Hammer059
Member
Well this turned out to be quite the thread, lol. I do appreciate all the technical legal input and I also value all of your opinions and advice. Thanks fellas.
Just to be clear, for what seems like the fourth or fifth time: I WILL NOT use a firearm under any circumstance unless it's the last resort in the proper circumstances. One or two of you seemed to get the impression I'm itching to pop off a few 9mm rounds at the neighbors dog or something like that, and that could not be farther from the truth. My dog and I had an encounter with an unfriendly dog and solved the problem just fine without even considering pulling out a weapon. My original question was merely "what would happen, legally speaking, if I had to draw my gun in defense of myself and my dog?"
Several other thoughts:
-It's very unrealistic to think I could use a garden hose. Although I do grow a lot of potatoes, the delightfully regular and substantial PA rainfall means that I have to get out my hose MAYBE twice during the year. To use it to fend off an unfriendly dog, I would have to turn the water on, and unwind the hose in an impossible amount of time.
-Same goes for a bucket of water. Dog fights/attacks happen fast, and by the time I run and grab an already full bucket of water, and carry that bucket of water to the dogs without all the water spilling out, one or both dogs could be in very bad shape.
-Wasp spray: No. Just no. I'm not trying to blind and poison my dog in the process of protecting it.
So, keeping those points in mind, I will stick with my plan of trying to pull the dogs apart, possibly by giving the attacking dog a swift and powerful kick to the head/gut. Hopefully that would be enough. Thanks to health insurance, it is way incredibly cheaper and faster for me to get a dog bite stitched up than trying to get emergency surgery for my dog at a vet. I'm willing to take the risk of getting between them. Then, if I get them apart and the other dog doesn't give up, it would certainly qualify as self defense to shoot the attacking dog (assuming I got them apart, otherwise I'll keep kicking it.)
Remember, this is a very hypothetical plan, and we all know that situations arise where we don't have a plan and have to think fast. But that's how I'm guessing it would go.
I am looking into the purchase of some type of stun-gun for when I walk my dog. Good idea there.
Blade First, sorry to hear about what happened to your dog. I consider my dogs members of the family. It's always tough to lose a dog, and even tougher when they're in pain and there's nothing you can do to help them. I've been there…
Thanks again for your input everyone
Just to be clear, for what seems like the fourth or fifth time: I WILL NOT use a firearm under any circumstance unless it's the last resort in the proper circumstances. One or two of you seemed to get the impression I'm itching to pop off a few 9mm rounds at the neighbors dog or something like that, and that could not be farther from the truth. My dog and I had an encounter with an unfriendly dog and solved the problem just fine without even considering pulling out a weapon. My original question was merely "what would happen, legally speaking, if I had to draw my gun in defense of myself and my dog?"
Several other thoughts:
-It's very unrealistic to think I could use a garden hose. Although I do grow a lot of potatoes, the delightfully regular and substantial PA rainfall means that I have to get out my hose MAYBE twice during the year. To use it to fend off an unfriendly dog, I would have to turn the water on, and unwind the hose in an impossible amount of time.
-Same goes for a bucket of water. Dog fights/attacks happen fast, and by the time I run and grab an already full bucket of water, and carry that bucket of water to the dogs without all the water spilling out, one or both dogs could be in very bad shape.
-Wasp spray: No. Just no. I'm not trying to blind and poison my dog in the process of protecting it.
So, keeping those points in mind, I will stick with my plan of trying to pull the dogs apart, possibly by giving the attacking dog a swift and powerful kick to the head/gut. Hopefully that would be enough. Thanks to health insurance, it is way incredibly cheaper and faster for me to get a dog bite stitched up than trying to get emergency surgery for my dog at a vet. I'm willing to take the risk of getting between them. Then, if I get them apart and the other dog doesn't give up, it would certainly qualify as self defense to shoot the attacking dog (assuming I got them apart, otherwise I'll keep kicking it.)
Remember, this is a very hypothetical plan, and we all know that situations arise where we don't have a plan and have to think fast. But that's how I'm guessing it would go.
I am looking into the purchase of some type of stun-gun for when I walk my dog. Good idea there.
Blade First, sorry to hear about what happened to your dog. I consider my dogs members of the family. It's always tough to lose a dog, and even tougher when they're in pain and there's nothing you can do to help them. I've been there…
Thanks again for your input everyone