Dog shot at Houston Dog Park

[cb1000rider]

Apparently the shooter said that dog was "too rough" with his dog.

Unless your dog has puncture marks, it's dogs being dogs... And even then, it's still dogs being dogs, just a little more justified.

So what is the protection here for the gun-toter? Property protection?

[C-dub]

Another question might be, what about the consequences of the owner of the other dog if they, too, were a CHL and responded to the over-reaction and shot the guy who attacked their dog? I'm not entirely certain that I wouldn't respond in this manner if someone shot my dog because he was playing with another dog and the other person was ignorant of play versus attacking. This whole situation is extremely volatile and only one reason I do not take any dogs to a dog park.

[Cedar Park Dad]

Another question might be, what about the consequences of the owner of the other dog if they, too, were a CHL and responded to the over-reaction and shot the guy who attacked their dog? I'm not entirely certain that I wouldn't respond in this manner if someone shot my dog because he was playing with another dog and the other person was ignorant of play versus attacking. This whole situation is extremely volatile and only one reason I do not take any dogs to a dog park.

Even if its not directly-you shoot my dog I shoot you! its very realistic for a CHLer to see/hear active shooter in the middle of a bleeping dog park and react (with a high potential for justifiably I might add). I mean if you were there with sparky the wonder wiener dog and all of the sudden you hear shooting behind you and the attendant screaming etc. turn and see GUY WITH A GUN SHOOTING whats your first response going to be?

[Keith B]

I heard on one news story that there was another incident this past weekend of a woman shooting at a dog in one of the parks, but she failed to hit the dog. Can't find any story on it at this time though.

[Abraham]

My wife and I were walking to our truck at a Houston city park when I spotted a pit bull coming straight at us.

His owner was watching him come for us without calling him back.

I yelled at the owner, who was probably 50/75 yds from us to call his dog.

He just grinned like he enjoyed our obvious fear.

I placed my wife behind me and started to draw.

He THEN called his dog back while cussing at us. He apparently could tell what I was about to do...and fortunately for all the dog obeyed.

I have no faith that the pit bull was coming simply to greet us, so I was getting ready to shoot him.

Why can't we walk outside without fear of being attacked by what could turn into being a horrific event? The news is filled with stories of hideous attack outcomes with pits and other large, dangerous dogs. There's now way for me to be certain the dog had good intentions.

The owners cussing at us more than proved to me he enjoyed such scenarios.

[Cedar Park Dad]

My wife and I were walking to our truck at a Houston city park when I spotted a pit bull coming straight at us.

His owner was watching him come for us without calling him back.

I yelled at the owner, who was probably 50/75 yds from us to call his dog.

He just grinned like he enjoyed our obvious fear.

I placed my wife behind me and started to draw.

He THEN called his dog back while cussing at us. He apparently could tell what I was about to do...and fortunately for all the dog obeyed.

I have no faith that the pit bull was coming simply to greet us, so I was getting ready to shoot him.

Why can't we walk outside without fear of being attacked by what could turn into being a horrific event? The news is filled with stories of hideous attack outcomes with pits and other large, dangerous dogs. There's now way for me to be certain the dog had good intentions.

The owners cussing at us more than proved to me he enjoyed such scenarios.

I can understand. I've had dogs attacked more than once or threatened by unleashed pits. Both times have drawn have been because of loose pit bulls.

[Teamless]

I heard on one news story that there was another incident this past weekend of a woman shooting at a dog in one of the parks, but she failed to hit the dog. Can't find any story on it at this time though.

http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/20 ... /22379321/

[Cedar Park Dad]

I heard on one news story that there was another incident this past weekend of a woman shooting at a dog in one of the parks, but she failed to hit the dog. Can't find any story on it at this time though.

http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/20 ... /22379321/

Can't open the video sound. Does the officer say what he thinks happened in it? The verbiage just has the one side of it.

Good that the doggie didn't get hurt (he looks like he's enjoyed his share of biscuits from a few angles) but I could see an angry version of that being scary. I wonder what really happened.

[GlockDude26]

when dogs are playing (no matter what breed) and when dog 1 gets too rough with dog 2, dog 2 will shriek, whine, yelp, whatever you want to call it. the sound is usually very audible and distinct. if dog 1 isn't intent on causing dog 2 harm then dog 1 backs away and normally squats down/lowers it's head as a "are you ready now?" gesture. then dog 2 will make a move and they'll usually start playing again but less rough. now repeated yelps, etc mean that dog 1 isn't backing off and needs to be separated, the level of separation is in the owners.... sounds complex but is pretty simple. dogs aren't much different than humans, but they usually have better hearts.

[Cedar Park Dad]

when dogs are playing (no matter what breed) and when dog 1 gets too rough with dog 2, dog 2 will shriek, whine, yelp, whatever you want to call it. the sound is usually very audible and distinct. if dog 1 isn't intent on causing dog 2 harm then dog 1 backs away and normally squats down/lowers it's head as a "are you ready now?" gesture. then dog 2 will make a move and they'll usually start playing again but less rough. now repeated yelps, etc mean that dog 1 isn't backing off and needs to be separated, the level of separation is in the owners.... sounds complex but is pretty simple. dogs aren't much different than humans, but they usually have better hearts.

