Shooting to defend four legged friends

[Grassman]

I watched my old Red Healer fight a coyote in the street. That coyote got his butt kicked and was runnin' before I could even get my gun. Great dog, rest her soul......

 

[DFW1911]

As a kid I had to on more than one occasion.

I grew up in rural Texas, which was a great place for people to dump their dogs when they decided they no longer wanted them and they'd go feral; we had a pretty serious problem with wild dogs.

If you've never encountered a pack of wild dogs I hope you never do. Since they were domesticated at some point they have no fear of humans or house pets and have a no tolerance for dogs not in the pack. They're ferocious.

I learned a couple of things from my encounters: a semi-auto .22 rifle is a great weapon AND the importance of shot placement. Eventually I moved up in caliber, but that Marlin .22 remains one of my favorites to this day.

Take care,
DFW1911

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I watch my old Red Healer fight a coyote in the street. That coyote got his butt kicked and was runnin' before I could even get my gun. Great dog, rest her soul......

Amen. My little Blue Heeler weighs in at 35 lbs. She tangled with a coyote a couple years ago. I don't know what the coyote looked like, but Millie still has a droopy ear. I have to assume the yote got the worst of it.

Coyotes are smart, too smart to tangle with a dog one on one. Normally, they outnumber and confuse their prey.

About three years ago, I noticed my dogs were in the neighbor's pasture. My big dog, Howard, was sitting between two coyotes while another circled them. Millie was barking her head off, telling him to get his butt outa there.

One of the sitting yotes collided with one of my Ballistics Tips mentioned above. The circling yote took off at a run, and I barely missed him at about 300 yards.

 

[Todd A]

Yes I would. I grew up in,and still live in, the country. Coydogs (feral dogs mixed with Coyote) have always been a problem.

I keep my "beater" Bubba'd 8mm Mauser by the back door for just that purpose.

 

[JohnKSa]

Actually the idea of pulling out a carry pistol and blasting away at a guy with a gun trying to rob me in a parking lot isn't really "an appealing one to me" either.

My point is that someone shooting a pistol in their back yard in my neighborhood is endangering not only human life but also the lives of other pets in the area.

Most cities have laws against discharging a firearm within the city limits, but most also make exception for self defense shootings.

I'm not aware of any locales that legally equate shooting to protect a pet with shooting in self defense.

Yes, if I could safely do so without risking human life. Human life trumps my dog...

Yes, that's what I was trying to say.

 

[k9870]

is it legal to kill a human being whos trying to kill my pets? SD of dog/cat may look sketchy.

 

[MT GUNNY]

Quote:
Yes, if I could safely do so without risking human life. Human life trumps my dog; my dog trumps ANY law.

+1 .


Short of Animals having Rights, My Dog is a Family Member

 

[EHL]

is it legal to kill a human being whos trying to kill my pets? SD of dog/cat may look sketchy.

If it's legal to shoot somebody in your jurisdication for destruction/theft of property than I'd imagine that it would be legal to do so if they are trying to kill to your pets. Pets are property. It'd be no different than if somebody came up to your house and started tearing at it with a sledge hammer. Would you sit there and let them continue destroying your property?

 

[k9870]

if someone was trying to kill one of my pets id use lethal force anyway, good to know its legal

 

[JohnKSa]

if someone was trying to kill one of my pets id use lethal force anyway, good to know its legal

There was a big "IF" at the beginning of the post you're responding to.

If it's legal to shoot somebody in your jurisdication for destruction/theft of property than I'd imagine that it would be legal to do so if they are trying to kill to your pets.

It's not all that common for it to be legal to shoot in defense of property so don't discount the "If" in the statement.

 

[k9870]

state does allow defense of property if proper warning is given. your allowed to fire on tresspassers/thieves.

 

[RP88]

I'll take a possible fine and loss of a firearm over watching one of my dogs get torn apart by a coyote, another dog, or other potentially dangerous animal.

As for people being a threat to my dog...well, if they are a threat to my dog then there is possible concern for my well-being as well, but it would be a sketchy scenario.

 

[frogomatic]

My dogs are part of my family and I would defend them just as I would defend myself or my wife, from any attacker, regardless of how many legs it has. If the situation is one where I can't take a shot without the risk of shooting one of my own, then I'm going in with what I have...fists, feet, knives, rocks, whatever. They are my family, what more needs to be said.

 

[BCC]

The homes in my area are on 2 or 3 acre lots. And there are plenty of open spaces and pathways. I walk my dogs often at night, so I've thought about what I'd do if something attacked them.

I'd drop the leashes. I'd try to help with a swift kick. I wouldn't shoot. Too darn risky for others in my community, if I missed.

It would be irresponsible, in my opinion, to put humans at potential risk for the sake of an animal, no matter how beloved the pet.

