Originally posted by capt. apathy
growing up on a farm (and near a state park) we had a lot of dogs that were dumped and then became feral, and formed a pack. their numbers would almost double at night when may peoples poorly trained dogs would run with them to kill stock, and then go home to their food dish in the morning.
any dog running in a pack, chasing people(while off of their own property), or chasing livestock, were shot. just a fact of life. I've shot dozens of dogs (including a few of my own, that I picked up too late in their life and they just where untrainable).
I like dogs and handle them well, have only been bit once, and that was my fault, not the dogs.
but if a dog will chase stock while I'm there he'll do it while I'm not there to stop him, so catching him and stopping this instance doesn't solve the long-term problem.
and any dog that will make a run at a teenager or adult who are just going about their business, is a serious threat to children.
we used to have a neighbor who had a rotty (145 lb'er) that would chase every vehicle that came down the road. annoying as hell in a car. on a bike it can be deadly. a gravel road with a bike doing 40mph isn't a great situation for having a 145 lb dog jumping at you.
I talked to the owner about training their dog or at the very least putting him on a chain. they ignored me and didn't seem to think his vehicle chasing was a big deal.
shooting the dog at or in front of his home is a legal mess, and it's not like the cops are going to do anything about a dog chasing vehicles.
so one day I got fed up. I took my old Plymouth and attached a small burlap bad to one of the rear lug-nuts. then rolled past the house at about 15-20, with the bag flopping beside the wheel. when the dog set his teeth in the bag I floored it. end of problem but slightly messy. it would have been much better for everyone if they would have just taken care of their own dog.
Now see, jeeze, anyone who loves a dog would do it humanly..
I understand the situiation too, and I myself have never ever been bitin by a dog, my own or anothers, and some of them were pit mixs and they weren't exactly all that friendly, and they would get out and run the neighborhood, I guess I just have a thing for dogs, or they have a thing for me..
Only time I've been 'nipped' is when I was playing with them, wrestling on the floor. I've also been tackled by dogs, scared?, no... Cause I know if I panic, it would make the situation worse..
But, ofcourse the dog was my own..
