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Since I have been a LTC holder for 8+ years and an animal control officer for the last 2 and a dog owner myself, I have always taken an interest in cases where someone has to use their weapon to dispatch an aggressive dog. Some have debated that the law only allows for your own personal self defense and some say you can defend your dog.

If you look at some of my recent posts you can find discussions and laws quoted by me and others. I do want to tell you about a dog shooting case I was called to by city police yesterday. I work for one of the largest cities in DFW btw. I'd rather not say which one. I had been called to a dog on dog attack 2 weeks ago. Guy was walking his dog in the park. An unrestrained pit bull charged his dog and bit him in the neck. Dog survived and was taken to animal hospital. I issued citations to the dogs owner as I found out where it lived.

Yesterday, I was called by the police to come assist them with a pit bull that was shot by a resident in the same neighborhood. When I arrived, there were 4 police officers (one a sergeant supervisor) and 3 patrol units. Sure enough, the same damn dog was the aggressor. Someone else was walking their Yorky on a leash in front of their house. Dog charged and attempted to maul dog walker's dog. He was legally armed and carrying a pocket 9mm. He said he had no choice but to blast the dog with 2 rounds. The dog died. I issued citations to the pit bull owner again. Suspect dog died on scene. Sergeant shook the shooters hand. Everyone went back to work or back home. Guy admitted he was defending his dog. No repercussions. Just thought I would share my experience so someone else can learn from them.

Interesting, and good to know at least some PD's will support us in that situation.

I carry a glock 26 or keltec pf9 for every run I go on, especially when I have the running stroller, mainly for dogs. Had 2 20lb dogs come at me (running solo) last night, but they weren't trying to bite. I don't hate dogs or anything, but a 40+lb dog comes charging with my kid in tow, and I will not hesitate.
Good story.

Did the PD take the dogs body for necropsy? This is the standard procedure now.

nightmare69,

Presumably, they'd be looking for rabies or a brain tumor to help explain the dog's aggressiveness?

Or, am I off base?

Thanks!

I know the popular position on "warning shots" is that it's never a good idea.

I would assume that if a walker fired a round to the dirt that it would probably scare the dog away, but I don't know if that is a guarantee. I would assume though that if a neighbor called the police after hearing a gunshot, that a person would likely be charged with unlawful weapon discharge, though presumably the walker has a defense if that they had no other way to scare away the aggressive dog (especially if the walker calls the police him or herself). Still seems like a bad idea to fire into the ground. Just curious as I know that most of us never want to shoot someone's pet (or a human for that matter).

In this case it sounds like the pitbull owners could not keep the dog controlled. Had the walker not shot the dog but had called police for a dog attack, with the past history, would this dog have been taken from its owners?

allisji wrote:I know the popular position on "warning shots" is that it's never a good idea.

I would assume that if a walker fired a round to the dirt that it would probably scare the dog away, but I don't know if that is a guarantee. I would assume though that if a neighbor called the police after hearing a gunshot, that a person would likely be charged with unlawful weapon discharge, though presumably the walker has a defense if that they had no other way to scare away the aggressive dog (especially if the walker calls the police him or herself). Still seems like a bad idea to fire into the ground. Just curious as I know that most of us never want to shoot someone's pet (or a human for that matter).

In this case it sounds like the pitbull owners could not keep the dog controlled. Had the walker not shot the dog but had called police for a dog attack, with the past history, would this dog have been taken from its owners?

Warning shots are generally frowned upon, as if you thought your life was threatened, you would have shot the attacker (2 or 4 legs). Could land you with unlawful discharge of a firearm if in city limits or similar subdivision of the state. Also, you may need that last round.

Its been a long frustrating day so my thought processes weren't fully engaged when I saw the title of the thread "Shooting Dogs" - this is what came to mind:

Abraham wrote:nightmare69,

Presumably, they'd be looking for rabies or a brain tumor to help explain the dog's aggressiveness?

Or, am I off base?

Thanks!

