Posted on 08/26/2008 5:43:18 AM PDT by engrpat
A North Texas family is mourning the loss of two of their pets. The nine-month-old pit bulls were shot and killed by a neighbor who says it was self defense.
The shooting happened in a neighborhood off Ten Mile Bridge Road in northwest Fort Worth.
The neighbors never had any problems before. But that all changed over the weekend.
The man who pulled the trigger says he didn't have any choice. But the dogs' owners disagree.
Kristopher Harrison has a six-year-old daughter. He says that's why he was upset when two pit bulls wandered into his backyard Saturday afternoon.
Harrison says he told his next door neighbors, if it happened again, he would shoot the dogs. And that's exactly what he did around 4 a.m. Sunday morning.
Harrison says he and a friend were taking a break from watching the Olympics when the nine-month-old dog named 'Scarface' crawled under the fence. Harrison had his shotgun with him, so he says he shot the dog and the dog's sister, 'Lady'.
"I wish he just would have went in the house and would have came and told me instead of retaliating that way," dog owner Shaylen Ross said.
One of the animals was found dead in Harrison's backyard. The other was found dead in its own backyard.
"He was showing his teeth, growling and he was coming at me," Harrison explained. "The second dog, I didn't know. I didn't think I was going to have to shoot him, because he seemed a little hesitant. But then he looked at the hole in the fence. I thought he was going to go back under, then he turned around and started coming at me and that's when I shot him."
Fort Worth Police are reviewing the case, but they say if the dogs were in the neighbor's yard when they were shot it's unlikely that any charges will be filed.
As someone else mentioned, we do have animal control and at 4 am it is an unlisted yet calibrated number.
Oh and uh, you don’t hunt much do ya?
I ain't looking to make anyone happy but meself if a pit charges me. That's by stopping it cold and dead. Pits are so muscular and the nerve endings so distant apart snakeshot anywhere in the torso won't phase a charging animal. Now a magnum hollowpoint at twenty paces may open enough a gap that daylight might could shine on its thumper.
I'll prolly never have to do it again, but I chased off three PB's with only my pocket knife when my daughters, wife, and I visited a cemetery and the dogs came out of the woods after us. All I was thinking was to buy my kids enough time for them to safely get back into the truck with my wife and apparently the noise I made by yelling and making myself look larger than I am disoriented the dogs just enough to break their pack mentality and they quickly left. Luckily I didn't have to slice any one of them up - but I'd have done it if needed.
Sometimes a killing is necessary, sometimes it can be avoided. Many times, it depends on the animal.
And who do you think is RESPONSIBLE for the breeding and training of such behavior? Hint: It ain’t the dog. My family has owned breeds like Boxers and German Shepards, and we raised them to differentiate between a threat and a six year old. Bottom line: You can thank the owners for the maulings and killings.
Thats not always true with terrier breeds.All terriers have a trigger mechanism, some are hairline and others would take a hammer to knock it off safety, but, if it is ever pulled the dog does not know anything but attack the closest percieved threat and that could be another animal, a child or an adult.Yes, through training you can either dull that trigger or sharpen it but it is still there.
Somebody has to feed them.
FOUND does not equal where it was shot. IF they find bullets in the naighbors yard from his gun, yeah. Book him for shooting one dog. I seriously doubt that is the case however.
A dog shot point blank by a shotgun usually doesn't do much traveling afterwards.
Then the police investigators should be more than able to pull the shot out of the neighbors yard. I guess we'll see. Also blood stains and blood trails should be able to show a lot as well.
Sounds like bunk to me.
I think I'm going to stand on this old conservative canard: "Innocent until proven guilty."
A "point-blank" or "tight" shot pattern would've blown a hole the diameter of a soup can through those dogs. From across the yard, with a pattern diameter of, say, 12 - 18 inches, it would depend on the shot size and the random chance of where each pellet struck. Birdshot (the most comon shotshell) doesn't penetrate well, particularly in an animal as muscular as a pit bull. Dog #2 probably stopped fewer shot pellets and thus survived long enough to wriggle back under the fence.
Should be easy to determine where the dog was shot. Follow the blood trail.
According to the article, the police seem satisfied that both dogs were outside of their owner's yard when shot.
He should have called animal control and reported the dogs.
I remember my dad going around and around with animal control on a feral dog issue. The dogs, which were living wild in a wooded area near our home, only made their presence known at dusk. The animal control officers didn't work nights. Dad loaded his .22 rifle, slipped into the woods just before sundown, and cut through the red tape the old-fashioned way.
If the dog was attacking a person or another animal, that's a different story. But this sounds more like someone being vindictive and mean.
