Father Shoots Neighbor's Pit Bull

cbs, News12 ^ | 21NOV08 | Chuck Weber

[Jotmo]

Yeah. "It could have been handled better" with slugs from a 12-bore. That way, the parts aren't always as heavy for the owner to pick up.

LOL

Outstanding reply!!

[Darnright]

>It should be legal to shoot any dog off a leash on public property or on property not of the dog’s owner.<

You obviously don’t live in Virginia. We take offense to people who shoot and kill dogs who aren’t threatening anyone. Pull that stunt in VA, and you’ll find yourself looking at a felony conviction.

[Secret Agent Man]

Re-read the story again. you’ll see why.

[familyop]

Darnright wrote:
"Pull that stunt in VA, and you’ll find yourself looking at a felony conviction."

So move west, Age of Reason, where in most places, people can defend themselves, their loved ones, their livestock and pets against dangerous animals without interference from government administered by animal worshipers. :-)

[Windflier]

You can always tell who the good guys are in any fight. They’re the ones the liberals will be castigating and hurling their bile at.

In fact, liberals can point you to the truth as reliably as any barometer. Just look 180 degrees away from wherever they’re pointing, and you’ll be dead on the truth every time.

[MaxMax]

[PleaseNoMore]

I'm with you on this. Granted, a menacing dog, of any breed, coming into your home and growling at your children or biting your dog is not something to play with. You do what you must to remedy this situation. In this case, the dog is said to have bitten the beagle. Knowing pit bulls, having owned and rescued many over the years, this behavior is not typical, if you will. The pit bull is, by nature, normally a dog aggressive animal. I don't see a pit bull "just biting" another dog without inflicting serious injury.

This is a poorly written story.

The pit bull followed one girl into the house and bit Martin's beagle. (Just bit?) Martin first tried to scare away the pit bull with a BB gun, but the dog returned,(Where did it go in the first place? Did it leave the house?) reportedly growling at the children. Martin took out his .9 mm gun and shot the pit bull. The dog then ran down the street and died.(Did he shoot it in the house or outside?)

I wonder if it's possible the dog was confused about his whereabouts (lost, strange home, strange dog) and lashed out as animals often do in a chaotic situation. Another neighbor said she'd put the dog up for a while, and that she and her daughter had even waled the dog around the neighborhood to find its owner, and it was never aggressive. It just makes me wonder...

[YHAOS]

"You can always tell who the good guys are in any fight."

Yes. And whenever someone acts in his own defense or in the defense of his family or his property, you can count particularly on that action to bring the nay-sayers swarming out of the bushes.

[bitterohiogunclinger]

” I agree. The dog was likely reacting to the other dog. While he may have been legally within his right to shoot the dog, it could have been handled better. It always disgusts me when the cops shoot fido, who is defending his territory and they have questionable reasons to be trespassing.”

“You did not read the same article the rest of us did. If you did, you could not have made such a ridiculeous statement. “

Further down the posts I admit that I miss read the actions of the original homeowner. I took the second statement “that the dog was friendly” to be connected to the incident. I get angry when I read about anyone shooting a dog and perhaps jumped to a conclusion without carefully reading the whole story.
My statement about “cops shooting Fido” is unrelated to this story, and is about another incident that was circulating perhaps yesterday.
http://jonathanturley.org/2008/10/24/video-oklahoma-police-office-shoots-dog-and-then-allegedly-lies/
And before I take any more flak about criticizing “trigger happy” cops, I'm not portraying police officers in general in that light, only criticizing the actions of the officer in this story. However, if you'd like to hear about the city police officer that emptied his weapon into the “UFO”, that turned out to be a farmer in a combine, I'll see if I can find the story.

[Darnright]

>So move west, Age of Reason, where in most places, people can defend themselves, their loved ones, their livestock and pets against dangerous animals without interference<

You left out a part of my statement, on purpose, I'm sure:

"We take offense to people who shoot and kill dogs who aren’t threatening anyone.

[familyop]

" "We take offense to people who shoot and kill dogs who aren’t threatening anyone."

I don't care that you "take offense" or want to argue the subtleties of what is or isn't "threatening." Don't try bringing a pit bull to my place, unless you want it dead.

[waterhill]

What about the homeowners dog defending ‘his’ property?

I would have done the same thing, except the offending dog wouldn’t have made two steps from lead exposure. )bigger gun bore)

[Age of Reason]

What part of, “It should be legal,” don’t you understand?

[waterhill]

Thats my favorite reply to the question of why I carry...

Cops are heavy.

[Age of Reason]

Good advice.

[waterhill]

Where I live, dogs with no collar/tags die quick and sure.

[Age of Reason]

Now, I did say “it should be legal” to shoot any dog off a leash on your property or on public property, at your discretion.

Now, as a matter of fact, I like dogs.

So even if a pit bull did wander onto my property—even into my house, I would not shoot it unless I had no choice (and no choice includes taking no chances). Heck, even if I hated animals, I wouldn’t want to spoil the carpet unless absolutely necessary.

But if I could not peacefully control the dog, then I would like to have the legal right to shoot it just for being off a leash and on my property or on public property.

Further, if this dog had a history of being off the leash, and I judge it to be big enough to do serious harm some day, then backed by a law allowing me to shoot it on my property at my discretion, I should be legally alloed to do so.

WITHOUT later having to get involved with legal proceedings to prove a life was in danger.

[familyop]

That’s more than reasonable. In most rural areas west of the Mississippi, no one even has to prove that a life was in danger.

[Age of Reason]

All dog owners need do is never let their animals off their property unless leashed.

Although I would also suggest a law that if a dog isn’t also muzzled, and it bites someone, then the owner should be in big trouble—i.e., that a leash alone is not a guarantee the owner is a responsible dog owner.

(A leash is no guarantee the owner can control the dog, if the dog is strong enough and determined enough.)

[Darnright]

>I don’t care that you “take offense”<

“We”, as in “the state”. Go ahead, shoot a dog without cause in Virginia. Get convicted of a felony.