm to something
living, human or pet, you do what you have to do. Defend your property
and family (pets are family).

BTW:
Police will not respond to big dogs roaming free. They say call animal control.
There isnt enough animal control to be here in time. I keep my eye open for
these big dogs now. If I see one out I watch him and get ready. There
are little kids out riding bikes and playing games. There has been a few
cases here in AZ of dogs killing kids. I wouldnt hesitate to shoot a dog in
the street or someone elses yard if he was threatening a kid.
I love dogs, but dont trust em if I dont know em.
 
Advising law enforcement now, before anything happens is certainly the responsible thing to do. Remember if it comes to defending your child from a dog attack, it may not be possible to even get a shot off safely in a high population neighborhood. You may even run the risk of “hitting” a loved one. That being said, no one should ever hesitate to take whatever means are necessary to protect you and your families life. An extremely annoying and even very costly legal hassle is still no comparison to living with the fact that a loved one was killed in a dog attack that you could have possibly prevented. Don't let anything or anyone scare you away from doing the right thing. It may very well be that the only solution is to kill the dog(s).
 
I would add, "Get a copy of the report that is made when you advise law enforcement of the situation."

Don't rely on someone on the end of a phone line telling you, "I'll make a note of it." You could find out later on that there was no record you ever even talked with them.

-blackmind
 
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