This thread is supposed to be for practicle discussions on how to deal with a dog attack. so here goes.
In about 1992, I had just read about a pit bull attack on an 80 year old retired doctor. He was repeatedly attacked by one pit bull and even though there were 19 onlookers, including firemen, the attack was so vicious that they were not able to stop it. The doctor climbed on top of a car, but the dog climbed up after him. Ultimately the police came and shot the dog, but not before enough damage was caused which resulted in the man's death. The reason this is important is that it has to do with my state of mind when our two neighbors pit bulls and another dog got out.
Our next door neighbors had three dogs including two pitbulls. They were loved by their family and fairly decent to visitors, but protective of the yard if anyone walked by. Apparently, the wife had been away with a sick family member for a few days, and that caused the dogs some consternation. When I first saw them out, i called animal control to report it, and armed myself with a 9mm semi, loaded with Remington High speed hollow-points, in case anyone on the street was threatened, and waited for animal control. The dogs went up the street and out of sight. I found out later that they went into a home and attached a crew of 4 construction guys, singling out one for a vicious attack. The workers used 2x4s on the dogs, hitting their heads and back, but were unable to stop the dogs from ripping the poor guy. finally, they used the boards to push the dogs outside and closed the door.
While this was happening, i saw another neighbor drive home and start to get out of her car with her infant. So, i ran out onto the lawn and shouted that the pit bulls were loose. She used the garage door opener and drove into her garage. Just at that moment, with blood on their faces, the three dogs saw and heard me and just flat out charged. I was totally in the open and silently screamed "Oh No". The dogs were on the lawn about ten feet in front of me when I started shooting. Due to past training for how to deal with multiple assalants, i was determined to focus on one at a time, then the others. The first two shots missed. Normally, an animal will flinch away from a gunshot in their faces, these dogs did not misss a beat. The next two hit the left pit bull in the neck, and the chest. Spewing blood from it's sneck, it veared off to the left and scurried away. By that time the other pit was almost on me. The next two shots found their mark going into the dog's chest from the top. That forced it back about 12 feet where it collapsed. The third dog (not a pit), which was not so close originally, took tail. When the animal control officer came, he refused to go after the injured dog when he found out it was a pit bull. The police went into the back yard of the owner where it had run, and had to dispatch it with a shotgun. The other dog, laying in the street breathing it's last was put out of it misssery too with anther shot.
Lessons: #1. Having that tool probably saved my life and for sure a major mauling. While other tools may have done the job, it was the tool i had, and it worked. The threat was very real. I did need an effective tool. The male owner responded when heard about the incident: "they were coming for a bone, one of yours".
#2. The practical pistol practice that I had from years of competition practlcal pistol shooting really made a huge difference.
#3, I had to shoot each of them twice with the 9mm hollowpoints i was using to get them to stop. It makes me very uncomfortable to have to shoot and hit any target twice to get it to stop attacking. I originally switched to a 45 ACP, but now am comfortable with bonded core ultra high energy 9mm in a long barrell. Having any weapon by itself is not enough. You have to really know how to use, and have adequate practice ahead of time.
#4. While killing the dogs was unfortunate, it was certainly the best solution for the long run for the neighborhood. If they had only been maced or injured, the longstanding problem would have continued. An elderly lady thanked me profusely. Whe said that if it had been her that had been outside, she would have been killed.
#5 Dealing with the owners: the guy understood. The lady, when she came home was furious. She screamed in my face that she wished that I had been the one killed instead of her dogs. I had seen her slug her husband many times, and I was prepared. I think that it was only her sense of self-preservation that prevented her from hitting me, as I am sure that she knew that I would deck her if she tried.
#6 The criminal law: The responding police officer sargent asked how many shots i fired. I said six. He then counted the six eruptions in my lawn which accounted for each shot. Then he said that he would have done the same thing and refused to even file a report. He said that animal countrol could do that. (yes, this is common sense even in the subs of California. Thank you officer!).
#7 Civil law: the worker (who was laid up and had several dozen staples in his legs) filed a lawsuit against the owner, and the owner of the property where they were renting. He won against both.
#8 Emotional aftermath. It is surprising how totally frightful that occurance was. Even though I have been in combat, and have also hunted many years, it was an extremely emotionally stressful event. The stress lasted pretty strongly for days. Even though i have owned dogs for all my life, there was an instinctive fear reaction to any hint of aggression by dogs for many months afterwards that took some hard work to overcome. But it was super important to do that esp since dogs can tell.
Am I glad, would I do it again: yes. It was them or me. There was really no other choice.
I hope that this helps someone in some way.
)
Rotweilers and Pit bulls followed.
