At what point do you pull the trigger?

[Guest I_AM_WOOD]

So here's the story: wife and I are walking around the block with the 8 month old in the stroller, as we do every night. Very large dog that is usually chained to a tree comes charging at us as I realize he's not chained up. Wife starts freaking out, my hand goes on gun and pulls it out of holster and I put the sight on the dog for a center mass shot. The dog stops two feet shy of the road and four feet shy of me. At what point would you pull the trigger? My thought was the second its front feet left the yard. What do you think/do in the situation. the end result was a talk with the owner who was outside at the time, they apologized and all is well and i think we have an understanding now about the chain.

[nightrunner]

if it got within approx. 7-10 feet of my i would shoot. I absolutely will not be mauled by a dog if i can prevent it in any way. and having a wife and child with me would make me more likely to shoot quicker

[Guest jackdog]

It would have been I shot a dog story if this had happened to me.

[TripleDigitRide]

At the point I feel threatened. If my daughter was walking with me, it wouldn't take very long.

[molonlabetn]

Pull the trigger at the earliest indication that you cannot avoid serious harm without doing so.

[TripleDigitRide]

By the way, I just got done watching Animal Cops in South Africa. I saw what kind of damage a dog could do to a horse. I was beyond shocked. That single dog mutilated the belly of the horse. If a dog was to attack at me this very moment, I'd likely be very trigger happy.

[I_Like_Pie]

VERY tough call with no real 100% answer. About the only thing I can say is I am glad all is well.

[Guest HunterH]

I carry my gun on walks and bike rides with my pregnant wife and wonder about a similar dog situation often. I live in Franklin city limits. Would I be charged with a crime for firing my gun inside the city limits if it was in self defense against a animal in the situation described above??

[Guest bkelm18]

I'd say 4 ft is way too close. Depending how fast the dog was going it could have been at you in well under a second. I'd talk to the owner if you can and get them to shorten the leash. 2 ft from the sidewalk is a bit too close.

[G27]

The only way a dog as you described in the sitution you described gets 4' away from me is when inertia carries it's dead body to that point. A dog can cover 4' quicker than you can react...

[Fallguy]

I agree on the if you feel threatened and it can't be avoided shoot.

But I would add that IMO it could be harder to justify shooting a dog in his own yard than one on the street.

Of course it's better to be healthy and around and to worry about that than dead or in the hospital for sure.

[Mike.357]

I dunno about shooting a barking dog that is still in his own yard, even if he is running at you.

Around here the dang dogs bark at everyone, they run at everyone, but not a one of them bites that I am aware of.

My closest neighbor has a pit bull type dog chained out behind his house near my driveaway. The dang dog acts like he would kill you as soon as eat some kibble. I went up to him, he charged at me. He then proceded to flop at my feet, roll on his back and try to get a belly rub. Looks viscous but not a mean bone in his body.

Juts saying looks can be very deceitful.

But if you were planning to shoot that dog, 4 feet is way too close to wait to make your move.

Edited June 28, 2008 by Mike.357

[deerslayer]

Looks can be deceiving, but sometimes aren't. I've had to deal with dogs so much at work that 4' became no big deal. About 75% of the dogs I've dealt with were badasses until they got a couple feet away, then backed down. The rest I usually had to fight. I will agree with the above poster--charging or not, shooting a dog in its own yard will take some creative articulation on the shooter's part to avoid legal problems. I would almost be tempted to let the dog bite me first before unloading on it. On the other hand, if I'm with my kid in a stroller, tough luck Spot--the benefit of the doubt ratio just shrank.

Edited June 28, 2008 by deerslayer

[Guest 2HOW]

Many dogs are shot and do not go down, read a story yesterday about a cop who pepper sprayed a dog (wrong answer) and finally shot it and it still bit him. *If you have a dog you know their tolerence for pain , I always have dogs ,I love dogs and will defend dogs being treated wrong. But you have to take terminal action when confronted by a "bad" dog. Reading your story I would not shoot if the dog stops its charge at that distance. But I know dogs and their body language , it probably would of been a good shooting in the eyes of the law. Dogs need to be on a leash or in a fence . Nothing short of a head shot will stop a large dog, brain and CNS.

[DaveS]

That is a very tricky question. It really all boils down to what the Grand Jury says. True story: A couple of years ago I was agressed by a dog, which backed me against my car with his jaws snapping like a crocodile! This was a stray dog that I have never seen before. Feeling that I was in danger of being bitten and/or mauled by this dog, and as a last resort, I drew my weapon and shot. Not being of the best of timing, I was on the phone to the sherrif's department when a gentleman drove by and seen "his" dog laying in my driveway. To make a long story short, I had the misfortune of having hundreds of dollars in attorney fees, and charged with "unlawful killing of a domestic animal". After about 3 months and other wranglings by the attorneys and prosocuter (sp), we got the charges dropped. Would I do it again? If I felt there was no other way...and at any distance!

wd-40

[towerclimber37]

That is a very tricky question. It really all boils down to what the Grand Jury says. True story: A couple of years ago I was agressed by a dog, which backed me against my car with his jaws snapping like a crocodile! This was a stray dog that I have never seen before. Feeling that I was in danger of being bitten and/or mauled by this dog, and as a last resort, I drew my weapon and shot. Not being of the best of timing, I was on the phone to the sherrif's department when a gentleman drove by and seen "his" dog laying in my driveway. To make a long story short, I had the misfortune of having hundreds of dollars in attorney fees, and charged with "unlawful killing of a domestic animal". After about 3 months and other wranglings by the attorneys and prosocuter (sp), we got the charges dropped. Would I do it again? If I felt there was no other way...and at any distance!

wd-40

Ouch!

still..its better than having your leg torn off, or worse yet, having your child bitten.

