Firearm discharge on public road

[Guest uzzi]

I am an avid cyclist, as you can probably tell from my avatar. I have thought about carrying a gun on rides, but the impracticality of it, the additional weight, and the inability to get to it quickly enough has always kept it from being a viable option. I have had a few incidents where I wished I had it with me. I have found a strong yell and a squirt in the face from my water bottle does the trick. However, it would be reasonable to think that you would be in danger of serious bodily injury is a dog was of a breed, size or demeanor where you thought you were in danger. Especially since a dog can run about 35 mph and most cyclist, who are really in shape could keep a pace of 25, maybe sprint for a very short time up to 35 if their life depended on it. That being said, if a dobermen, pit bull, great dane, etc where to come after me with the ability to not only knock me off my bike while I was going that fast, but also mame or kill me when I am on the ground, I would believe legally I would have the legal right to shoot the animal.

I do not really mind dogs, it's the owners that can be a pain in the butt. Recently, while riding down a fun road in Williamson County, Del Thomas, a dog owner was mowing his grass and his dogs with hanging out with him. I ride by at about 25-27 mph and they take off after me and followed me for about 3/4 of a mile! I had such a head start I thought they would fade away but did not. I ended up in the middle of the road, dismounting and putting the bike between them and myself. Turns out a good shout determined the "Alpha-Male" instinct dogs had and they realized (I guess) that it was me who as the Alpha. They left and went on their way.

For me, the biggest danger is that a dog will cause you to crash.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I don't ride bikes anymore, and never rode them with dedication. On one occasion I saw a dog run behind a bike and bite a hole in the tire.

Anybody else seen that? Dunno if it is a common trick. Even if the dog wasn't trying to bite the rider, that would be a bummer to happen 20 miles away from nowhere...

[Guest FHTMcrt]

I live in a rural area of West Tennessee and ride my bike on back country roads where most folks let their dogs roam free. I carry COUNTER ASSAULT Bear Deterrent which can be purchased from Amazon or REI. I carry it in a holster (made for this product and sold by the same vendors) fastened to the crossbar. It shoots a stream rather than a wide spray and has never failed to turn back ANY dog, large or small. It only takes once, and the dog stays on the porch or comes no closer than the side of the road the next time. I have had folks sit on their porch and watch their dog come within inches of my ankle, then have the nerve to shout "What did you do to my dog?" when I spray it.

I also carry a handgun when I ride, because that's what I do when I'm awake.

JK

[Guest ArmaDeFuego]

It doesnt seem like a good idea to shoot a dog. I would stick to the pepper spray, unless its some huge german shepard that looks like its about to go for your jugular.......

[LI0NSFAN]

Air horns work great the dog stops in its tracks and will let people around you know something is up, or a item called direct stop works even better than pepper spray. I have seen both ways used and it is remarkable how well they work.

[jtmaze]

All I have been trying to say is you can't fire on a person as a deterrent therefore you can't fire on a dog without intent to kill for reasons of self defense.

[jtmaze]

The best thing is animal control. Every county in Tn is suppose to have a rabies/animal control officer. Get the sheriff dept dispatch phone number not 911 and report any encounter you feel threatened by.

[JReedEsq]

My earlier posts were aimed at answering the OP's question but I actually agree that hitting a dog is more of a threat than an attack. I have known two cyclists who broke their collar bones after hitting dogs. I don't usually carry on group rides but I usually do carry if I'm riding alone. A p3at/lcp/TCP will fit in a jersey pocket just fine.

[Fallguy]

The best thing is animal control. Every county in Tn is suppose to have a rabies/animal control officer. Get the sheriff dept dispatch phone number not 911 and report any encounter you feel threatened by.

Decatur County does not have such an officer and no place or means to take any dog they may encounter. I also thought Milan lost there officer like this in the last round of budget cuts.

I do agree reporting any incident though and to report on a non-emergency number and not 911.

[Guest WestonGray]

it's getting to the point with dogs, that the average person needs to have a license, and go through some sort of training in order to own/have one.

Brady campaign against dog violence! Haha

I also carry a handgun when I ride, because that's what I do when I'm awake.

This

[TMF]

I do agree reporting any incident though and to report on a non-emergency number and not 911.

Sorry to take off topic, but the last two times I called CPD for non-emergencies (one was traffic light out and the other was vandalism to my property... last halloween) I called their office number since they didn't have a non-emergency number. Both times they told me I had to hang up and dial 911. I hate the feeling of tying up a 911 operator with something that isn't immediately an emergency, but in the sprawling metropolis of Clarksville we still don't have a non-emergency line.

[Fallguy]

Sorry to take off topic, but the last two times I called CPD for non-emergencies (one was traffic light out and the other was vandalism to my property... last halloween) I called their office number since they didn't have a non-emergency number. Both times they told me I had to hang up and dial 911. I hate the feeling of tying up a 911 operator with something that isn't immediately an emergency, but in the sprawling metropolis of Clarksville we still don't have a non-emergency line.

Who are they dispatched by? Sometimes an agency is dispatched by someone else. That place should have a non-emergency number.

The Parsons PD is dispatched by the Decatur Co 911 Center. There is a number for Parsons PD in the phone book, but you will either get city hall or nothing depending on the time of day. But there is as non-emergency number for the 911 center. However I admit many places aren't good a getting such info out.

In a very few areas...you can dial 311 for non-emergency situations.

[Fallguy]

Found this after a real quick Google search.

