TX: Heights dog owner shoots another dog as dogs owner was 15 feet away trying to retrieve his pet

[philip964]

https://www.click2houston.com/news/loca ... ights-park

Fired a gun in a crowded Heights Park.

I hope not a LTC.

Only hearing one side.

[Oldgringo]

I have absolutely no desire to ever re-visit Houston, Dallas, Austin or San Antonio! Too many of the inhabitants of these places are NUTS!

[03Lightningrocks]

I have absolutely no desire to ever re-visit Houston, Dallas, Austin or San Antonio! Too many of the inhabitants of these places are NUTS!

I live in a suburb North of Dallas. Plano and I hate the place. I have lived in this area for 43 years and it has done nothing but gotten crazier by the year. Too darned many people. I want out... REAL BAD... I want out.

[DynamicDan]

That is terrible.

[chasfm11]

One of my own stories comes to mind.

I was riding my bike on a concrete bike trail. A dog was on the far side of its owner. The dog, on a leash, raced past its owner who made no attempt to stop it, crossed to distance to me and grabbed my calf, breaking the skin, causing my leg to bleed but fortunate the dog released my leg when I kicked it at the dog.

The owner denied that the dog had bitten me or that it was his fault for allowing that to happen. Unfortunately for me, I hadn't taken my phone with me on the ride and there was no one else close by to help me call the police. The man refused to give his name or address and by the time that the police and animal control arrived, he and his dog were long gone.

I've had MANY repetitions of dogs chasing me on my bike and now never l have home without pepper spray and my phone. I've had several incidents where I was off my bike, using it to defend myself against the dog and feeling that if pepper sprayed the dog, i was going to end up pepper spraying the owner, too.

So today, I'm very jaded. I don't believe any dog owner about the innocence of their pet - which in almost every instance they allowed to be unrestrained and where it shouldn't be. And I certainly don't believe a pet owner's statement that the dog "won't hurt you" since that is what the owner of the dog that bit me was saying while blood was running down my leg.

I have dogs. It is my responsibility to make sure that my dogs are restrained in public and my fault if I don't and something happens to them. I don't know the facts in the OP but I know that I don't trust the owners account of them. I have good reason for that, I believe.

[03Lightningrocks]

You could actually suffer other injuries simply trying to avoid the offending loose dogs. I have a neighbor who I have seen walking his two dogs with no leash on several occasions. It just makes me crazy.

I have to say that when out walking my dog, (ON A LEASH), nothing makes me more irritated than stray dogs rushing at myself and he. It has happened and fortunately has not turned into a "scuffle" as the one owner called it. But if it did, I was fully prepared to dispatch said loose animals.

[Charles L. Cotton]

As the OP noted, we only have one side of the story. If the news article is accurate, and that's a big if, then the shooter may have a problem. He had the dog pinned down and the owner was only a few feet away and approaching. The shooter looks at the owner, pulls his gun, then shoots the dog. I have no problem with someone protecting himself from a vicious dog, but if true, it appears he was more interested in teaching the owner a lesson than defending himself or his dog. Again, this is based upon the report being accurate.

As a side issue, if someone is approaching their dog and a guy pulls a gun, how does the approaching person know the shooter intends to shoot only the dog? Seeing someone that close and choosing to draw a gun when the dog was no longer a threat is risky business. If it was a righteous shoot, then I hope the man does not have any problems as a result. If the dead dog's owner is telling the truth, I hope the shooter is charged under every law available and gets popped with the maximum penalties.

BTW, how is BARK investigating anything? To my knowledge, BARK is not a law enforcement agency.

Chas.

[puma guy]

As the OP noted, we only have one side of the story. If the news article is accurate, and that's a big if, then the shooter may have a problem. He had the dog pinned down and the owner was only a few feet away and approaching. The shooter looks at the owner, pulls his gun, then shoots the dog. I have no problem with someone protecting himself from a vicious dog, but if true, it appears he was more interested in teaching the owner a lesson than defending himself or his dog. Again, this is based upon the report being accurate.

As a side issue, if someone is approaching their dog and a guy pulls a gun, how does the approaching person know the shooter intends to shoot only the dog? Seeing someone that close and choosing to draw a gun when the dog was no longer a threat is risky business. If it was a righteous shoot, then I hope the man does not have any problems as a result. If the dead dog's owner is telling the truth, I hope the shooter is charged under every law available and gets popped with the maximum penalties.

BTW, how is BARK investigating anything? To my knowledge, BARK is not a law enforcement agency.

Chas.

[03Lightningrocks]

As the OP noted, we only have one side of the story. If the news article is accurate, and that's a big if, then the shooter may have a problem. He had the dog pinned down and the owner was only a few feet away and approaching. The shooter looks at the owner, pulls his gun, then shoots the dog. I have no problem with someone protecting himself from a vicious dog, but if true, it appears he was more interested in teaching the owner a lesson than defending himself or his dog. Again, this is based upon the report being accurate.

As a side issue, if someone is approaching their dog and a guy pulls a gun, how does the approaching person know the shooter intends to shoot only the dog? Seeing someone that close and choosing to draw a gun when the dog was no longer a threat is risky business. If it was a righteous shoot, then I hope the man does not have any problems as a result. If the dead dog's owner is telling the truth, I hope the shooter is charged under every law available and gets popped with the maximum penalties.

BTW, how is BARK investigating anything? To my knowledge, BARK is not a law enforcement agency.

Chas.

[flechero]

Too much info missing from the "news report". A dog owner [of the offending dog] reports a playful scuffle but the owner on the other side would call it an unprovoked attack, mauling his family member.

To Charles's point if the report is accurate the guy is in trouble however, i'd wager that it's only the attacking owner's side reported



I'd have no issue shooting an attacking dog but i live in the country and my dog isn't taken off property.