BCC

 

[harrygunner]

I live on the edge of a city and go to sleep most nights to coyote serenades. There have been reports of pets being killed in the area. I saw a coyote the other day, crossing a park within a hundred yards of my house. He seems only interested in getting back to the woods, ignoring me and my dog.

But given the houses around, I'm not going to use my handgun to protect my dog. However, I carry a 3 D-cell metal flashlight on nightly walks. The flashlight is over a foot long and would make an effective club.

More interesting, authorities have driven black bears away from the school that my daughter attended. And I saw a mountain lion in the hills near the ocean, a dozen miles down the coast from my house (quite a few years ago).

I would consider my life (not just the dog's) threatened by a lion or bear attack.

 

[toivo]

There was an incident near here last month. A man shot a neighbor's dog that was attacking a deer on his property. (This was on a farm with no other dwellings close by.) He heard the commotion and came out of the house. He managed to chase the dog off with a stick at first, but then it came back and chased the deer out onto a partially frozen pond where he couldn't follow, so he went back into the house and got a .22 rifle. He shot once near the dog to try to scare it off (didn't work), and then shot the dog in the chest. The dog ran a few hundred yards and died.

Apparently this dog was notorious in the area for running wild--not a feral dog, a pet, but an uncontrolled one. The woman who owned the dog went ballistic and wanted the guy charged, but in the end she was ticketed by the DEC and he wasn't charged with anything. I'm not sure of how all the legalities worked.

 

[Sport45]

If it's legal to shoot somebody in your jurisdication for destruction/theft of property than I'd imagine that it would be legal to do so if they are trying to kill to your pets. Pets are property. It'd be no different than if somebody came up to your house and started tearing at it with a sledge hammer. Would you sit there and let them continue destroying your property?

Protecting pets may be the same as protecting property. If it's allowed in your state you may be free of criminal charges. Too bad that won't help a bit in civil court when the family of the BG is taking all you own for using excessive force on their kin.

 

[Niles Coyote]

In Michigan, if a wild animal is attacking your live stock (your pet included) you can kill it. Don’t take that to the extreme and go shooting deer out of season because they are destroying your garden, the Michigan DNR has special permits and conditions that have to be met first with game animals.

Now if you live in an area where you can not discharge a firearm and you shoot it; that would be between you and your local prosecutor.

I have yet to see a coyote that would stay around once a human was in the area. Making your presents known should be enough to run it off, of course if your animal is mouth sized, it may go with it.

 

[JWarren]

Protecting pets may be the same as protecting property. If it's allowed in your state you may be free of criminal charges. Too bad that won't help a bit in civil court when the family of the BG is taking all you own for using excessive force on their kin.

That depends on your jurisdiction.

In my state, Civil lawsuits are disallowed in a SD shooting case where there was no Criminal conviction.

In addition, my state allows defense of property in its Self-Defense provisions.


-- John

 

[Harve Curry]

It is against the law to shoot a endangered species wolf in defence of a house pet like a dog or cat.

 

[JWarren]

It is against the law to shoot a endangered species wolf in defence of a house pet like a dog or cat.

Is it against the law to shoot an endangered species in defense of yourself?

My point being... is there a specific cite you can give to this statement?

I don't know... so I can't disagree with you per se. However, I'd like to see some verification to this.

-- John

 

[Norty]

Well...where I live, the only predator worth mentioning is the coyote. We have open season year around here as long as you have a general hunting license. There is always a round of .270 ready to go. An pet in this state is still considered "property' and I will defend it.

 

[wherestheham]

True Story.

I work at 911 and we used to take Animal Shelter calls on the weekend.

One saturday I answer the phone and hear:

"Help me please; the neighbors dog is killing my chickens...... Long pause.....BOOM!......nevermind."

I actually found it refreshing that they were taking care of their problem.

I talked to the Animal Control Officer just to make sure all way ok. She said they were in their legal right.

 

[Sato Ord]

is it legal to kill a human being whos trying to kill my pets? SD of dog/cat may look sketchy.

I'm not a lawyer, heck, I don't even play one on TV, but I'd have to guess that you'd have a whole lot of trouble if you shot a person to defend your pet.

As far as I'm concerned, if someone attacks my dog I'm going to be standing in his way. If he turns his weapon on me, oh well; it's legal to defend my own life with deadly force. Same goes for any endangered species, such as a wolf, that attacks my dog too. Hell I wouldn't care if it's one of the last thirty members of the spotted owl; if it attacks me or mine, I'm going to do my best to make sure my dog and I live through it.

 

[Mello]

jgooderh

I was wondering if anyone has had to use their firearms to defend their pets from varmints. And to any of the LE out there, is it legal (in your jurisdiction).

You ask two questions:
To the first, I have not used a firearm to defend my pet.
To the second, in the states in which I have lived (LA, MS, AL, GA) you may use deadly force to protect your pets from other animals. Other jurisdictions have different laws.