What number do I call if I need assistance from a police officer but it is not an emergency that requires calling 911?

You can call the 911 center’s non-emergency line at (931) 552-1011 for non-emergency requests for assistance from a police officer .

http://www.clarksvillepd.org/faq.aspx

When I dispatched at the 911 center here, our director (I guess because we were new) was very vocal about calling us 911 in addition to the it being an actual telephone number. For a while the officers would use 911 on the radio to call us (eventually went to "communications"). So the officers and others got used to referring to us (the center) as 911. So at times the officers would tell people things like, "If the neighbors dog is a problem again, just call '911' and we'll come back out." Of course the officers meant to call us at dispatch (I think) and not actually dial 911, but that is what people would do.

So there is and/or can be a public information problem.

Edited October 5, 2011 by Fallguy

[jtmaze]

Decatur County does not have such an officer and no place or means to take any dog they may encounter. I also thought Milan lost there officer like this in the last round of budget cuts.

I do agree reporting any incident though and to report on a non-emergency number and not 911.

Milan lost their animal control officer but Gibson Co can be reached thur the sheriff dept dispatch.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Even my little county with two officers on has a non emergency contact. And by two I mean that is a single shift during peak times. The rest of the time there is one or even none with an officer on call.

As far as dogs calls go my local LE will not respond to any type of dog call. Even if there are injuries they said it is a civil matter unless the dog is shot on the owner's property.

We had a pack of aggressive dogs show up on our property in "hunt mode". Wife went out to shoosh them and began stalking type movements towards her. She came back inside and I called the local non LE's emergency number. I was told to call the local Humane Society. I called them and they said they would not respond to an aggressive dog. I was told by the local Humane Society agent to shoot the dogs if they came back. By the time all of this had transpired the dogs had quit hanging around our house and luckily our animals were pinned up at that time. A day or two later they showed up again except this time they were killing some animals that weren't in pens. My wife was screaming so loud at the dogs that it woke me up from my nap. I had no clue what was going on so I grabbed a rifle and went outside. I was able to get off a number of shots but because I still wasn't lucid I missed the 50-75 yard shots. I spent the next 10 mnutes walking around killing our animals that I knew wouldn't survive.

I hopped in the car to go look for the dgos and noticed the same dogs with a neighbor. I told her they were strays and had been aggressive towards my wife as well as killed some of our animals. She said she knew they were strays but they wouldn't hurt anything. She went on to say she thought they would leave after they had their bellies full. She said she had been feeding them for a few weeks but they would never leave. She also went on to say "dog will be dogs" and shrugged her shoulders.

We considered suing the neighbors over our animals because she had been harboring and feeding the strays. But in the end it was better just to let it go. I never had another shot at those dogs but they did cause some problems at a local store at one point.

Dolomite

[TMF]

The number I dialed on Halloween was one from the phonebook. I didn't see a non-emergency line then, but I wasn't looking for one. I was just looking for a number to the department. When I called the second time it was during that first snow about a month later, so I still had the number in the phone. Good information to know in the future though, thanks guys.

[Stainless]

There is a MACE pepperball gun out there that could be right for you.

[Makiaveli]

Found this after a real quick Google search.

What number do I call if I need assistance from a police officer but it is not an emergency that requires calling 911?

You can call the 911 center’s non-emergency line at (931) 552-1011 for non-emergency requests for assistance from a police officer .

http://www.clarksvillepd.org/faq.aspx

When I dispatched at the 911 center here, our director (I guess because we were new) was very vocal about calling us 911 in addition to the it being an actual telephone number. For a while the officers would use 911 on the radio to call us (eventually went to "communications"). So the officers and others got used to referring to us (the center) as 911. So at times the officers would tell people things like, "If the neighbors dog is a problem again, just call '911' and we'll come back out." Of course the officers meant to call us at dispatch (I think) and not actually dial 911, but that is what people would do.

So there is and/or can be a public information problem.

What's sad is the police employees answering the office phone don't know this number. Welcome to govt. work....

[East_TN_Patriot]

I think the best thing to do is stop the bike and look the dog in the eye and he will probably go away.

That is the worst thing one could do. Aggressive dogs commonly view such behavior as a challenge and may respond accordingly. When faced with an aggressive dog, best thing you can do is NOT look them in the eye, and try to back away slowly. Fast movements arouse a dog's prey drive.

Also, as best I can tell, state law does not say anything about shooting a vicious animal, so if that is the case, it would be left up to individual city and county governments. In my experience, laws and ordinances generally allow you to discharge a firearm to protect yourself from a vicious animal. Best to contact the local law enforcement and see what the laws are in your area.

[Guest No Ammo]

When I lived in Texas, the wife and I would ride our bikes in our subdivision, we were always being chased by dogs, Even though

we had leash laws, I finally bought a small Luwey slugger base ball bat, I carried it in the drink holder on the frame of my bike, If

the the animal got close enough to pop, I'd smack it on the head just hard enough to stun it, worked great, once popped, broke them of the habit...

[dralarms]

When I lived in Texas, the wife and I would ride our bikes in our subdivision, we were always being chased by dogs, Even though

we had leash laws, I finally bought a small Luwey slugger base ball bat, I carried it in the drink holder on the frame of my bike, If

the the animal got close enough to pop, I'd smack it on the head just hard enough to stun it, worked great, once popped, broke them of the habit...

Now that's an idea, they sell the "tire bats" at truck stops, they are 18" and you can get wood or metal. Truckers use them to guage the tire pressure of their tires.