Posted on 09/28/2005 10:38:38 AM PDT by kiriath_jearim
No charges filed in dog shooting
By MELANIE D. HAYES
A dog shot in the face on Thursday is on his way to recovery at home — with the bullet still lodged in his throat. The man who shot him isn’t facing any charges, as he told police he acted in self-defense.
On Thursday morning, Rudy, an almost 2-year-old chocolate Labrador mix, was shot in front of his house by a neighbor walking by, said Detective Terry Sollars, Anderson Police Department’s public information officer.
“He (the passer-by) claims that the large brown dog was approaching him in a very threatening manner,” Sollars said. “He said he was barking very loudly. He, the man, was backing away from it. The dog was not going away and kept coming toward him.
“He pulled out his handgun that he carries — and has a permit to carry — and fired one shot at the dog,” Sollars said. “He said how frightened he was, with the dog growling and snarling, and thought he had no option.”
Rudy’s owner, Bob Wheadon, saw it all happen and watched as his dog ran away after being shot. For days he and his wife Cheryl searched for Rudy, and on Saturday were reunited with him after neighbors called them and told them where they had seen him.
“We were just bombarded with phone calls and they took us right to where he was,” Bob Wheadon said. “He wouldn’t go to anybody but me. He charged me, knocked me to ground, and licked my glasses off,” he said chuckling. “It was quite a reunion. He was scared, hurt and in a lot of pain.”
The bullet went into Rudy’s head behind his right eye, into his forehead, through the roof of his mouth and tongue and is lodged in a patch of loose skin in his throat, Wheadon said.
“He (the vet) doesn’t think he can see, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be able to,” he said. “He may lose sight in his right eye, but other than that he’s a healthy dog who will be with us for a long time.”
Wheadon admits the dog slipped out of their property and wasn’t on a leash but said the shooting was too drastic of an action.
After Rudy got out on the street, “my wife said you better get your dog before he gets himself in trouble,” Wheadon said. “He barks at anyone who walks by our property, like other dogs do. But he has never tried to bite or nip at anyone — adults or children.”
Wheadon saw when his dog was barking at the walking man, and then saw the man point a gun at the dog’s head and pull the trigger.
The Wheadons have written up and handed out flyers to their neighbors and placed them on their doors.
“We have a neighbor who walks the streets with a loaded concealed gun and permit,” the flyer, which identifies the man, said. “On Thursday, Sept. 22, this man walked up to one of our neighbor’s dogs and shot it point blank in the head. This happened at 7 a.m. when children are catching school busses. Does this concern anyone other than me?”
Sollars said that since the man had a gun permit and had felt that the loose dog was dangerous, police aren’t pursuing any charges.
“Humans don’t have to stand there to wait to have a dog attack,” Sollars said. “He did not want to hurt the dog, but wasn’t going to get bitten by the dog either. He has a right to defend himself against an animal he deems threatening.”
Yeah -Labs are NOTORIOUS for being non-violent dogs!
Maybe this idiot himself needs to find out how it feels to:
"The bullet went into Rudy’s head behind his right eye, into his forehead, through the roof of his mouth and tongue and is lodged in a patch of loose skin in his throat,"
He may not be so "macho" in his lackings the next time.
I know some of you may find this hard to believe
1. Some people love their cats or dogs and it hurts them e when they are killed.
Yes the little old lady down the block should keep her cat indoors and not let it wander into your yard, and yes you probably have the right to kill it, and yes its not your fault if the little old lady misses her companion and keeps hoping it will return, yes its her fault for letting it wander; that being said you don't have to be a liberal to occasionally have compassion for others.
2. Making a foolish mistake, which allows your dog to escape from a fenced yard does not mean you deserve to have your pet killed. Maybe it teaches kids responsibility to kill their cat or dog they love, but maybe their are kinder ways of teaching that lesson
3. Just because you have the 'right' to kill someone’s pet does not mean you should or that it is the right thing to do. You can be pro second amendment and pro use of guns in self defense and still not disagree humans and animals every time you have the "right" to.
4. "never ever ever ever fire a warning" is not one of the 10 commandments
Going to have to come down on the side of no charges filed and a despicable flyer on this particular case.
1) The dog should have been restrained, particularly if it was a barker.
2) It was 7am (as the flyer helpfully pointed out) and there were school children around a loose dog.
3) The shooter had the proper permit to carry concealed and used restraint and good target selection.
However, that being said, the fastest way to get a dog to act aggressively around you is to exhibit fear. Even a mild mannered dog will run and bark at a person they sense fears them. And even a trained attack dog will act warily around a person who they can sense no fear from. (They might still attack, but they are much more careful about the attack.)
I have run into around 5 people in my life that are deathly afraid of any and all dog. And guess what? Every dog barks at them when they first see them and growls with ears down even after they have been quieted by the owner.
This dog likely could have been told to go home in a firm voice and it would have left this gentleman alone. But the fact that it was loose in the first place puts the responsibility of this incident firmly on the dog's owner.
