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I'm not insensitive to the moral or legal issues at play here. The last dog I squirted (riding on a bicycle) with water left me alone but the owner decided to chase me down and confront me for "macing" his dog. Water is generally preferred to mace for me because mace can blow back in your face but it was only 44 F on that ride and I have no waterbottle mount on the KLR. Local laws allow the use of deadly force for cases involving the death, serious physical damage, kidnapping or forced sexual penetration of yourself or another. CCW permit holders have an additional requirement to file a report when damage to property or injury occur. The dog in question has attacked bikers besides myself and none of the area children can ride their bikes safely by this house. The owner has been contacted by the Sherrif's department and refuses to secure the dog. I used the eraser load as a last alternative, hoping that I would not have to index the Judge to a lethal chamber. I will tell you, I'm not a "third time's the charm" thinker. As much as I love animals in general and dogs specifically, I'm not losing time at work and getting stitches for any animal without a fight. I've also learned to be wary of dirt-bag animal owners who neglect their animals until they see an opportunity to start a fight.
Again, animal-lover speaking here, so don't take this the wrong way, but at least around here (and I'm guessing everywhere else), CCW/Self-Defense laws apply to humans, not animals. Not to make light of the crime of killing an animal, but if somebody around here were to walk into your yard and shoot your dog just for the hell of it, it would cost them a hell of a lot of money, most likely their guns and would get them a felony record and some probation time, but they wouldn't wind up in jail or prison for it if there were no other laws broken such as endangering other people, etc. Again, I've known dogs that I consider of more value than some people I've met, but there's a big difference between killing a dog and killing a person.
Sure, you'd get in trouble for it, but you wouldn't go to jail for shooting a dog that chased you on the road because here, the owner would be in the wrong for letting his dog onto the road in the first place. Unless you shot the dog in the owner's yard or your shot was directed toward their house, another house, something along those lines, you wouldn't even get any kind of ticket.
Again, it may be different where you live and I suppose this information really does you no good.
The cops would understand that entangling with a dog at highway speeds could result in a serious physical injury or even death. You probably wouldn't even get a "discharging a firearm from a public roadway" ticket.
It all depends on where you live and the mentality of those you co-exist with.
Again, not condoning it, but around here, if a dog was a repeated threat to children riding or walking by and the cops didn't do anything about it, that dog would most likely find an anti-freeze soaked steak tossed into the yard at night.
If the owner cared about the dog, he would control it like I do mine. In this case, if the threat is real, better a dead dog than a mauled child or dead or paralyzed motorcyclist or bicyclist if the owner isn't going to do anything about it.
I guarantee you the police and the judge would all say, "If you wanted to keep your dog safe, you should have kept it from chasing people and motorcycles on the road in the first place. Have a nice day."
You bring up a very good point about the mace blowing back in your face. I hadn't thought of that. Note my description in an earlier post of what that feels like, plus add the fact that your eyelids will instantly slam shut and stay that way, leaving you pretty much blind. It doesn't take much to yield his effect, either.
There's no denying a dog/motorcycle collision can result in serious physical injury or even death to the rider. That's your road and you have a right to ride it.
Any chance of banding up with others with the same complaint and pushing the issue even further with law enforcement/animal control/town hall or do you think it would do any good since the Sheriff's office seems to be too spineless to do anything about it? Any idea what the "leash laws" are around there? I didn't know for a long time that around here a "leash law" basically means nothing since all dog owners everywhere are required to be in control of their dogs at all times whether there's a "leash law" ordinance or not. The ordinance seems more like a friendly reminder. The owner of a dog that causes another harm will not be protected by the "Well, there's no leash law" defense.