Man Shoots Dog to Protect Daughter

wctv.tv ^ | 10 March, 2009 | NA

[marktwain]

Kenneth Hale Jr. says his neighbor's Bull Mastiff ventured into his yard several times.

Last week, Hale's three year old daughter was playing in the yard and the dog charged toward her, so he got his gun and shot the dog.

Kenneth Hale says "I feel bad about it I didn't want to shoot the dog, I really didn't and I was hoping he would keep him over there, it was a beautiful dog, it's a bull Mastiff and that dog stands every bit of four feet tall on his back".

Thomas County investigators say Hale contacted them on more than one occasion about the dog.

The owner of the dog could not be reached for comment and authorities would not release his name.

[luckymom]

I don’t think that is a Bullmastiff. I think it’s an English Mastiff. Bulls have bulldog-like faces and are not as tall as English. They are known to be more aggressive than English Mastiffs. I had to put down my ENGLISH Mastiff 3 weeks ago. He was 4 and a half, and had always been a challenge. I’m not exaggerating when I say he weighed 200 pounds... he did. I have no idea how “tall” he was because we wouldn’t let him jump on us. He was the most wonderful dog (in spite of the drool on the floor, walls, and ceiling) with my husband, grown kids, and their dogs, and he also was friends with a St. Bernard. In spite of that, he would go ballistic at *some* people. We worked with him for over 4 years, and couldn’t get that part out of him, so we decided we couldn’t wait for the inevitable to happen, we had to put him down before he attacked someone. It was very sad, to say the least, but we aren’t living in fear anymore. There are people who refuse to put their dog down UNTIL he bites someone, but that is way too late IMHO. TYPICALLY, English Mastiffs are “Gentle Giants”. Sadly, we got an exception to that.

[calex59]

I'm all about defending one's family. And I really think all dogs should be behind fences or on leashes. But this article reads strangely. Hey! There's a dog charging my little girl! I better go get my gun! Now, let's see, it's over here in my den. I'll just get it down, easy does it. Let's not panic. Where's my ammo? Right here. Okay. Breathe steady. Loading. Loading. Loading. Okay. I think I'm ready. Now, let's go back and assay the situation. Yup, that dog is still charging my daughter. Okay. Ready. Aim. Fire.

I kind of think that the guy may have been holding the gun, watching the dog and thinking "Go ahead. Make my day."

I'm with you. Unless they printed this wrong it goes like this: He sees the dog come into his yard, the dog charges the child, he "goes to get his gun and shoots the dog" according to the article. How big is his yard? How long does it take a dog to charge across the yard to a child? Unless this guy had the gun in his hand I call BS on his story. The kid would have been dead by the time he got the gun.

I say he killed the dog because he didn't like it coming into his yard, shot the dog, then made up the story about it charging his child.

Even if you had a gun at the ready you may not have the time to shoot the dog before it starts chewing on the kid. Once again, this story is BS.

[marktwain]

“Hey, just refreshed the screen when i got home. Its interesting, i disagreed with you on whether the guy was justified or not. You start in with noob, personal insults, tagline, posting history and all kinda personal slander.”

---

Dogs are property. You are correct there, but it is not the way to win an argument. People are very emotional about dogs, because as you note, they do become man's best friend.

[Eaker]

Is that a min-pin in the one pic?

We have three Min-Pins, a Pomeranian, Coon Hound and a Pit-Bull.

The Pit-Bull does not run the joint!

[Eaker]

Nailed it Bro!

[BCR #226]

"I blame the owner—for even HAVING such a dog in a residential area. An animal of that size is a threat, even if owned by the most responsible of people. Why have such an animal?"

I think this is the most asinine thing I've seen on FR in a long time. Replace dog with gun, or car, or whatever... See the issue?

The problem is the owner didn't respect the nature of the dog and didn't control it. A dog that large is no different from a dog that weighs 2 pounds. They both have teeth and will bite. They also have the same wiring in the brain. Dogs understand the difference between right and wrong when taught. The owner was irresponsible but please don't make blanket statements that insult every large dog owner out there...

Here's our big dog with our daughter....

[familyop]

"BOOM!"

Thanks for illumination round. And here's a related post. Imagine the pit bull worshipers howling with grief over the following. ;-)

Texas State Rep. Wants Drug Testing Before Taxpayer-Paid Unemployment Insurance Payments
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2208831/posts

[CabinJohn]

I agree with your analysis of “he got his gun and shot the dog”; this doesn’t pass the smell test!

In addition, this Bullmastiff that “stands every bit of four feet tall on his back” is considerably larger than the worlds record Mastiff (Mastiff’s are larger than Bullmastiffs). The Guinness Book of World Records had listed Zorba as the largest Mastiff in the world until his death. Zorba was 37” (3 feet 1 inch) tall at the shoulder.

I suspect that the dog’s size is not the only fiction reported in this story.

[Judith Anne]

Yes, she’s never been bred (neutered as a pup) but she mothers and tries to be bossy with the mastiff. The mastiff is polite, but if she has something he wants, he just looks at her till she gets up and walks off.

They’re both nice dogs. I guess I just got lucky. :D

[Eaker]

Min pins are great and that is a handsome mastiff!

[Judith Anne]

Thank you very much. When my husband died last year, I swear those dogs saved my life, just by sharing the grief with me, giving me something important to do (take care of them) and just generally by being cheerful and loving for no reason.

God has surely blessed me with these animal friends.

[Judith Anne]

Very sorry to hear about your sad experience. One reason I can think of to research a breeder very carefully is that people have been working with Old English Mastiffs to get a bit more health into the breed, which has been in decline. As a result, sometimes the inbred kindly temperament has suffered.