I'm sorry andyk I was responding to abathar( who had responded to your post ) and I got confused when I typed it in. I do apologize....
one thing you learn early when you are training to use a gun is never ever ever ever fire a warning shot!!!!! Please you obviously don't know a thing about handling a gun. This man was obviously a good shooter because he put one round right where it needed to go to stop the agressive animal. You don't want to fire any more rounds than necessary for the simple reason that one could ricochet and hit someone else (maybe your child) The blame goes squarely on the pet owner who obviously never trained his stupid dog to ignore people that belong on the street. I have seen too many pet owners who think it's funny and cool that there dogs try to protect there property and person against any human being they encounter. A dog should be trained to know the difference between a burglar crawling thropugh the window and a jogger or postman walking by the house on a busy street. He's lucky that his dog didn't bite a child in the face outside his house ( which from the sound of his behavior might be a possibility ). From my experience around Labs and any mixture with Labs they tend to be stupid animals who require alot of training to get them to behave properly.
Yes I'm very concerned! I have no problem with "any" and "all" law abiding people with concealed guns, and not just the ones with a permit! Which I'm not in the favor of having to have a permit. It is "my" right to carry. Just one more right this govt. is taking from us... : ) <<< me
Spot-On! No one to blame here except the dog's owner.
Agreed.
I own a 10-year old yellow lab. In his day he was a 100-pounder, now currently 90 lbs. My wife turned him into a barker (for security reasons, being home alone with young kids) and he has served us very well in this capacity, and seems to like doing his "job."
In reality, if you came into my house, he would probably lick you to death! But nonetheless, when he hears the door, or sees someone out in front of the house, he barks thunderously. To anyone that does not know MY dog, I have no doubt this would be frightening and intimidating!
R3
After Rudy got out on the street, “my wife said you better get your dog before he gets himself in trouble,” Wheadon said. “He barks at anyone who walks by our property, like other dogs do. But he has never tried to bite or nip at anyone — adults or children.”
Feel free to form any opinions you like, I just said the article doesn't support your opinion. (that's my damn opinion)
The wife seems to believe the dog has a capacity to get in trouble, and the hubby admits the dog barks at anyone who walks by the property. Sounds like aggressive behavior to me, especially when the dog has left his yard to bark at a passerby. (we do agree the dog was out of the yard, don't we?) Sadly, a passerby has no way of knowing that "he has never tried to bite or nip at anyone — adults or children". And of course, there is a first time for anything.
So, while there was plenty in the short-on-details story to make one think the dog was acting assertively, if not aggressively, I fail to find anything in the story to support your initial assertion that the gun owner 'was looking for a reason to use his gun.'
1. Some people love their cats or dogs and it hurts them e when they are killed.
If they really loved their animals they would train them properly and maintain control over them. I love my 10 yr old son but if I don't teach him at an early age not to run into the street without looking and then he gets killed by a car after darting out into the road, it would be my fault not the driver of the car.
Yes the little old lady down the block should keep her cat indoors and not let it wander into your yard, and yes you probably have the right to kill it, and yes its not your fault if the little old lady misses her companion and keeps hoping it will return, yes its her fault for letting it wander; that being said you don't have to be a liberal to occasionally have compassion for others.
I dont know how the cat getting loose got into this discussion or the liberal thing I'm quessing you have read previous posts by me and understand my feelings on this subject...well maybe understand isn't the right word maybe realize my feelings would be better.
2. Making a foolish mistake, which allows your dog to escape from a fenced yard does not mean you deserve to have your pet killed. Maybe it teaches kids responsibility to kill their cat or dog they love, but maybe their are kinder ways of teaching that lesson
I don't want to see an animal killed as much as you may believe that. I own an adorable lhaso apso and have owned cats in my life. I really do love animals my son has a guinea pig I adore but I just get sick of pet owners blaming everyone but themselves when they slip up. I agree the man probably didn't have to try to kill him so quickly without trying other methods of stopping the animal. Labs are usually very friendly but they are dumb. ( sorry )
3. Just because you have the 'right' to kill someone’s pet does not mean you should or that it is the right thing to do. You can be pro second amendment and pro use of guns in self defense and still not disagree humans and animals every time you have the "right" to.
It's not that I have a right to kill but that you don't know what a person who doesn't know your dog is thinking when your dog approachs them in a threatening manner. It could have very well been a child who this dog got nasty with and a small child has no defense against a dog this size. I have been bitten by dogs before in my life and it is no fun at all. I had a white german sheohard bite me on my side above my waist and had to get 15 stitches and suffered alot of pain luckily it was the neighbors dog and I knew where he lived so I didn't have to go through the rabies shots.
4. "never ever ever ever fire a warning" is not one of the 10 commandments
I know it's not a commandment from god but I do know that from my life experiences (I have worked in law enforcement) dealing with criminals and use of a gun that the worst thing you can do is fire a warning shot. It just isn't smart for a number of reasons. The only time you point and fire a weapon is when you intend to kill. I'm sorry if that bothers you but that is a fact.
Waaay back when, Heloise (remember her and her hints?) had someone suggest soaking a rag with household ammonia and dangling it, using a stick, between the fighting animals. I'd be curious if this had more effect than the pepper.
Until you come across a real mean dog, in which case **CHOMP**
Oh so you occasionally would condescend to calling animal control rather than shooting 90 year old Betty's cat who keeps hunting birds in your yard. 'Tis very kind of you.
Everyone carries more than one bullet for situations like this. I imagine this guy did too.
Better just a dead dog than a dead dog AND dog owner.
My personal experience says you don't know what your talking about.
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