JDKelly, thanks, but I read the whole thread before I posted.
Brevard County, and Satellite Beach, are quite serious about dangerous dogs in residences. For example, you could say the per capita ratio of pit bulls to people is at an all-time high in this county. I watched as the Brevard County Humane Society destroyed 42 pit bulls that were confiscated from a large dogfight operation that was raided. You could say that the county's tolerance is exceedingly thin.
Our own neighbor's dog, a lab/rottweiler mix, was destroyed by the county after it clawed a 5 year-old's face. The dog was leashed in the back yard, and the boy approached it and taunted it with a stick. The dog batted at the boy, the rest was history. Their options were to put an 8-foot fence up, placard the property 6 ways to Sunday, and register the dog as dangerous no matter where they moved. That, or have the dog destroyed.
I know my dog is territorial. People who approach the residence know the dog is unfriendly. My neighbors wanted to borrow her during the looting spell after our last two hurricanes, she's that effective. So there's no missed signals about what my dog's temperament is like, I already know, as do family friends and neighbors. I couldn't feign ignorance in a court of law to save my a$$.
The sign tells approaching strangers, before she hears them, that barking will commence shortly. If they choose to ignore the sign, they find out first hand why it was posted. But then they've made the conscious decision to ignore the sign, or they don't understand English. Doesn't get much more legal than that.
