Yawn - Another Pit Bull Thread

[Jeff Higgins]

One of my old hunting partners is having trouble with a pit bull in his neighborhood. He lives in a newly developed "nice" part of town that, unfortunately, borders a not so nice part of town. One of his "neighbors" from the "other side of the tracks" lets his un-neutered male just run loose. It's about three to four years old, in the prime of its life, and clearly sowing his wild oats and establishing his territory. He is very aggressive towards other animals (that are fenced in their own yards) and, unfortunately, people (who are not fenced in their own yards). It's attacked my buddy three times now. He has been successful in fending it off so far, with everything from a shovel to a 10 pound maul, but he's gotten tired of having to be on alert for this thing every time he goes outside.

There is a school bus stop right in front of his house. He has not seen the dog around when the kids are waiting in the morning, nor when they get home in the afternoon. He has now taken to watching from his front porch, with a rifle just out of sight but within easy reach.

He is going to kill this dog. He has said as much, and I've known him long enough to believe him. He has spoken with its meth head owners on several occasions, and has made it clear that since they have not been listening, have done nothing to keep their dog from wandering, that he is now down to killing it the very next time he sees it out. They don't know him well enough to believe him...

The police have been out not only when he calls, but when neighbors have called as well. He made it clear to the last officer who came out that he will kill the dog the very next time he sees it loose. Got no real response from the officer. Nothing changes.

This dog is an imminent threat; it would be a shame to wait until someone got hurt, like one of the school children. My buddy won't. He grew up in old school rural America, where there remain hard and fast rules for such things. He gave the owners a couple of chances. He gave the authorities a couple of chances. He was clear in his expectations, and his intent if those were not met. I just spoke with him this afternoon. Hell, I bet it's dead already.

[HardDrive]

Crossbow, or subsonic .22 to the head.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Sadly, it's probably the best outcome. Pit bulls are fashion accessories for imbeciles all too often.

[Jeff Higgins]

This gets pretty surreal. We are both avid hunters, riflemen, and hand loaders. Of course the discussion turned to what to use. This is a suburban setting with plenty of people and houses. We agreed a small caliber, high velocity varmint rifle would be best. Bullets from things like a .22-250, .220 Swift, or even a properly loaded .223 do not exit, thereby reducing risk. Of course he will wait for a safe backstop as well. I suggested one of his suppressed AR-15's (yes, even though he's a "black rifle" guy at times, we remain good friends). He prefers "loud and proud" - he is absolutely not going to even try to hide anything. It will be one of his .22-250's or something. He said he has already told the owner something like "when you hear it, it will be your dog..."

[HardDrive]

Discharging a firearm in an urban setting and killing someone's dog is legally perilous. Big time. The fact that there is a history with law enforcement might dissipate some of the criminal repercussions, but there is nothing to prevent these dope heads from dragging him into a civil crap show. Not saying not to do it, but 'loud and proud' is a good way drop $50k in legal fees. .22 to the head will kill a dog just fine.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Wouldn't a phone call to animal control be simpler?

[fanaudical]

In a way, it's really too bad things have come to this.

I've heard of vicious pit bulls, but have never "met" one in person. Every pit bull I've ever run across (even those represented to be "vicious") have been nice dogs. Some were more protective of their territory than others, but none have displayed behavior that I would call dangerous. I don't doubt they are out there. It's a shame that this dog has been treated/raised/trained so badly as to be a threat.

It seems strange that with the authorities involved that animal control has not been involved yet. Seems like plenty of evidence to do so.

[john70t]

1). Video tape repeat aggression.
2). Sending registered letter to the city and to animal control (for dog behavior evaluation) would be a good step.

It's the law.
Three attacks is two many.
He has already stated his opinions to the law.
He might be saving a child's life.

These also might protect him legally in the future, should another incident occur.

[aap1966]

Not just for Coyotes

[scottmandue]

A friend of mine was walking her dog when she was attacked by a pit bull, almost tore the dog foot off and she almost lost her thumb. Fortunately two strangers came to her rescue, one lady opened her car and told her to throw the dog in the car while one guy came out of his house and pulled the attaching dogs off.

