Mean dogs and neighbors. Been there done that.
We had a little dog who dug under the back fence and got into the neighbors yard and their 2 large pits got him and threw him around like a rag doll, he later died in my arms at the vet. It was his fault tho, he had dug under 3 fences to get to them- our 2 fences, a privacy fence with an old chainlink on the inside, and their chainlink on the outside of our privacy fence- and still got inside their fence where they also had an interior electric fence plus they were on chains (more on why later). The little Boston more than likely had been trading barks with them thru the fences and he just wanted to 'play', and the big dogs didnt. No hard feelings that instance, it was 100% our dogs fault.
One other time tho several years before the incident above the female and larger of the two pits had got inside our fence one day way back when they first moved in and it had one of my kids female Beagles down on the ground with its teeth IN the dogs neck. I heard the commotion from inside the house got up and instinctively grabbed my coffee table G17 first then found a broom and ran out and stuck the broom between the two dogs, seperating them, then as the pit was making a break for from wherever it came from I chased it all the way across our football field size yard beating its azz to the point of breaking the broom handle in half over its head. When it got to the fence and was cornered it did turn on me and I did stop and point my pistol right at it. It had my dogs blood all over its mouth. Right then the neighbor/dogs owner screamed from her yard and her and her big fat boyfriend came running over and climbed over the other neighbors fence and came to retrieve their dog.
Before any shite got started I already pulled my phone out and had dialed 911 without even saying a word to them, then I just calmly as I could in the circumstances asked them to hold on for the cops and stood there while they stood there looking at me. I had told 911 lady to send animal control AND an officer out. They stayed right there but she quickly started in on me arguing but I held my anger and my usually smartazz mouth and stayed shut up for one of the first times in my life. I just said please wait for the cops and I will tell what your dog did. Both officers came. We all argued and argued. And I got several different opinions. City cop first said I couldnt of shot the dog even IN MY YARD but the animal control lady also a PO said BS yes I could have if I felt like I was in danger. Another officer showed up. He over ruled the younger first responder. They saw the dog was bloody, they checked my dog out who luckily only had a flesh wound, and came to the conclusion that the dog was a nuisance and did I want to file a complaint, and if I did the dog would get sent off inspection, etc etc. I love animals. I didnt want the dog to be put down. My brother has rednose pits and has raised them for many years and I know the breed. I just told the neighbors to do what they could do to contain them and we would be cool. But if it happened again I was definitely shooting it, I had young kids then who gladly were at school that day but they usually would have been out there. Thats when they fortified their yard.
P.S: I did get on the phone and consult with our attorney when I went into my house after the police had left and found out all of the legalities of what had just transpired that day. Its a mess to untangle. If anybody is concerned with property rights and animals its always best to consult with your attorney who knows you and your situation. My lawyer and 2 cops said I would have been in the right if I had shot the dog so thats enough for me for the future.
We had a little dog who dug under the back fence and got into the neighbors yard and their 2 large pits got him and threw him around like a rag doll, he later died in my arms at the vet. It was his fault tho, he had dug under 3 fences to get to them- our 2 fences, a privacy fence with an old chainlink on the inside, and their chainlink on the outside of our privacy fence- and still got inside their fence where they also had an interior electric fence plus they were on chains (more on why later). The little Boston more than likely had been trading barks with them thru the fences and he just wanted to 'play', and the big dogs didnt. No hard feelings that instance, it was 100% our dogs fault.
One other time tho several years before the incident above the female and larger of the two pits had got inside our fence one day way back when they first moved in and it had one of my kids female Beagles down on the ground with its teeth IN the dogs neck. I heard the commotion from inside the house got up and instinctively grabbed my coffee table G17 first then found a broom and ran out and stuck the broom between the two dogs, seperating them, then as the pit was making a break for from wherever it came from I chased it all the way across our football field size yard beating its azz to the point of breaking the broom handle in half over its head. When it got to the fence and was cornered it did turn on me and I did stop and point my pistol right at it. It had my dogs blood all over its mouth. Right then the neighbor/dogs owner screamed from her yard and her and her big fat boyfriend came running over and climbed over the other neighbors fence and came to retrieve their dog.
Before any shite got started I already pulled my phone out and had dialed 911 without even saying a word to them, then I just calmly as I could in the circumstances asked them to hold on for the cops and stood there while they stood there looking at me. I had told 911 lady to send animal control AND an officer out. They stayed right there but she quickly started in on me arguing but I held my anger and my usually smartazz mouth and stayed shut up for one of the first times in my life. I just said please wait for the cops and I will tell what your dog did. Both officers came. We all argued and argued. And I got several different opinions. City cop first said I couldnt of shot the dog even IN MY YARD but the animal control lady also a PO said BS yes I could have if I felt like I was in danger. Another officer showed up. He over ruled the younger first responder. They saw the dog was bloody, they checked my dog out who luckily only had a flesh wound, and came to the conclusion that the dog was a nuisance and did I want to file a complaint, and if I did the dog would get sent off inspection, etc etc. I love animals. I didnt want the dog to be put down. My brother has rednose pits and has raised them for many years and I know the breed. I just told the neighbors to do what they could do to contain them and we would be cool. But if it happened again I was definitely shooting it, I had young kids then who gladly were at school that day but they usually would have been out there. Thats when they fortified their yard.
P.S: I did get on the phone and consult with our attorney when I went into my house after the police had left and found out all of the legalities of what had just transpired that day. Its a mess to untangle. If anybody is concerned with property rights and animals its always best to consult with your attorney who knows you and your situation. My lawyer and 2 cops said I would have been in the right if I had shot the dog so thats enough for me for the future.
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Yeah, you might want to hold off calling the sheriff. Any responsible gun owner knows that shooting a round in the air results in a round coming back down. Hopefully you didn't put a hole in someone's roof and someone's child didn't die from the round penetrating their head.
Next time, shoot the damn dog or shoot into the ground.
I am very sorry to hear about your German Shepherd. I also understand your reluctance to shoot a dog generally but in this case you need not have felt the slightest reluctance. I am not second guessing you, I wasn't there, but for anyone else who may face a similar situation it should be clear that if a shot could be taken without endangering other humans (consideration number one), or injuring your own dog further (consideration two) then shooting the attacking dog would have been completely proper.
Firing shots in the air? Letting an aggressive dog wander off to kill again? This can't be real.
One must wonder where those rounds came down at.
You are a better man than I for not killing the dog. NO dog's rights trump one's on right to stand their ground. Neighbors aren't real neighbors if they cannot or will not keep such animals under the control of a very good fence. I too would have worried where those rounds in the air went. That said if those had hit the dog you would have known it. That would have eased my worry on liability vs in the air.
Rounds in air. My bad. Point well taken.
Edit: We live in the country, not in a populated area, but still a bad call, to shoot straight up like that. Had to think fast...
Edit: We live in the country, not in a populated area, but still a bad call, to shoot straight up like that. Had to think fast...
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NO proof of that, even a Man jacked up ..might not takem down....there for , your taught to shoot until the threat is stopped.
OH unless its a .45...8/
Sorry to hear OP hope your dog is ok
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