Posted on 07/29/2011 2:47:22 AM PDT by marktwain
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — He was dubbed the "Dog Hater."
But now Cottonwood Heights police say their investigation has taken a complete 180-degree turn and a man wanted for allegedly pulling a gun on a group of dog walkers may have actually been the victim and was defending himself.
Saturday evening, a man was walking his two dogs with friends near 3000 E. Danish Road. He later told police that his dogs were spooked by fireworks and nipped a man who was walking by.
That man allegedly responded by pulling out a gun and threatening the dog walkers.
But after the incident was reported by the local news, the man who pulled the gun turned himself over to police and gave a different story, which detectives Wednesday said seems to be backed up by the evidence.
The gunman actually had to be treated by a doctor after the dogs knocked him to the ground and bit his leg and face, said Cottonwood Heights police detective Ryan Shosted.
"The guy was attacked by the dogs and feared for his own safety," he said.
The dogs that were being walked were both about 70 pounds, Shosted said. One was an Australian Shepherd and the other a Blue Heeler.
"He was walking past the dog owner and the dogs jumped on his back and knocked him down," he said.
The man had a bruise on his knee consistent with being knocked over. Shosted said the bite on his leg was also "significant" and part of his finger tip was bitten off.
The man, in his late 60s to early 70s, was an Army veteran and had a concealed weapons permit.
(Excerpt) Read more at deseretnews.com ...
If they are the first to call, the natural tendency is for the police to believe them, and the other party then has to disprove what they say.
In this case, the citizen with the gun would have been better off calling the police after he defended himself.
The “dog walkers” should be charged criminally for making a false police report trying to further harm the victim.
It is always amusing to watch someone try to walk dogs of that size, and two and the same time is even worse. Sure, a well trained dog is a pleasure, but trouble is a sniff away.
These are just dogs acting like dogs, and it doesn’t sound like he was seriously hurt. Besides, this guy was in the army and probably faced a lot worse. The Viet Cong wouldn’t just bite the tip of your finger off.
And that justifies the dogs attacking him from the rear? I don’t think so. Based on your logic, any attack by a dog that doesn’t result in removing the head of an Iraq/Afghan vet must not have been a serious threat.
Blue Heelers and Aussie Shepherds don’t weigh anywhere close to 70 pounds.
Then please pray for me. My older dog is half Black Lab and, possibly, Pit, and weighs about 80 lb. He's always been hugely self-confident, bumpy, friendly, and enthusiastic. Unfortunately, his predecesor as "senior dog" passed on in April. Since I basically desire to have small, untrusive dogs, like teacup Poodles, I got a Great Dane puppy to accompany the older dog. The Dane, now 5.5 mo. old, is three inches taller and three inches longer than the older dog and currently weighs about 50 lb., soon to grow to about 150 lb. Between them they go through about 35 lb. of dog food every week and a half @ about $50.00 per bag.
(Australian Heeler) (Hall’s Heeler) (Queensland Heeler) (Blue Heeler) (Australian ... Weight: Males 32-35 pounds (15-16kg) Females 30-35 pounds (14-16kg) ...
What?
Yup. Been around them and owned Heelers and Aussies for herding cows. Great dogs, too. Currently have a Kelpie mix and an Aussie/Heeler mix. The Kelpie is fearless and totally loyal. He’s also a whale of a cow dog. The Aussie is good with sheep, but a bit chicken with the cows.
Ping
“Blue Heelers and Aussie Shepherds don’t weigh anywhere close to 70 pounds.”
Some of the Aussies do, although the average is probably 40-50 pounds. Both of mine average 45-50 pounds.
The dog walkers deserve to be lynched. It's one thing to lose control of your dog. But filing a false or misleading police report is completely beyond the pale. What if the guy had been hurt more seriously? What if his gun papers were not in complete order?
A properly trained dog would never have done this in the first place.
I had a pair of blue merle smooth collies Castor and Pollox(genetic freaks at that) that weighed 100 and 130 lbs respectively. It was a great pleasure for me to watch my friend’s little girl Sasha (all 75 lbs of her) walking the boys up the street, completely under her control. My littler dog (the one I have left now) walked alongside withOUT a leash.
No pulling, no chasing, no misbehaving whatever, even when cats and squirrels would dash across their path.
The dog owner here is definitely in deep kimchi, and deserves it for having poorly trained, badly behaving pets, on lead or not.
It sounds like a case of self defense.
The dog owner needs to control his dogs better-—irresponsible dog owners make responsible ones look bad. The owner of the dogs should pay the man’s medical bills.
“blue merle smooth collies”
Oh totally awesome!!!
They were indeed awesome dogs. Very smart, extremely good-natured and as tractable as you could imagine.
Their only flaw was that they were “accidents”, as both parents were blue merle, which gave them a double dose of poor genes.
Still, they gave 7 (Pollux) and 8 1/2 (Castor) years of delight and pleasure. Their little urns are sitting on the mantel above the fireplace, along with a photo of each.
Zippy (the 11 1/2 yr old 25 lb Peke-Pom-Sheltie) and I still miss them a lot. So does the stoopid cat, for that matter...
THANKS for pinging it!
A 70 lb Blue Heeler? I don’t believe it. I’ve never seen a Blue Heeler over 40 lbs. They are short dogs, built that way to escape the cattle hooves when they nip at their heels. I’ve also never seen an Australian Shepherd that topped 50 lbs.
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