2nd amendment rights concerning dogs

[memphismason]

I have only had to shoot one dog and it was while in the woods squirrel hunting. I hated to do it, but the dog would not stop advancing growling, and snarling, so I did what I felt I had to do.

[Guest jwb68]

The only dog I have ever shot was the kind that migrated here from out west.

[Guest notaguestnow]

I'm not sure about the laws there. i will tell you though, A German shepherd is a killing machine, period. I had some guy drunk trying to climb m fence saying "naughty things" as my son said to him and 4 of his little friends playing in the sprinkler. So, drunk guy tries to climb over the fence and my dog takes off and before the guy could get his other leg over the fence jumps up and bites off his nose. not a portion of his nose, his entire nose.

I called the police while the drunk guy was yelling at my door and trying to kick it in and my dog waiting patiently inside. The police hauled off drunk guy and offered to buy my dog a steak meal. The neighbor, who's kids were at my home also now is in love with my dog. And who wouldn't be? anyhow, the man, once sober told the police department that he was lucky, because my dog was going for his neck and he slipped when he seen him jump and only got his nose taken off. He, and myself believe my dog was trying to rip out his throat.

In this situation, my dog was in the right and if the man would have died, I wouldn't have cared. He was saying "naughty things" to my son and 8 year old girls and had the intention of abducting, harming or something of the sort. HOWEVER. the same destructive force with this type of dog can happen in your yard too by perceived territory.

If I was faced with someone elses shepherd in my yard, I wouldn't think twice about downing it, and only because I know the ability of this breed. Like I said, mine is a lapdog and the kids wrestle with him nonstop and he's as gentle as can be. He took out a 6'5" 300 lbs man in two seconds flat. I would potentially call your state firearm licensing office, as they're able to answer techincal questions of this nature. I would also keep record of who you spoke to and when and the substance of the converstation and also ask for the law that describes your right to use deadly force against an animal.

[Guest donfromtexas]

I would potentially call your state firearm licensing office, as they're able to answer techincal questions of this nature. I would also keep record of who you spoke to and when and the substance of the converstation and also ask for the law that describes your right to use deadly force against an animal.

Would be a great idea to also ask the person for a link on the official web site to the actual law.

[Guest jwb68]

Would be a great idea to also ask the person for a link on the official web site to the actual law.

It has already been posted. Look at my post four or five up.

[Guest kdpate]

I have a neighbor two houses down from me (folks in the neighborhood call the house "the trailer park") that has 3 pit bulls in his back yard (luckily fenced-in 6' high privacy). Last year one got free and tried to attack my other neighbor's wife and father. After a "friendly" discussion with the owners he (the husband of said wife and father-in-law) said that if it got loose again he would use force if it attacked him. I also expressed my concern since I have two small dogs that I let out in my back yard (fenced in) to these folks and let them know that I would protect them. I'm kinda in the same boat as BenS on this; the only problem is that Ilive in the city limits and everyone's house is within spitting distance of one another...

[Guest 3pugguy]

I dont see a Montogmery County exception to this statute.

39-14-205. Intentional killing of animal.

(a) (1) (A) It is an offense to knowingly and unlawfully kill the animal of another without the owner's effective consent.

( A violation of subdivision (a)(1)(A) is theft of property, graded according to the value of the animal, and punished in accordance with 39-14-105.

(2) In determining the value of a police dog, fire dog, search and rescue dog, service animal or police horse under 39-14-105, the court shall consider the value of the police dog, fire dog, search and rescue dog, service animal or police horse as both the cost of the animal and any specialized training the animal received.

( A person is justified in killing the animal of another if the person acted under a reasonable belief that the animal was creating an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to that person or another or an imminent danger of death to an animal owned by that person. A person is not justified in killing the animal of another if at the time of the killing the person is trespassing upon the property of the owner of the animal. The justification for killing the animal of another authorized by this subsection ( shall not apply to a person who, while engaging in or attempting to escape from criminal conduct, kills a police dog that is acting in its official capacity. In that case the provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to the person.

See also White v. State, 193 Tenn. 631, 249 S.W. 2d 877, 1952 Tenn. Holding that fact that dogs were trespassing on defendant's property did not bar the owner from recovery of their value.

If you read later posts, I more fully answered this same question posted by Fallguy (that is, gave the "rest of the story" from info as relayed to me by a Deputy Sheriff who came to our house after the pit bull incident):

if the dog is a physical threat and on MY property, it can be shot. Kind of like this part of your post I put in red below; seems to me it's legal, based on what I was told by the Deputy Sheriff and this part of the law:

A person is justified in killing the animal of another if the person acted under a reasonable belief that the animal was creating an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to that person or another or an imminent danger of death to an animal owned by that person. A person is not justified in killing the animal of another if at the time of the killing the person is trespassing upon the property of the owner of the animal. The justification for killing the animal of another authorized by this subsection ( shall not apply to a person who, while engaging in or attempting to escape from criminal conduct, kills a police dog that is acting in its official capacity. In that case the provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to the person.

