Posted on 03/17/2009 6:14:34 AM PDT by marktwain
Kenneth Hale Jr. says his neighbor's Bull Mastiff ventured into his yard several times.
Last week, Hale's three year old daughter was playing in the yard and the dog charged toward her, so he got his gun and shot the dog.
Kenneth Hale says "I feel bad about it I didn't want to shoot the dog, I really didn't and I was hoping he would keep him over there, it was a beautiful dog, it's a bull Mastiff and that dog stands every bit of four feet tall on his back".
Thomas County investigators say Hale contacted them on more than one occasion about the dog.
The owner of the dog could not be reached for comment and authorities would not release his name.
“I feel bad about it.........
I wouldn’t...................
damn. that was a big dog.
There wasn’t much else he could do.
Hey! There's a dog charging my little girl! I better go get my gun! Now, let's see, it's over here in my den. I'll just get it down, easy does it. Let's not panic. Where's my ammo? Right here. Okay. Breathe steady. Loading. Loading. Loading. Okay. I think I'm ready. Now, let's go back and assay the situation. Yup, that dog is still charging my daughter. Okay. Ready. Aim. Fire.
I kind of think that the guy may have been holding the gun, watching the dog and thinking "Go ahead. Make my day."
FWIW I have a three year old little girl and two big dogs who behave themselves. The dogs get very protective of her, and the larger one (a 90# GSD) killed a coyote in the back yard.
You are right. Same thing struck me. Any normal parent would grab the child in this case, not a gun.
Once the child is out of danger one might get the gun, but not before.
First rule of pet ownership;
Not everyone loves your animal like you do. Keep it contained.
It sounds like he was out in the back yard with his gun, guarding his daughter. I also find it hard to believe he could have seen the “charge”, gone to get his gun and come back in time to kill the dog. If you’re right, he was using his daughter as bait! Horrible thought.
I agree.
Man Mauled to Death in Rancho Mirage
Rancho Mirage (myFOXla.com) - A man’s death on Monday may have been the result of being mauled by his own bull mastiff dogs.
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/Man_Mauled_to_Death_20090316
Maybe he was using his kid as bait!!??
A much more likely scenario. Aggressive dogs and small children are a deadly mix.
hmmm....I don’t know about “got his gun”. Sounds more like his gun was sitting next to him (or in his lap) at the time the dog “charged” his daughter.
There’s no mention of the dog being vicious in the past, just that it wandered into his yard several times.
If my neighbor had such a dog I would not let my kid out in the yard without an armed escort either.
And he’s not done protecting her by any means. Ought to think about moving to somewhere you don’t have to watch over your kid with a gun.
Ought to get his eyes checked too if he thinks he sees dogs “every bit of four feet tall at his back.” Maybe ON someone’s back, not at its own.
I’m another one who agrees with you. If it happened as the guy said, his daughter would have been mauled to death. Added to that, did they guy know the dog was dangerous? Has it bitten someone in the past? If he was that afraid of it, he would have put up a fence, or, in the least, called animal control prior to this incident, if it even was an incident, prior to the shooting.
“I kind of think that the guy may have been holding the gun, watching the dog and thinking “Go ahead. Make my day.”
I don’t think it’s fair to say that he was ‘make my day’ about this. He was prepared to protect a small child. He said he felt bad, maybe he did.
Plus, I don’t believe he ever said he went to get his gun. Maybe he keeps one on him at home. Maybe he was smart because he has seen this dog as a threat to the little girl in the past.
If I had a small child and a huge dog continuously came into my yard, I’d be prepared in one fashion or another. It would think it would be stupid or negligent of him to not be prepared to protect his family.
Excellent point.
Not knowing the local ordinances, it seems like he could have just said “I walk around my home with my gun all the time. What of it?”
When my 27 year old was about 7 years old a wandering mangy curr bit him on my front lawn (broke the skin but not much else). I slipped a mag into my M1 Carbine and went outside, but my wife stopped me. instead I caught the beast and tied it up and called animal control. Under a different situation I would have ended its life. We found the owner and was assured that the dog had his shots....
I like dogs (more than many people) and would kill one only under a situation similar to the one I mention.
I don't have a problem with that. Nor, I suspect, do you.
I thought that was odd too. I know a lot of mastiffs that grow up with children and are really good. That was a big bull mastiff. Usually the English are the biggest.
Well, I wasn’t there, and I have no idea what the man said or did not say.
But this is from the article:
>the dog charged toward her, so he got his gun
It reads like the gun was elsewhere when the dog started it’s charge.