Our local PD has a freezer with dogs that were shot by police in case the owner decides to go to court about it. They keep the dogs for a year before disposing of them. When I took the "dogs and police, shoot or don't shoot" class all Texas Peace Officers are required to take they told us to always take the body just in case.

bblhd672 wrote:Its been a long frustrating day so my thought processes weren't fully engaged when I saw the title of the thread "Shooting Dogs" - this is what came to mind:

I'm with you.... sorta.. I was thinking this....

I carry an ASP and my G23 every morning while jogging on the levee. I see a coyote once a month but they aren't very interested tangling with my dog that out weighs them by 60lbs.

A few months back I did have an interesting encounter when in the dimly lite wee hours of the morning what I thought was a coyote was b lining it towards me, fast enough that I didn't think an ASP was a good option. I drew my weapon. Turns out the owner was walking down by the river and the dog had just come up the levee to say high. He yelled out "whoa whoa!" I apologized and told him to be careful about the coyotes. He was incredibly understanding and for some reason has been very polite every time I see in the morning.

I hope to never have to shoot a dog in self defense.

PS: Re: carry of ASP. IANAL, but I am of the belief that if I am carrying my gun I am covered under the law to carry an asp as well.

steveincowtown wrote:I carry an ASP and my G23 every morning while jogging on the levee. I see a coyote once a month but they aren't very interested tangling with my dog that out weighs them by 60lbs.

A few months back I did have an interesting encounter when in the dimly lite wee hours of the morning what I thought was a coyote was b lining it towards me, fast enough that I didn't think an ASP was a good option. I drew my weapon. Turns out the owner was walking down by the river and the dog had just come up the levee to say high. He yelled out "whoa whoa!" I apologized and told him to be careful about the coyotes. He was incredibly understanding and for some reason has been very polite every time I see in the morning.

I hope to never have to shoot a dog in self defense.

PS: Re: carry of ASP. IANAL, but I am of the belief that if I am carrying my gun I am covered under the law to carry an asp as well.

What makes you believe that?

Javier730 wrote:

steveincowtown wrote:I carry an ASP and my G23 every morning while jogging on the levee. I see a coyote once a month but they aren't very interested tangling with my dog that out weighs them by 60lbs.

A few months back I did have an interesting encounter when in the dimly lite wee hours of the morning what I thought was a coyote was b lining it towards me, fast enough that I didn't think an ASP was a good option. I drew my weapon. Turns out the owner was walking down by the river and the dog had just come up the levee to say high. He yelled out "whoa whoa!" I apologized and told him to be careful about the coyotes. He was incredibly understanding and for some reason has been very polite every time I see in the morning.

I hope to never have to shoot a dog in self defense.

PS: Re: carry of ASP. IANAL, but I am of the belief that if I am carrying my gun I am covered under the law to carry an asp as well.

What makes you believe that?

There's been a lot of back-and-forth discussion about it but below is the reason some believe that

PC §46.15. NON-APPLICABILITY wrote:(b) Section 46.02 does not apply to a person who:

(6) is carrying a concealed handgun and a valid license issued under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, to carry a concealed handgun;

Others contend that was not what the legislature intended.

allisji wrote:I know the popular position on "warning shots" is that it's never a good idea.

I would assume that if a walker fired a round to the dirt that it would probably scare the dog away, but I don't know if that is a guarantee. I would assume though that if a neighbor called the police after hearing a gunshot, that a person would likely be charged with unlawful weapon discharge, though presumably the walker has a defense if that they had no other way to scare away the aggressive dog (especially if the walker calls the police him or herself). Still seems like a bad idea to fire into the ground. Just curious as I know that most of us never want to shoot someone's pet (or a human for that matter).

In this case it sounds like the pitbull owners could not keep the dog controlled. Had the walker not shot the dog but had called police for a dog attack, with the past history, would this dog have been taken from its owners?

Doesn't sound like a great idea. Warning shots are kinda iffy, but I guess if you did, the dog ran away and the police arrived...you could say you missed. Lying to an officer during an investigation is more than just a bad idea though...