I am not a dog shooter, so unless there was a real physical threat it ain't happening and it would be a sad day if I had to do something so drastic. I don't shoot four legged animals.

Edited August 11, 2009 by 3pugguy

[Fallguy]

If a dog is a threat your life or causing you serious bodily harm or threatening the life of an animal owned by you, you can use deadly force just about anywhere, unless you are trespassing, not just on your property.

..and yes 3pugguy did clarify the exchange between him and the deputy in a response to my post.

[Guest jwb68]

If you read later posts, I more fully answered this same question posted by Fallguy (that is, gave the "rest of the story" from info as relayed to me by a Deputy Sheriff who came to our house after the pit bull incident):

if the dog is a physical threat and on MY property, it can be shot. Kind of like this part of your post I put in red below; seems to me it's legal, based on what I was told by the Deputy Sheriff and this part of the law:

A person is justified in killing the animal of another if the person acted under a reasonable belief that the animal was creating an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to that person or another or an imminent danger of death to an animal owned by that person. A person is not justified in killing the animal of another if at the time of the killing the person is trespassing upon the property of the owner of the animal. The justification for killing the animal of another authorized by this subsection ( shall not apply to a person who, while engaging in or attempting to escape from criminal conduct, kills a police dog that is acting in its official capacity. In that case the provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to the person.

I am not a dog shooter, so unless there was a real physical threat it ain't happening and it would be a sad day if I had to do something so drastic. I don't shoot four legged animals.

I wasn't implying you were a dog shooter. Sorry if it looked like I was.

I am not a fan of the snarling snapping neighbors pet and I have been around enough dog bite incidents to know that your pet that sleeps with you and loves you and your family can do some serious harm to another person or animal it sees as a threat.

[DavidCBaker]

I don't understand it, but I have the ability to walk up to most any dog, even one that's known to be vicious, and pet it and calm it down. I had it even as a kid, but it was perfected when I was reading meters one summer for a major utility in Indiana, house to house. The deadbeats would chain their mean dogs to the meter so that we'd skip the house. Screw that--I always read them anyway and made friends with the dog and pissed off the owner.

The only time I couldn't "tame" a dog was at a camp one time. For some reason, a German Shepherd went nuts when it saw me walking by. She broke her chain and went after me. I didn't even try to calm her, but went straight to a roll so that she couldn't get my neck. Eventually someone came by with a baseball bat and fought her off.

That sent me to the hospital for some could ol' juicy bites on my thigh, but there is something about the German Shepherd breed, I think. I had a huge one as a boy, but some of them can be a little psycho. I've never had trouble with pit bulls or anything else.

I'm a huge dog lover, too--maybe that's it. But if I did see one attacking or getting ready to attack a person, I would kill it if needed. My niece got attacked by a dog that she'd been around for years (a neighbor), while swimming in their pool. It darn near ripped her face off and she had several plastic surgeries to repair it.

Believe it or not, it was one of those big-puppy Labradors!

Dogs are no more predictable than people, but it dismays me to hear of humans who are quick to shoot, just like they seem to be quick to escalate any human interaction.

[dralarms]

I'm not sure about the laws there. i will tell you though, A German shepherd is a killing machine, period. I had some guy drunk trying to climb m fence saying "naughty things" as my son said to him and 4 of his little friends playing in the sprinkler. So, drunk guy tries to climb over the fence and my dog takes off and before the guy could get his other leg over the fence jumps up and bites off his nose. not a portion of his nose, his entire nose.

I called the police while the drunk guy was yelling at my door and trying to kick it in and my dog waiting patiently inside. The police hauled off drunk guy and offered to buy my dog a steak meal. The neighbor, who's kids were at my home also now is in love with my dog. And who wouldn't be? anyhow, the man, once sober told the police department that he was lucky, because my dog was going for his neck and he slipped when he seen him jump and only got his nose taken off. He, and myself believe my dog was trying to rip out his throat.

In this situation, my dog was in the right and if the man would have died, I wouldn't have cared. He was saying "naughty things" to my son and 8 year old girls and had the intention of abducting, harming or something of the sort. HOWEVER. the same destructive force with this type of dog can happen in your yard too by perceived territory.

If I was faced with someone elses shepherd in my yard, I wouldn't think twice about downing it, and only because I know the ability of this breed. Like I said, mine is a lapdog and the kids wrestle with him nonstop and he's as gentle as can be. He took out a 6'5" 300 lbs man in two seconds flat. I would potentially call your state firearm licensing office, as they're able to answer techincal questions of this nature. I would also keep record of who you spoke to and when and the substance of the converstation and also ask for the law that describes your right to use deadly force against an animal.