I think the shooter was concerned that the dogs would dig under that fence again when he wasn't around. When you don't own a dog, you really don't expect there to be one in your yard when your child goes outside to play. This guy eliminated a threat, there was nothing mean about it. The dogs' owner was warned and certainly could've prevented this.
The dogs are ALREADY bred for that behavior - it’s a done deal with the breed.
The dog needs no training to be deadly strong, unpredictable, or to attack - they are inherent traits and behaviors in a pit bull.
The irresponsibility of the owner does not change any of that. So-called “responsible” owners can only modify the animal with training, restraint and good care, but cannot transform a dangerous animal into a trustworthy companion around children, elderly people, neighbors and strangers.
Other people know that, but only the pit bull owners who have been “surprised” by their pets’ attacks seem to figure it out.... usually after countless denials.
If you murder someone who shoots your dogs on THEIR property then you deserve to be charged with and convicted of said murder.
If I see a dog on MY property that growls at me, I will shoot that dog.
And if its owner tries to murder me, I will defend myself.
Ed
You can whine murder and premeditation all day long. I don’t care. You and the others here wouldn’t stand a prayer in convicting me.
I’m asleep at 4:00 a.m. I’m awakened to my dogs barking, multiple gunshots and maybe some yelps. I grab my weapon and go out to investigate and protect my property, including my pets. As my eyes adjust to the darkness I see my two dead pets, when a shadow holding what appears to be a gun turns towards me.
He’s dead. Self defense.
You whiners crack me up! :-D You’re completely fine with this guy’s reckless use of a weapon, but then totally up in arms when I use the same logic.
HYPOCRITES!!! ROTFLMAO!
He was in HIS yard. What part of that don’t you understand.
I just ran it past my seven-year-old and she gets it.
What you did was definitely the ideal way to handle the situation.
“I take it this question is a joke. If it isn’t — and if you can’t figure out for yourself which certain element I’m referring to — ruminate on the name “Michael Vick.” You may recall that several of his fellow black athletes (whoops, there’s another hint for you) defended Mr. Vick by saying that white folks just don’t understand black culture. Come on may, get a life and stop being obtuse.”
Sorry, wasn’t a joke nor was I trying to be obtuse. I am well of aware of Michael Vick but you didn’t answer my question about the presidential nominee to which you are referring. I was simply wondering how any of the presidential nominees were part of the “certain elements of society” that ruin pit bulls. Seemed like a such a weird stretch to me that I thought one of the nominees might have a history of which I am unaware.
So if I read you right, you’re using the claim by other athletes about misunderstanding black culture as a license to include Obama (you do mean Obama, right?) as part of that dog-abusing culture. Still seems like a weird stretch. There are a lot of things I can’t stand about Obama, but claiming he is part of the certain elements that mistreats dogs only makes you look bad. But perhaps he has something in his history I have missed, in which case I apologize.
Wow...you sound really unbalanced.
You wake up after hearing gun shots, a guy in the next yard is standing there, you have no idea who he is, whether he’s a cop, a home-owner fighting off burglars or a car backfire that the homeowner’s investigating...the guy is in his yard, he turns to you, and because you heard a noise and see a guy standing in the next yard, you then shoot and kill him.
Amazing...
Ed
Yeah, yeah! But you’re amazingly balanced, Ed. The guy threatens the neighbor’s dogs, there’s absolutely no threat to his family (asleep in bed), and you believe his version of events.
But I’m the unbalanced one! :-D
It’s because I have personal experience with this.
I never shot a dog, but I am an avid bike rider, and I have been chased several times by vicious dogs for simply riding by their owner’s house on the street.
One time the dog came within 6” of my calf. He was a Rottie, huge, really mean, snarling, barking, snapping his jaws open and shut while lunging at my calf.
The owner was watching from the garage.
I coudn’t outrun him so I pulled my pistol and pointed it at the dog and was about to shoot it.
The owner saw what was happening and instantly called the dog back.
I wasn’t about to let myself be hurt, maybe permanently, by allowing that dog to sink its teeth into my leg and pulling me off my bike and biting me further.
If I had shot the dog, and the owner had your attitude...that anyone who shoots your dog will in turn be shot, then that dog owner would have done to me what you are saying you would have done to your next door neighbor.
That’s just one incident where I’ve been chased by snarling, snapping dogs that threaten to bite me. I’ve also had chickens killed by dogs on our property, I’ve had friends with sheep that have been killed by dogs, I’ve watched cattle being chased by dogs, and I know though they are friendly, lovable little critters, they are capable of inflicting much damage to livestock and humans.
That’s why I believe this guy, and why my response in that situation would have also been to shoot the dogs if they came on my property and were snarling at me...
Ed
What eastforker failed to notice was that the second dog was in the shooter’s yard. He started to walk back to his own yard and turned back around. The dog was not shot in it’s own yard, it ran back to it AFTER being shot.
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