I don't blame the dogs but the bad owners... my neighbor has a very sweet PB.

Like P-O-P said unfortunately wanna be badazzes buy them as a fashion accessory and train them to be mean so they can live vicariously through the dog.

Kind of like the ladies who buy tiny dogs and carry them in their purses.

[aap1966]

Anyone here ever resuscitate the 6 year old result of a "but he's harmless, never been aggressive to anyone in the family, I don't know what set him off" dog attack?

No?

It needs to be gone. "Humanely' via animal control, or definitively via your .22.
Alternatively, brush up on your trauma first-aid, you'll be needing it soon.

[wdfifteen]

Don't you have animal control in your county? A call to animal control here and the dog gets picked up.
I love pit bulls. Not so fond of some of their owners. They are a fashion accessory to some people, and they are among the most neglected and abused breeds.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Sounds justified to me. There is ZERO justification for an aggressive dog, and I have no time for people that apologize for them.

[Jeff Higgins]

Around here, a call to 911 for an aggressive dog is a call to "animal control". There are only a handful of "dog catchers", however, so most of the time a regular cop shows up. And yes, this dog has been picked up. And returned.

At this point, my buddy sees this as kind of "time pressured". Waiting to jump through all of the legal hoops with which we have encumbered ourselves is not seen, by him, to be an option. Seeing a kid mauled or killed at the bus stop while "action is pending" is not something he will wait to see.

And yes, the whole discharge of a firearm, cruelty to animals, etc. came up in our conversation. I implored him to "be careful" and to "think this through". He is an intelligent, thoughtful man. He would also never forgive himself if he waited, and "something happened...".

He is not an "in your face" kind of guy, but he will very much do what he does out in the open, and take full responsibility for the outcome. No sneaking around. If he does kill the dog, and the owner doesn't come running at the gunshot, he will call 911 - animal control - to come and get the carcass off of his lawn. And he will certainly tell them "hell yes, I shot the damn thing". Let the chips fall where they may...

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

He lives in a newly developed "nice" part of town that, unfortunately, borders a not so nice part of town. One of his "neighbors" from the "other side of the tracks" lets his un-neutered male just run loose. It's about three to four years old, in the prime of its life, and clearly sowing his wild oats and establishing his territory. He is very aggressive towards other animals (that are fenced in their own yards) and, unfortunately, people (who are not fenced in their own yards).

I don't understand this part.
Washington state police have a rep for shootings and gub'ment.
I hope it all works out for the best.

[MBAtarga]

Does your buddy have a fenced back yard- or a neighbor with one? Perhaps the dog would possibly "chase" him into such a yard -and he would then be faced with having to defend himself against the aggressive dog.

[cstreit]

If he shoots the dog he's going to be in a world of hurt.

Firearm discharge in a populated area near someone else? $50k to *start* your defense.

If he's already been attacked, he should have called the cops right after. If he didn't, well... Someones going to suffer for it.

Sounds like it's time to make this an issue with the powers that be....

[ckelly78z]

The truly sad part of all this is the amount of stupid people who buy pitbull puppies for their kids as pets, and for one reason or another, can't handle the dog, or are afraid of it. MOST of the dogs in the county dog pounds/shelters are some form of pit/mix and too unstable to be adopted.

I also agree with the "wanna be badasses" who buy a tough dog to intimidate/impress other people, and train them to be mean.

I would have no problem "popping" this dog if I was it in my yard. I think an unceremonious, unmarked grave would make me smile every time I walked out into the yard and didn't fear for my safety.

[Arizona_928]

Don't shoot the dog unless you know you can absolutely get away with it. Ie, attacked.
An old timer in a small northern az town was arrested for shooting a coon from the top of his trash can... Neighbors reported it...

I would trap, and take to the local shelter. Chances are the Neanderthal won't get it back, especially if the dog shows aggressive behavior...

[scottmandue]

I know it is Friday night and many of you are probably relaxing with an adult beverage but seems like many of you are not reading Jeff's posts.

Jeff is not proposing to shoot the dog his friend is.
His friend has called the police/animal control.
The offending dog has been taken away and returned.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled mayhem.