Don't be mislead by a german shepards intellance level either. They are very smart and know how to get what they want. When my house was being setup there was one that would chase anything as long as you would throw it. We even went as far as to take a rock, mark an X on it and toss DEEP in the woods. The sucker would come out rock in his teeth just grinning like "try again", well theis dog also liked soda, didn't matter what kind and if you took a plastic bottle of coke (pepsi, or any other soda) and threw it, the dog would go get it, sit down and place the bottle between his paws and use his teeth to un screw the bottle. Amasing power in those jaws.

[Guest 3pugguy]

I wasn't implying you were a dog shooter. Sorry if it looked like I was.

I am not a fan of the snarling snapping neighbors pet and I have been around enough dog bite incidents to know that your pet that sleeps with you and loves you and your family can do some serious harm to another person or animal it sees as a threat.

no, sorry, didn't think you were saying i was...it would bother me greatly to have to shoot a dog, but would do so if i had to...something of a "stream of consciousness" part of the post...

i kind of think most on here like dogs, as dogs and guns are like peanut butter and jelly:) back when I was a kid and still hunted, one of the best dogs i ever had was a german short haired (mike); it was a thing of beauty to see him hold a point.

[Guest 3pugguy]

Thanks Fallguy...my fingers frequently outrace my tired brain!

[Guest jwb68]

I want a german shorthair. My wife wants a french bulldog. I told her the frenchie would sit around, smoke all the time, be rude, and run when another animal entered the yard.

[Guest Muttling]

I want a german shorthair. My wife wants a french bulldog. I told her the frenchie would sit around, smoke all the time, be rude, and run when another animal entered the yard.

Yeah, but the shorthair will drink your beers. (The frenchie will just turn his nose up.)

[Guest Phantom6]

The only dog I have ever shot was the kind that migrated here from out west.

You shot a Kalifornia liberal ?

....................

[Paletiger13]

If i ever caught any SOB shooting at one of my dogs, i would shoot the SOB! No matter who he was!

Im there with you, I own 2 pitbulls!!! And before some dumb*** says anything about the breed, it's all the owners place to teach their dogs right and wrong. Somebody shoots my dogs, they will be shot!!! Considering I'm on the other end of the leash.

Remember people Tennessee has a leash law. I don't like pitbulls getting the bad reputation they don't deserve. These dogs are very family oriented and protective.

[Guest 3pugguy]

Im there with you, I own 2 pitbulls!!! And before some dumb*** says anything about the breed, it's all the owners place to teach their dogs right and wrong. Somebody shoots my dogs, they will be shot!!! Considering I'm on the other end of the leash.

Remember people Tennessee has a leash law. I don't like pitbulls getting the bad reputation they don't deserve. These dogs are very family oriented and protective.

I would agree with 100% on dogs not being the problem; our problem is an ahole neighbor who doesn't care for his dog.

Knew a kid in San Diego who had always had Pit Bulls and they were like any other dog that was cared for and treated well.

You can turn a person mean if mistreated.

So as I posted way back, if I had to shoot a dog who was loose and attacking it would make me very very sad because domestic dogs are not by nature mean.

And last thing - I am dumbfounded by locales that ban a breed of dog (but let people breed unchecked...).

[Paletiger13]

It just makes me mad that people blame Pitbulls(Staffordshires) instead of bad owners. The only breed you reall have to watch are the two-legged breeds.......and

Chihuahuas lol

[Guest Ravendove]

Dogs are actually very predictable if you know how to "speak" their language. Some of us do, but I won't begrudge those who don't. The thing is, there is no such thing as a vicious breed. The problem stems from people wanting a dog for its looks, reputation, or paperwork and status but then they don't really research the needs of the dog. If they do, they usually dismiss it as not that important. High energy dogs need lots of high energy activity. Highly intelligent dogs need an outlet to exercise their brains; they get bored easily. Not addressing these needs makes for an anxious dog. Ever hear the term "stir crazy"? It's that antsy, anxious, aggressive feeling you get when you're pent up for an extended period of time. Well, it's not exclusive to humans.

Aside from that, there are a number of other ways that owners cause their dogs to be aggressive. With all the experience I've had in this area, I can tell you that no matter what breed it is, if the dog is aggressive, the blame lies 100% squarely on the shoulders of the owner. I've faced down my share of aggressive dogs. I've never had to draw my weapon to get it to do what I want.

That said, an attack is an attack regardless of what form of life is the aggressor. If it needs to be stopped without hesitation and the situation leaves no margin for error, the course of action is always the same.

Oh, and as a final note, pit bulls, rottweilers, and german shepherds were all bred to be working dogs. Unless they get to work or walk for most of the day, you really can't blame them for having excess energy.

[Paletiger13]

+1000

[Guest Centennial]

There is actually a statewide law in Tennessee which prohibits allowing dogs, with few exceptions, from running loose. Obviously, it is poorly enforced.

[Guest Ravendove]

+1000

Awww, was that for me? I've never gotten a plus before.