My father, who is in his 80's, lives alone. His house is on a private lane in the countryside on a few acres. His house is waterfront, with a field across the road behind him, but houses on both sides. He can walk from his house to his detached garage, about 75 feet, and not be seen, unless it's by someone on a boat.
About ten years ago, a couple rented the house next door. They brought with them a large Rottweiler that was kept in a small chainlink pen.
My father is a dog and animal lover, and has continuously owned a large dog of some sort since the early 60's. He would even keep boxes of dog bones in his garage to give to neighbor's dogs. In the summer time, he makes sure a neighbor's horse has water. Anyway, he made attempts to befriend this new neighbor's dog, but it always charged the fence and acted aggressive.
Eventually the Rottweiler figured out how to escape the pen. If my father saw it loose, he would go inside. When the neighbors came home from work, they would call the dog and put it back in the pen.
One day the neighbor's dog rounded the corner of my father's house. My father was in the yard and saw the dog start running toward him. He ducked through the storm door of the garage just as the dog got to it. He said it stood there barking and growling at him through the screen. After a while it began pacing in front of the garage.
For four hours it stayed in my father's yard, while he was stuck in his garage. No phone, no bathroom, but at least a fridge with drinks in it.
After the neighbors came home later and caged the dog, my father walked over and gave them an earfull. The response he got was "it won't hurt you". No "sorry, we'll make sure it doesn't happen again" or any apology or solution offered.
Within a week, the Rott came charging my father again. He was out in the yard with no where to go. After he split the dog's forehead with one .357 Mag round, he called the Sheriff's dept. They came out and filed a report. He then loaded the dog in his wheel barrow and rolled it next door.
When the neighbors got home, they had a dog to bury and were cited for having an untagged dog on the loose. My father was not charged with anything.
He called me that night to tell me what had happened. I could tell he felt really bad about killing that dog, but it was survival.
The renters moved away at the end of the month.
