Concealed Carry Question.

[slumlord44]

My daughter living in Virginia was walking her dog yesterday. Neighbors two Great Danes attacked her dog and chewed her dog up pretty bad. Dog will survive. She was traumatized and unable to do anything to stop it. She has been considering getting a handgun and a concealed carry permit. My question is would she have been justified in shooting the dog or dogs in that situation if she had been carrying legally?

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Tough call....She would have to articulate that she was in fear of her safety, not just protecting her property.

 

[Pentrite]

I dont know about Virginia but in Nevada, NO you cannon shoot the dog just for attacking your dog. We covered this in our CCW class. You can only defend yourself with lethal force, not your dog. If however the attacking dog comes after you while he is coming after your dog, you have the legal right to defend yourself.

case in point
http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/s...g-in-self-defense/970sX3PLIk-9BdgAEkHgQA.cspx

 

[Panzerschwein]

Well in all honestly... I would have looked around to see if anyone was watching and I would have done what I needed to do to save my dog's life. When it comes time to explain the actions, I believe it wouldn't be difficult to convince the authorities that say... one of the dogs turned on me and barred it's teeth, lunged, etc. and that I had no choice.

Is this good legal advice? No. I'm sure it's not.

But it's what I would have done. Especially if the dog was as good a friend as mine have been throughout the years.

 

[hartcreek]

Look to see if you state has a leash law. Washington does so those dogs would have been shot. What you need to do is get an attorney and sue the dogs owners.

 

[hartcreek]

I have a neighbor that lets a dog run. It had been chasing children for weeks. I turn the corner of the street and the dog was always chasing. Late at night even I would come rolling in on my Triumph as that dog would try and nail me. I tried to talk to the owner one day and he thought that he could just do what ever he wanted and called me out to a fight. The owner almost died that day.....instead I went home called 911 and explained the situation and the confrontation and that if an Officer was not dispatched immediatly to deal with the situation the next time I rounded the corner I would dispatch the dog and the owner if he attacked me.

An officer was at my house in less then five minutes. I explanined the specifics to the officer he had already seen my disability placard on the dash of my Bronco and I told him a name of another resident whos daughter had been chased by the dog.

The officer told me that if the dog was out and went after him when he pulled in he would personally shoot it. The officer then drove to the end of the block and dealed with the people that were letting their dog run after kids and be in the street.

The dog is now kept on a chain when outside.


Out in the country a half mile away ther was a couple that had dogs that chased cars and anyone riding by in the street. I was riding by on my Triumph on day and the dogs chased out after a tractor and then ran infront of me. I went home called animal enforcement and then the people with the loose dogs Two days later ther was a brand new fence around their property keeping the dogs confined.

Yes I have shot dogs.......I used to raise hogs and the dogs that came up to the fence and were curious about the hogs lived the ones that were aggressive were shot.

 

[TRX]

Pepper spray or Mace is probably a better solution to most dog problems. If nothing else, it would eliminate those "crazy woman shooting my dog!" 911 calls...

That said, Little Rock has had periodic dog pack problems; not just children, but a pack pulled down and killed an elderly woman a while back.

With pepper spray *and* a CCW, your daughter would be able to use whatever degree of force she felt was appropriate to the perceived threat.

 

[Flintknapper]

With pepper spray *and* a CCW, your daughter would be able to use whatever degree of force she felt was appropriate to the perceived threat.

^^^^^^^^^

There's your answer folks.

 

[PBR Streetgang]

Unless you can get a contact shot, you will be lucky to hit your target or worse shoot your own dog................you're probably better with a stick...........

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I think one could make a case for feeling threatened or in danger when a loose dog is mauling one's own dog. A bigger potential problem is a confrontation with the owner of the dog. His little darling can do no wrong.

 

[Praxidike]

I say get pepper spray. Some are made specifically for animals. I do not think it's worth the hassle, risk, or possible danger to other human being to firer on a dog attacking another dog. Also, she should consult a lawyer in her area. She could think the law is on her side only to have her life be ruined when she finds out that it's not and/or because the bullet hit an unintended target. Either way, pepper spray would be best as a first line of defense.

 

[Colonel]

I had a dog killed on my property by two neighborhood dogs in Virginia. IIRC, the sheriff told me I would be justified in shooting the dogs at the time.

If you can kill dogs for chasing livestock in Virginia, it seems to me that pets should have even greater protection.

One word of caution: Killing somebody's pet in Virginia can also be prosecuted as a felony.

 

[jad0110]

I agree with the pepper spray suggestion. Or bear spray if she wants something with a litte more kick . And the good thing is she can start carrying the pepper spray today.

She can always pursue a CCW later, but it sounds like this is way too much of a gray area (shooting another dog(s) attacking her dog) to risk using a firearm ... unless the dogs turn on her. Then the dynamic would obviously change.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Come out of his yard to attack my dog? Dead Dog!!

 

[Hometeached1]

Pepper spray or a stick a CCW would not hurt, just in case they turned on her.
Where I live if the dog does not have a collar, it is considered a stray and you "can" shoot it, but I would still use pepper spray.

 

[Deanimator]

My question is would she have been justified in shooting the dog or dogs in that situation if she had been carrying legally?

Purely a state and or local matter.

In Ohio you CANNOT shoot a dog to protect another dog.

However, you may shoot a dog to protect yourself or livestock (cattle, goats, etc.)

That having been said, who's to say that you weren't in reasonable fear of being bitten if a large dog attacks yours while you're in close proximity to it?

While it's unlawful in Ohio to shoot a dog to protect another dog, there have been a number of instances in the past few years where dog owners have done exactly that. I'm unaware of any of them being prosecuted. The general consensus here appears to be, if you don't want your dog to get shot, maintain control over it to the extent that it does not attack people or other dogs. If you don't, don't whine when your dog gets shot.

 

[herrwalther]

There are aggressive dogs all over my neighborhood that are not well cared for or outright strays. Watched two of them drag a wild turkey into my front yard and rip it apart. A few days after, wife was walking one of the dogs in our yard with one of the strays not backing down. She called a police officer who came to our house and put it down with a .45LC with instructions we can shoot any dog that is aggressive toward us or our dogs. As long as we report any shooting. Virginia may have similar ordinances regarding concealed carry and protection.

 

[slumlord44]

Don't know if her carrying a gun is even a good idea for a lot of reasons. She said herself that there would be too great a risk of her shooting her own dog. I initially suggested some type of pepper spray. Her dog would not like it but it would do no permanent damage. To me some type of walking cane would also be a good idea. Beating it off with a stick might be a better solution. No one with any sense would want to shoot a dog unless it was a last resort. We live 5 miles out in the country and had a neighbor several years back who had two large Dobermans that he let run loose all the time. I carried a Beretta .22 Auto when we went walking. The two of them came up on us on the public road and started growling. One round in the ground and they disappeared immediately. You can get away with that in the country but it could get you arrested in the city. Good news is the dog is doing well and the owner will be taking care of the vet bills. Plan on getting an Illinois Concealed Carry permit this year. If I was ever put in that position myself and actually had to shoot a dog, the dog would have been attacking me and I would never back off of that story. Firing a gun should always be a last ditch action after all else fails and you see no other way out.

 

[Art Eatman]

Decision seems to have been made.