“Hey! There’s a dog charging my little girl! I better go get my gun! Now, let’s see, it’s over here in my den. I’ll just get it down, easy does it. Let’s not panic. Where’s my ammo? Right here. Okay. Breathe steady. Loading. Loading. Loading. Okay. I think I’m ready. Now, let’s go back and assay the situation. Yup, that dog is still charging my daughter. Okay. Ready. Aim. Fire”
Yup. That dog must have charged from about half a mile. I have no problem with shooting a dog attacking my kid, but his story sounds strange. Make my day is right.
yes and maybe monkeys flew out of his @$$ too. You have to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to a 3 year old child.
No problem at all. I like dogs, but I don’t like trespassers (especially trespassers who initiate violence).
Mastiff’s are prohibited by a good many homeowner insurance companies. It’s not the number of times these types of animals bite, it’s the damage they can do with just one bite.
Homeowners never understand this when they do the “But my dog wouldn’t hurt anyone”.
I had a guy who lied about having a pit bull until I found out he had been sued previously for his pit bull attacking neighbor children. This guy tied his dog out for a while and he got off and attacked some children who were playing in the culdesac. This man actually said it was the children’s fault because they were skateboarding and the noise aggrivated his dog.
I will never understand the logic sometimes.
Sad for the owners to lose a pet, but better a pet than a child.
I was thinking the same thing. If a dog charges my kid, my first priority would be to get my kid out of harm's way. Once the kid is safe there is no need to shoot the dog. It sounds to me like the dog got in his yard, he shot it and then made up the story about his kid.
I have big dogs, but they're either on a leash or locked in my fenced-in yard. If we have company over the dogs get locked up even though I'm 90% confident that they won't bite.
Huh? This sounds like a horrible overreaction.
After last Thursday night in a restaurant, it should be the first rule of parenthood, as well.
We have a gun by our door locked and loaded. With the safety on of course.
If I had a four foot dog next to me, I would have it there too.
We’ll probably never know, perhaps he was, perhaps he wasn’t.
Yeah, that’s how I read the article, but who knows. It also doesn’t sound like this was the first time so maybe he was fully prepared. Assuming this is legit, then I would have easily done the same to protect my kid.
I have to agree. And if the dog kept coming over; I think the father was waiting. Why in the world did he leave his 3 year old out in the yard unprotected if he knew about this dog? I smell set up. And why didn’t they introduce the dog to the family? It also seems odd that the owners of the dog would not make it secure especially if there was a child next door if they had been told. This doesn’t compute.
Do you have a 3yo in the house also?
Nope, but I have a 7 year old in the house. The gun is on a rack by the door. We live in the country and get coyotes and such.
Maybe I should change that to ‘first rule of everything’...
“hmmm....I don’t know about “got his gun”. Sounds more like his gun was sitting next to him (or in his lap) at the time the dog “charged” his daughter.
There’s no mention of the dog being vicious in the past, just that it wandered into his yard several times.”
A dog approaching a child is not the same as a dog “charging” a child. Was it snarling, or was its tail wagging? This guy has some explaining to do. Just because a dog wanders onto your property and is capable of killing your kid is no reason to shoot it.
Agreed. The dog is described as having "ventured into his yard several times" previously. Was the dog a positive danger then? Perhaps ... but you'd think the guy would have said so, and he didn't.
I suspect there's a whole lot more to the story -- bad blood between neighbors.
The article is probably correct, but stated poorly. There is a female Bull Mastiff that lives behind me (sweet girl and my male Dingo loves her). The top of her hear is above my elbow (I'm 5'9"). Her back is easily above my belt line. She is one big dog. That male could have easily been four foot from the ground to the top of his back.
If people want to keep their dogs safe,
they should keep them on their own property.
I understand that; but we only have this man’s word that the dog was loose on it’s own. This whole thing smells. If this father was so concerned about his 3 year old daughter and he knew about this dog; why did he leave his daughter like bait unprotected in the backyard? I say he was going to kill that dog and that was his goal.
but he didn’t leave his daughter unprotected in his (and her) backyard. She was protected, hence the shooting.
It’s good that your child is aware of proper gun handling at that age.
yeah, you’re right...got a big dog next door, so lock up the kid and never let her outside to play...i was in my garage last summer, and heard a growling behind me. when i turned around, the neighbors damn black lab was crouched down in my garage growling at me... i grabbed the shovel next to me and went after it( this is not the first time this damn dog came after me ) i told my neighbors about it ( they let the dog run loose, and jump the fence into my yard ) and stated if it does that to me again i will bash it’s brains out...they said they were going to have it put to sleep, as it had become “ out of control “ a year later they still have the dog, and it still runs free....
Oh yeah, from like 2, they go outside and see what a gun can do to a tree or plank. The noise scares them more than anything, but they also see what it can do.
Wow. I’m looking at the kennel club data, it says a male bull mastiff is around 25-27” at the withers. This guy’s shooting at one that’s estimated 48” at the back, and you live by one, a female mastiff, that’s more than 36” at the back.
Must be something in the water!
I want what they’re drinking. I’m only 5’1”.
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