Alternatively I've seen happen dog one runs up to dog two. They sniff then something sets one off and they're fighting.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Ch. 11 News reported again on both incidents that were markedly different. The Houston (Bay Area) dog park was a place for dogs to run off-leash, but not so in the other park. The reporter said the DA is reconsidering accepting charges in the Bay Area park shooting because witnesses said there was no dog fight. Apparently, the shooter even stated that they "didn't know what the (dead) dog was going to do," so this confirms that there was no attack.

It looks like a bad shoot to me, especially since we're talking about protection of property. I'm not sure what the charges would/could be, other than perhaps reckless conduct or vandalism (destruction of property).

The officer investigating the other shooting noted that the woman feared she was about to be attacked and he stated that the shooter was justified in shooting. It was noted that the dog was off-leash when this event occurred. The first case was a defense of property case while the second was self-defense. Also, I doubt the rounds came anywhere near the dog owner as she described.

I'm a dog lover myself, but there's an element of assumption of the risk when you take your dog to a dog park knowing that there is no direct control over any animal. (Assumption of the risk has been replaced with comparative negligence in Texas, but you get the idea.)

Chas.

[Cedar Park Dad]

Ch. 11 News reported again on both incidents that were markedly different. The Houston (Bay Area) dog park was a place for dogs to run off-leash, but not so in the other park. The reporter said the DA is reconsidering accepting charges in the Bay Area park shooting because witnesses said there was no dog fight. Apparently, the shooter even stated that they "didn't know what the (dead) dog was going to do," so this confirms that there was no attack.

It looks like a bad shoot to me, especially since we're talking about protection of property. I'm not sure what the charges would/could be, other than perhaps reckless conduct or vandalism (destruction of property).

The officer investigating the other shooting noted that the woman feared she was about to be attacked and he stated that the shooter was justified in shooting. It was noted that the dog was off-leash when this event occurred. The first case was a defense of property case while the second was self-defense. Also, I doubt the rounds came anywhere near the dog owner as she described.

I'm a dog lover myself, but there's an element of assumption of the risk when you take your dog to a dog park knowing that there is no direct control over any animal. (Assumption of the risk has been replaced with comparative negligence in Texas, but you get the idea.)

Chas.

I'd bet in instance 2:
Rover comes down stairs of platform, see lady, starts to run at lady -either to say hello (or not) and lady starts shooting. All lady (and lets remember her age here-nearly 70) sees is big dog coming right at her.

[RPBrown]

This is what caught my eye from the story:

"Legal experts tell us there would have to be a posted sign in the park telling people not to bring firearms in, otherwise this woman did have the right to use her gun. No word yet from the Missouri City Parks Department"

Now, with that being a city park (I assume it is city and not private), they cannot post 30.06.

Now as far as breeds go, the dogs that are shown in both of these stories are not pit bulls. The one that was killed was a Staffordshire Terrier. Although similar to a pit bull, it is much smaller in size. The brown dog appeared to be a lab/shepherd mix. Not even close to a pit bull. It seems that the media does the same thing toward dogs as they do guns, make it up as they go.
About a year ago, there was a story here locally that a man was attacked by 4 pit bulls. They even had video of the "pit bulls" running loose. 1 lab, 1 doberman mix, and 2 sheltie mixes. The only one that even vaguely resembled a pit was the lab and it wasn't even close in appearance. So leave it to the media to sensationalize dog breeds as they do guns.

Sorry for the hijack. Rant over.

[MotherBear]

The last thing she expected was the other woman to get her gun back.

"We can't have that kind of lawlessness in our public parks," said the woman who illegally had her dog off-leash in a public park.

Fixed it for them. Somehow they missed the irony.

To be clear, I don't think it's open season on illegally unleashed dogs, but those laws exist for a reason and choosing to disobey them is asking for trouble. I don't mind off-leash dogs who are fully under their owners' control, but that's not what I'm seeing here -- and regardless of my personal opinion, it's still illegal. I've known dogs well enough trained to heel right at their owner's side without a leash being necessary. But most dogs I see, especially large ones, aren't even under control when on a leash. And obviously this one wasn't that well trained, if the owner was afraid to walk down the stairs while holding the leash.

[philip964]

Owner of the dog killed was interviewed on the Matt Patrick show. The story has gone world wide. Naturally it sounded like dog lovers and anti gunners were upset.

The only thing I found some what interesting was he was not a witness. He is relying on others statements to explain what happened.

My dog is never out of my sight at a dog park.

As you would expect, he has lost a family member.

I think the DA should bring charges if witnesses are saying he was not threatened by the dog. There are other means to protect your dog other than pulling a gun.