[Im Neero]

I think shooting a dog on it's own property is big trouble. The dog in question most likely wasn't being aggressive as much as trying to defend it's own property. If it had left the yard, however, then shooting is more justified.

FWIW, if a dog runs at you barking and carrying, it is most likely posturing to scare you off, without wanting to fight. It is the throat growl that should worry you.

[saintsfanbrian]

More likely than not, the simple act of unholstering, aiming and sighting at the dog (looking him in the eye basically) was enough to make him stop. Had his front feet left his property I would have shot.

[The Rabbi]

VERY tough call with no real 100% answer. About the only thing I can say is I am glad all is well.

Agreed.

It would depend on a million things, like the attitude of the dog and other possibilities.

[GLOCKMEISTER]

If the dog is in his own yard your screwed if you take that shot, I think there is a T.C.A. that deals with that specifically. That being said, Im not getting bitten, neither is a member of my family.

[Fallguy]

If the dog is in his own yard your screwed if you take that shot, I think there is a T.C.A. that deals with that specifically. That being said, Im not getting bitten, neither is a member of my family.

This may be the one you're thinking of....

39-14-205 Intentional killing of animal.

(a) (1) A person who intentionally or knowingly unlawfully kills the animal of another, with the intent to deprive the owner of the right to the animal's life and without the owner's effective consent commits theft of that animal and shall be punished under § 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.

It sort of reads (to me) like if you kill just for the sake of killing it then its illegal. If the dog is charging you, even if you aren't truly in danger, but thought you might be, it really wasn't your sole intent "to deprive the owner of the right to the animal's life". You had intentions of saving yourself.

There was a case in Lexington where a guy's dog got loose from his yard and went into the yard of neighbor. The neighbor had two dogs. The guy trespassed to get his dog from the neighbor'd dogs and during all of it ended up shooting both dogs and killing one. He was charged with trespass and the killing of the dog. But in the end the judge dismissed all charges. Not to say all judges would do the same though. I really thought the guy should have been found guilty myself.

[Guest jackdog]

As I understand your story this animal was not leashed or tied up. Under TN law a dog as to be leashed as I understand it. If I'm walking on the street an a dog charges at me in an aggressive manner how am I to know that this is ...

1. the dogs yard

2. this is not a trained fighting dog

3. or that he intends to stop short of biting.

I love dogs, Christ I have 5 of them but I would not wait to see if my child or wife were bitten or worse.

[Guest dotsun]

On a side note, I'd highly recommend everyone watch the dog whisperer. His techniques do work quite well with regards to not getting bitten when faced with an aggressive dog. I was attacked by a dog years ago in a neighbors yard and it could have been avoided had I not done just about everything wrong. I've never had a problem with dogs since I knew the dog rules so to speak.

Having said that I guess I better qualify my statement by saying that I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a dog that didn't seem to respond to the correct techniques.

[dralarms]

If the dog stopped 2 ft from the edge of the property it is very possible that he had an invisible fence. Down the road from me there is a dog that loves to chase cars, they put an invisible fence up and the dog now runs right up to the edge and stops like "I ain't going no further". It's funny to watch him, he wants to chase the car so bad but knows he is getting a shock if he gets too close to that point.

That said, if it crosses the property line I might get bit but I'll put him down once it is clear I'm in danger. Now if it comes on my property and even shows it's teeth it's dead meat. I have 2 small grand children and I WILL do what is necessary to protect them.

Used to have pit bulls running around here. They still do but stay off my property. Too many rounds of rat shot at close range seems to help that problem. Had a whole pack of puppies here once that were terrorizing my pets, got them all with rat shot to the hind parts, they hollered for about 30 min after leaving my property. They haven't been back.

[Guest Phantom6]

As I understand your story this animal was not leashed or tied up. Under TN law a dog as to be leashed as I understand it. If I'm walking on the street an a dog charges at me in an aggressive manner how am I to know that this is ...

1. the dogs yard

2. this is not a trained fighting dog

3. or that he intends to stop short of biting.

I love dogs, Christ I have 5 of them but I would not wait to see if my child or wife were bitten or worse.

Leashing or tied up is not a requirement per se of the law. The animal must be "under the control of the owner". As long as the animal is on the owner's property this is considered 'a given', as it were. Of course, as you say, how do you know that the dog is in it's own yard?

I'd say that you would have a very hard time in most cases justifying shooting a dog while it is in it's own yard. After it leaves the yard you are good to go. In other words, draw your firearm and get a sight picture early but hold your fire until the animal is actually leaving the property.

Sounds to me like I_Am_Wood did everything right.