I drew my weapon in self defense: Gun owners & Dog Walkers

no reading comp problem, that comment was directed at brunes who stated:

not the OP.

cant shoot a dog for barking at you.

 

X2 Thanks for understanding!

Yeah, there are a lot of .. Wow I was disobeying the law things I did not know about this one blew my mind.. The only way you can legally violate this law is if you live with in that 1000 feet or if you are just driving through.

It was more than barking. My dog barks at me every time it is his dinner time. I don't draw and scream at him for that. It was totally the dogs attitude and dehavior.

Thanks for posting this.

I do not have my CCW yet.. So every time I walk past.. I am violating the law.

 

im sorry, barking and growling.

 

He never said the dog was "just barking"

 

OP never said the dog did anything more than that

 

Are you still just a dispatcher?

 

yes, "just"

 

I cant stand having my phone when I run, damn if I'd run with a .38.

 

X2

 

"cuts loose" leads me to believe the dog ran at him. And the dog went from "15 meters" to "a foot or so" away....so that supports that.


The bottom line is that none of us were there and don't know what really happened and what all the circumstances were.

We can all try and monday morning quarterback is....but...

 

and i understand what youre saying, its my opinion that OP got carried away. i also understand that an opnion is like an orgasm, in that mine matters most and i dont care if you have one, but i dont see how what he did, didnt escalate the situation? it did. right wrong or indifferent. i also said previously that both had a lapse in judgement, again, IMO.

 

I feel bad for the people of your state If you become an officer.

Little advice... Work on your attitude.

 

Exactly. Kudos to the OP for staying calm and getting out of the situation with nothing bad happening.

Also, thanks for sharing the story. Stories like these always draw shit storms because everyone thinks they know EXACTLY what they would do in that situation, when in reality no one knows until they are faced with it.

At least we can read the story, think about putting ourselves in the situation and use it as a tool to mentally prepare if that was ever us.

 

I can tell you my dog knows what a gun is the second I start removing the clip/unloading one in the chamber. She has never been around guns yet she is very leery when I try to show it to her. I would say dogs do know what guns are.

However, in this case I feel that drawing a gun on a dog is a little presumptive. I own a 60 lbs dog and have been around a lot of "aggressive dogs" through the times. I have never felt under powered enough around a dog to need to carry a gun. I figure I could kick it hard enough/find a rock near to deter the dog from me. I think in this case it is hard to judge because of the wildlife and possible encounter with the wrong human that I would feel more comfortable to carry.

With that said, great job on keeping your cool. I'm sure your heart was moving 300 bpm after that one being that you were on a run and all! Glad it all worked out but it is something I would consider using bear spray rather than a pistol. Just my 2 cents.

 

Good work OP. I think you handled it as well as anyone.

 

They recently changed the law in Maryland due some people getting mauled by dogs that were raised to be aggressive. There are now breed restrictions in the city after some bullshit tort case that targeted everyone and anyone that could possibly have some insurance liability in the case.

Give ya a good example. My ex-neighbor runs a German shepard puppy mill out of his home. Unlicensed. There is no enforcement what so ever by the County, state or local SPCA. I have kids, neighbor didn't have any fences to control the dogs. He beat the dogs with a red rubber hose routinely. I'm shoveling snow one day and one of the dogs takes a chunk out of my knee. I file a police report, nothing was done NOTHING. So I point blank told the owner if I see the dogs on my property, I'll put a 30-06 size hole in 'em. If one of the dogs goes after my kids, the second one had his name on it.

The problem wasn't the dogs. It was the owner.

 

I drew on a loose pitbull in my yard once. I had seen it chasing cars and lunging at it so I called animal control, while on the phone they wanted to know where it was at, and I didn't know, until WOOOOOF, 6' away.
How long did I have to decide threat or not? .5 seconds? less , more? Since it remained mostly seated, and I didn't come at me, I just didn't shoot. damn it felt too close though.

I don't like the thought of drawing a weapon in my neighborhood, I was pissed. Beats being attacked though.

In this town, I'd say 1/2 the dog owners are irresponsible as to not leash dogs and act like they have control the dog when they don't.

 

No problem at all, and thank you for the insight. Like I said, I wasn't there, so I obviously don't know the gritty details. I was just curious as to your thoughts at that particular time.

 

Maaan THAT is an ignorant statement.

 

My mother has some gnarly scars on her head from a dog attack as a child, fortunately her hair covers it. It bit and dragged her by her scalp. Yikes!

I was walking my beagle when we were attacked by a vicious snarling pit bull here in So-Cal. I'm a pretty big dude at 240# but that was a monster. I kicked it so many times as hard as I could in running shoes in the face and stomach to subdue it with the help of the nutjob owner. "He's never done this before.. he saw you and your dog on the sidewalk and got territorial! He's really a sweet dog!!" Psh.. w/e. To his credit, he did help me beat the ever-loving piss out of that dog to stop the attack. I carry a flashlight that has hidden shock-prongs in the bezel now. I have tons of firearms, but this is California and I prefer to run away or stun and slow down coyotes or dogs or anything else that is threatening to me or my dog or my kids. I wish I could openly carry, but it's not worth a jail sentence so I have made other self-defense purchases that are less likely (not guaranteed) to land me in prison for trying to protect myself.

OP: no judgment here.. glad you didn't have to fire. Hopefully the dick-cheese owner learned a lesson about his dog and habits also.