Saw something that moved me today

[donotknowme]

I hope the dog is ok.

[red_oktober78765]

Don't know. Everyone left real quick. Nobody exchanged names or anything. I didn't have the chance to ask as I really wasn't involved other than by proximity.

[Square Bag]

Ok, it's been a while since I posted anything but I am looking for some HUMBLE opinions.
I had the wife and my son with me today in the car, headed to Dunkin' Donuts on rt 30 in North huntingdon. We were headed westbound when I pulled into the center turn lane to make my left into the gas station parking lot next to Dunkin'. There is more room there than Dunkin' s lot. I was waiting for traffic to clear when two pit bulls darted from the lot out into traffic. The one got hit by an SUV but not run over. The other was just outside the impact zone by inches. The one that did get hit reacted by attacking the front ground effect plastic on the SUV. it managed to pull free and both continued to try to cross but a guy that had crossed on foot behind my car helped the dog owner get ahold of the leashes on both. ( a co-worker of mine just happened to be at Dunkin and saw the part I missed - the lady opened her car door and the dogs bolted with leashes attached).
My question is this.. I know how dogs can react to pain. If one or both had attacked the guy that was behind my car ( he was prob 50 feet behind it) and I had been carrying, would I have had reason to draw and put the dog(s) down to protect human life? Remember that we are talking about full grown pit bulls too. A powerful breed to begin with...

How about being a good witness and dial 911. You pull your gun and screw up you'll be in more trouble then its worth.

[Gunsnwater]

I am having a hard time following the plot of this story, but it sounds like two pit bulls ran out into traffic, one of them got hit by a moving vehicle, then attacked the moving vehicle, then some guy went out in traffic and pulled both pit bulls off the road by leash, along with their owner, and a lady was there, and opened a car door, and the dogs ran away from her, without anyone holding their leashes.

My humble answer is I would never draw let alone fire on a road with moving vehicles and pedestrians chasing dogs. I may be reading your story wrong though.

With an attacking dog that is actively mauling a person, you can get pretty close, like point-blank close. They are not like a criminal that will turn and shoot someone who approaches. They are attacking a specific person who they regard as a threat, and will not just turn and kill you if you get too close, like a thug might. They might not even be aware of your presence. Just get right up in the dog's business, and determine from there. You could try a "warning shot" into the ground right there. (assuming you are on regular ground, not a road or parking lot etc) Or you could always just try shouting authoritatively, pulling the dog off, yelling at it and chasing it away, or punching and kicking it in the gut/head, etc... You may get bitten by doing that, of course, but most dogs will respect an alpha human if you shout with authority, show absolutely no fear, and kick it hard in the gut or whatever. If that doesn't get the dog to stop, then you should be close enough to shoot it in a way that is safe and won't go through and hit the victim.

And maybe getting bitten isn't so bad, depending on who you are. It would depend on the situation and who you are. if you are 5 feet tall and 100 lbs and 75 years old with a similar sized dog that is totally different than if you are 200 lbs and dealing with a 60lb dog and you are 25.

What I am saying is a dog is not a criminal and does not behave like a criminal would, and a dog can be handled in a variety of ways that you would not want to risk with a person. The dog cannot shoot you from20 feet away, so you can afford to get closer to it, much closer, and if you have to shoot, you can shoot down on it by getting very close. This reduces risk of stray bullets. You wouldn't want to bother with a warning shot on a two legged threat, but a dog is different. You wouldn't (usually) want to get right up on a human threat and try dragging them away if they were armed, but a dog is different, and isn't really armed.

In short, a dog threat is vastly different and you could handle it a lot of different ways, and shooting would be one possible and legally justifiable way. But not on a road full of cars.

Warning shots are TROUBLE. Great way to get prohibited.

[Gunsnwater]

I also wanted to add about how disturbed I am by the way the dumb -unt just opened the door and lets the dogs fly right out with no regard for human life. Of course, why not? How much will it cost her, a hundred bucks in fines, if some cop decides to drop his donut and write it up? Meanwhile, the DA will prosecute the guy that shoots the dogs, and he will lose everything he has.

Of course, the -unt will claim that there was nothing she could do to stop the dogs; they just ran out on their own. Now, lets suppose we had some laws with some teeth, written by some lawmakers with some balls. Suppose a judge told a dog owner, "look, if your dog gets loose again, it won't be a hundred dollar fine, a cop will be over to cut your c--- and b---s off". That would be the end of that guy's excuses. Instead, the victim is the one that will lose.

Why? Just why?

[MT1]

I'll admit I'd be hesitant to shoot depending on the position of the dog. If the dog is only growling and has not yet latched on I would hope the guy would slowly back off. If the dog has a grip on an arm or leg it's a tough shot considering the dog will be twisting and thrashing. Trying to hit a moving target when the vital zone is the size of a shoe box isn't easy.

[cdi]

Well, it depends:

Did the thoughtless owner have any of the following:

1. Prominent camel toe bulging through tightly stretched yoga pants.
2. Hiding behind the camel toe, a flabby ass like a $40.00 mule.
3. Flabby belly standing in sharp and unacceptable social contrast to the metaphor of the yoga pants.
4. Neck tattoos, ear gauges and nipple rings (accentuating light mustard stains on wife beater tee shirt).

5. Most important of all (wait for it): Did she refer to them as "My dogs! my dogs!
Or did she refer to them as "My pitties! My pitties!"

If it's "My dogs!" go ahead and shoot.
If it's "My pitties, go ahead and shoot. After you finish with the dogs, shoot her (couple rounds right in the pitties is a good place to start).