Got attacked by a dog this morning. What would you have done?

[streetroc]

About two years ago I was in a similar situation, dirt bag neighbor had to bulldogs that would not stay in the yard, first time they came over I fired a warning shot and they ran off. I told the neighbor if they did it again I would put them down, I love dogs but have two small children that wouldn't stand a chance against an attack. About a month later the dogs attacked as I was bringing up the garbage cans. I put one down as it lunged for me and the second one right after.

Were there any legal consequences for that? I'm assuming you at least had to do a police report

 

[Gaffer1968]

Got up for my daily 5am run through the neighborhood this morning as usual. As I slowed down and started to walk back to the house a medium-sized black dog that I have never seen before starts barking and charging at me from a house down the street. At first she was a good 25-30 yards away from it so I just continued walking in the opposite direction but she closed that gap in no time. I started to run thinking surely she would stop when I got far enough away from her house but no such luck. By this time I was in a dead sprint and was at least 75-100 yards away from the driveway that she came from. I turned around and she was just a few feet away growling showing her teeth and snapping at me. I realized that I couldn't outrun her and that she was definitely serious about attacking me. Her owner came running out of the house and called her off about two seconds before I was going to put her down. He apologized profusely afterwards and I did my best to be polite but I was not exactly in a good mood. He also said that she bit someone on a landscaping crew recently.

So what's the right thing to do in this situation? Do you have to wait until you actually have teeth marks on you before you do something about it? I'm very thankful that it didn't come to that because I don't want to kill anyone's pet. However I also have a right to run on a public road without being attacked by a vicious dog. Especially one that already has a history of biting people.

Most counties have some sorts of ordinances that require owners to either fence, leash or "be-in-control" of their pet (dogs, mostly because cats - well you know they can't be controlled). A dog that continues to advance and threaten has problems, and defending yourself is entirely justifiable, IMO.

 

[Freshly Minted Georgian!]

Dog bites, even from medium sized dogs, tend to develop nasty infections aside from the pure physical damage. Do the world a favor, if you're strapped, pull and put it down. There tend to be dogs running the neighborhood where I live. Most are just friendly as you might imagine, no big deal. Some however are aggressive and will bite so if I go out walking I carry a sjambok with me to provide a bit more reach. It tends to dissuade ill tempered dogs extremely quickly.

Cold Steel makes them in two lengths, they are less than $30 if you shop around.

 

[Gaffer1968]

**** that waiting thing. I'm a go full on scared cop on that bitch it gets within 20' of me.

Mag dump city....

 

[Falcon1]

Shouldn't the thread title be "ALMOST got attacked by a dog this morning"?

 

[WC1911guy]

Maybe carry OC or similar spray to use as a deterrent before deploying lead based corrective action? A good fixed blade SD knife is always a quieter option if the dog gets in on you and you need to go hands on.

I carry all the time including my dog walks and outdoor physical training partly in case a dog shows up to attack me or my dog. I've debated this in my head many times and it always comes back to how big/aggressive is the dog as the primary driver for my reaction.

Someone said it earlier, if the dog is big enough to kill you and it's on a mission then there will be no hesitation. I'll deal with the legal part once the situation is resolved. In your case OP, I think you did the responsible thing. The dog's owner, not so much.

 

[BillsCamino]

Being that the dog owner has already admitted a problem with this dog...having previously bit someone...sure does expose him/her to a helluva law suit if that dog bites again.

I'd definitely file a report the event in case there's a repeat attack

 

[ReservoirDawg10]

Call animal control. Get it removed. I don't play those games. Next time could be a child

 

[Toothlesswun]

Were there any legal consequences for that? I'm assuming you at least had to do a police report

There was no backlash for me, my county has a leash law. And after the first encounter a contacted the sheriffs department and verified my rights and also had them knock on the neighbors door and inform him that I was within my rights to put the dogs down. After the second encounter and with two dead dogs in my driveway, the neighbor came running out and collected them. like I said he was a dirt bag, only comment he made was about the money he could save on not buying dog food. I also shot his drone down in my back yard about a month later, he was more pissed about that and called the law on that.

 

[charlie hotel lima]

Report the incident, get a copy of the report. Doesn't sound like this is the end of the biting dog. Pistol or knife will do the job, one requires getting close enough to be bitten..