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You said:
Lose dogs like that happen all the time when I am out jogging. Someone is taking groceries inside or something like that and the dog gets lose. Since I happen to be passing by the dog will 'run at me barking'. Whoopty freaking doda. If that made me scared I would have to turn in my b@11s because clearly I would have no use for them. Since I am not a moron, rather than shooting the dogs I stop, hold out a hand and greet the dog in a calm friendly voice. After a few sniffs and some free petting the dog is more trots back to an embarrassed owner secure in the knowledge that I am not a threat. Why should I be upset, scared, or attempt to defend myself from a dog that is doing it's job and checking out an intruder. From the dogs point of view and rightly so, anyone at the front edge of the lawn is an potential threat if their owner is on the front lawn.
Of course I was a threat, of course the dog wanted to check me out. That is one of the main reasons humans keep them around.

I say:
I would rather have brains than b@lls. I would also like to keep my b@lls intact.
You obviously have never been attacked by a ferocious dog. I have.
You sound like someone who lives in a fantasy land.
Dogs I have come across would chew your hand off and then start on your b@lls if you stuck your hand out and said "here now nice little puppy it's ok run back to mama now" HA HA! Mankind never ceases to amaze me.
So what your saying is every dog that charges you will just merrily go on his way after you have soothed him and stroked him a few times.
You must not get much jogging done if you have to stop at every barking dog and sooth and comfort them in their moment of " doing what dogs are supposed to do"
Dogs are not supposed to charge at pedestrians or anyone else near their front yard barking and snarling. This is the sign of an illbehaved dog not a good boy just doing his job. His job is to alert his master if someone is trying to break in the house or attack anyone trying to harm them not a jogger or a postman or schoolchildren walking by.
It is the job of the master to teach the animal the difference between threats and normal activity in a residential neighborhood.
It would be different if this dog was on a 2 acre parcel of land on a dirt road with no neighbors homes in sight but this sounds like a neighborhood in a residential area with sidewalks and schoolchildren nearby.
This animal sounds like it wasn't trained properly or is just dumb. Some dogs are just dumb and will bark and charge at anything they see.
This is the outcome of poor training and poor discipline and poor control by the pet owner.
By your logic a person who means to do me harm can approach my yard and when my dog charges him all he has to do is extend a warm smile, a soothing voice, and pet him a few times then proceed to rob and rape or kill me after the dog has been fooled into a false sense of security.
I'm sorry but me thinks you have not been exposed to a truly mean dog on your little jogging adventures.
The main reason I have a dog and I thought the reason most people have a dog is for companionship not for security detail of the front yard.
Dogs need to be taught early that they and their owners are not the only living creatures on this earth that have a right to the public streets and front yards in the proximity and that other dogs and humans have just as much right being near or even on their property (electric meter reader,water meter reader, catv guy, phoneman etc. you get the idea) unless of course they are out in the boonies.
I still say this was more than likely a dumb dog with a dumb owner and believe me there are many of them out there.
The guy putting out fliers telling neighbors that a legal citizen armed and carrying a concealed permit and shooting a threat presented to him because of this pet owners negligence tells me that he is a moron.

I read the article from your link and I can tell you why the man has not been charged and never will be. If you read the story it clearly states that a group of men or boys had an altercation with one man.

Anytime you are approached and threatened by 2 or more people and you are alone and you fear harm may come to you, you are within your rights to shoot to kill.

It's easy to play monday morning quarterback and say coulda shoulda woulda but when you are faced with an angry mob or a group as the news article called it you have a good reason to fear for your life.

All it takes is one good kick or punch to the head and you could die or be brain damaged for life.

The problem with young men these days are they think they can play tough guy like they see on tv or MTV or the computer and then they run across someone like this guy who considers his life valuable enough not to take chances that may result in his death.

Also it says that the group of men were just trying to disarm him after he displayed the gun in his waistband.

A word of advise to all: never try to disarm any man no matter how noble the cause unless you are willing to get shot!

I'm sorry but that is very stupid. The best thing they could have done was get in there car and leave. This outcome doesn't surprise me at all.

By the way I'm not ranting at you or saying you are wrong about any of this I am just responding to the story on your link.

It just amazes me how stupid people can be.

To get shot and killed over a parking spot if that is indeed the reason seems very stupid.

Of course people should control their pets. Did I say otherwise? Did I say every dog on earth is a happy friendly puppy? Did I say everyone should keep their dog on the front lawn as a guard at all times? Thanks for the insults. I can't tell if you are calling me stupid, delusional, irrational or a liar but it certainly sounds like all four.

I did not say guarding was THE main reason people keep dogs. I said it is one of them and it is. If you want to argue that companionship is a BIGGER reason. It probably is but my statement is still accurate.
You apparently think that every other house in my neighborhood has a lose dog. That is not the case. Perhaps 'all the time' was over stating but it does happen often enough that if I shot every dog that ran up to me I would need to retain a full time lawyer. You imply holding out your hand and talking to it is NOT the right way to handle an approaching dog. I guess dropping his owners tv and running for the fence also works but it is not the way I was taught to deal with them. I would ask what your alternative advice it but it seems to involve getting chewed on so I will just pass.

Yeah, I have met dogs intent on doing me harm. Not all dogs are nice and friendly but the vast majority are, if you treat them right. It is rather easy to tell the difference between them, even before they bite you.

If you refrain from the implied insults and read what I said you will see I describe a situation where an owner is distracted an loses control of their dog. In my 'fantasy land' every owner does not have magic control over their dogs every action. Also in my 'fantasy land' most people have given their dog little or no training. Hence such a dog will NOT stop until it has checked out the intruder. Since last I checked I could not out run most dogs it seems like the smart move to stop and say hi. Plus I like dogs and this gives me a chance to pet one.

Ok my curiosity got the better of me... What would you have me do in that situation? I know, in your non fantasy world it could never happen. Or else the dog will naturally be out for blood. So I guess I should pack heat and shoot them all... Time to get a lawyer on speed dial I suppose.