Conceal carry and aggressive dogs.

[Danmc]

2 dog attacks on LEO's here in the past year. 1)Off duty LEO out for a jog, dog comes at him, LEO shoots & kills dog. LEO found in the right. 2)LEO serving warrant, dog rushes LEO, LEO shoots dog. LEO found in the right. Still unclear as to citizen's rights. Interesting that the LEO serving the warrant shot the dog (pit bull)3 times with 9mm, dog was still alive until Animal Control came out and euthanized it. However, I like the idea of pepper spray. My wife and her mother take evening walks 4-6 nights/week. I will get them both some pepper spray. One final note. In my neck of the woods, if a dog chases your livestock, you can shoot that dog. Well, about 10 years ago, I did just that. After I chased the dog off on 2 occasions and after talking to the dog's owner about it, and after talking to the cops about it, and after talking to Animal Control about it, I ended up shooting and killing the dog for chasing and killing my livestock. The dog had killed 2 of my sheep, and still had blood on his teeth when I shot him. And I must say, that even after all that, it was not a very pleasurable experience to kill a dog. I never want to do that again. I will go out and shoot a deer and an elk and eat the meat and hang the antlers on the wall and boast about it, but I never want to have to shoot a dog again in my life.

 

[Treo]

In my opinion if you are following the law and are attacked, if you feel that the use of a firearm is justified while you or your dog is being attacked by a loose dog, I would not request charges.

Thanks for your opinion but what does the Law say?

I have fought off many aggressive dogs, singly and in pairs, mostly with an ASP.

Clearly this is a lie, everyone knows you can only fight off an agressive dog with a firearm.

Why on earth would carry an asp and a clipboard if you are regularly attacked by dogs? Wouldn't some pepper spray or a tazer be a wise investment? Or, you know, a firearm, since you are an officer of the law?

What he carries is probably decided by his employer. Although, I agree about the pepper spray

 

[kelcarry]

Pepper spray....

Thank you Treo for the correct answer. Dogs barking and thrashing, legs and teeth everywhere, dog on top of you and you are going to do what---get your firearm out of the holster and blast away---other people around? who knows? you are in the middle of a doggie melee. I agree with answers that say imminent danger means you can use deadly force but under the circumstances in many cases this can lead to bad results--pepper spray or even bear spray (more of same with better distance) will stop a dog and no one else will get hurt.

 

[Deanimator]

I didn't immediately see anything in Texas' gun laws that deal with being in danger of attack by an animal, but I don't think it would be any different than shooting a person who was attacking you. You don't know what the loose dog could be carrying. I know you're asking about the law, not opinions, but if I were in your shoes, I would've shot it.

Don't assume anything without actually knowing the law.

Here in Ohio, you're absolutely entitled to defend YOURSELF from an aggressive dog. You don't need to get bitten, only have a reasonable and immediate fear of being bitten.

On the other hand, you are NOT permitted to shoot a dog to protect another dog. That being said, I've heard of several instances where somebody shot a dog that was attacking theirs. None of them was prosecuted. The presumption apparently was that they themselves were put in reasonable, immediate fear of harm and acted appropriately.

 

[Deanimator]

Clearly this is a lie, everyone knows you can only fight off an agressive dog with a firearm.

It depends upon where you live. An Ohio Concealed Handgun License is just that, a HANDGUN license. It doesn't authorize you to carry ANYTHING else, nor are local jurisdictions preempted from regulating (or banning) the carriage of other defensive tools, be they chemical sprays, clubs, or knives.

I KNOW that I can carry a handgun ANYWHERE in Ohio that's either not a statutory CPZ or posted "no-guns" by a private property owner.

Aside from that, I have more than enough things to carry aside from my firearm, to carry other things which are not absolutely necessary for work or self-defense.

 

[ArkhmAsylm]

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Don't know about your neck of the woods, but in Minnesota, I believe that you only have to fear death or great bodily harm to use deadly force...which should translate to animals.

A better option might be to carry a good OC spray - I recommend the Sabre Red keychain spray. It's small enough to pocket carry, it has over 15 useful (1-2 second) blasts, & comes out in a ballistic stream (squirtgun-like) to minimize blow-back & overspray.

 

[gun papa]

Why on earth would carry an asp and a clipboard if you are regularly attacked by dogs? Wouldn't some pepper spray or a tazer be a wise investment? Or, you know, a firearm, since you are an officer of the law?

It is politics, further more it is California. Generally, it is bad or animal controls to shoot domestic pets. Our guns are regularly used on injured wildlife. Pepper sprays are ineffective on determined dogs. We have never considered a tazer. The clipboard and ASP have worked very well.

 

[gun papa]

Thanks for your opinion but what does the Law say?
The LAWS says that discharging a firearm in the area is subject to penalty, however, circumstances play a large part in the application of the laws. Justification also plays a part. The right to defend onesself plays a part. My agency and its investigation has weight in the bring forward of potential prosecutions in animal cases. I work with the District Attorney' s office in our cases, and have imput into matters. Bringing charges in what may look like a loser case is not something the already strained and overloaded DA caseload is into.