Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Dogs, dogs and even some cats
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hellmanm
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by hellmanm »

Anyone who is so trigger-happy as to shoot a dog with the owner around clearly isn't mature enough to own a gun. It's a dog, not a mountain lion or a moose. Injuries can happen, but by and large you don't have to fear for your life when a domestic dog is around you and the owner is nearby. s**t, if the shooter could hear the owner, he could probably have hit her by mistake.

I'm sure there's more to the story, but I struggle to come up with a situation in which this was justified. I'm sure there's a conceivable one out there, but this sounds like a POS who deserves to face both public ridicule and legal repercussions.
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by highpilgrim »

hellmanm wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2020 11:14 pm It's a dog, not a mountain lion or a moose. Injuries can happen, but by and large you don't have to fear for your life when a domestic dog is around you
You ever been bitten badly by a dog? You can't stitch up a bad dog bite. Look up suppurating wound and you'll see it's not all that much fun.

I think I'll wait until the whole story is told before judging anyone.
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mtree
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by mtree »

Yeah. Think I'll wait for the rest of the story. Seems every time I jump the gun I get flagged for a false start.
Things might not seem so black and white once we hear both sides. I'll just shut up and listen now.
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by Trailrunner »

highpilgrim wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 8:38 am
hellmanm wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2020 11:14 pm It's a dog, not a mountain lion or a moose. Injuries can happen, but by and large you don't have to fear for your life when a domestic dog is around you
You ever been bitten badly by a dog? You can't stitch up a bad dog bite. Look up suppurating wound and you'll see it's not all that much fun.

I think I'll wait until the whole story is told before judging anyone.
Dog bites can leave awful scars, even if it wasn't a "bad" dog bite to begin with. I have two ugly puncture wounds on my arm from when I was bit as a kid.

Some people are petrified of dogs. Some people have been bitten and have PTSD. I'm not a huge fan of dogs, and I used to take mace with me on runs just in case I encountered an aggressive dog. I never was pressed to find out if I would use it, though.

I hope we get to hear the other side. I suspect we learn it's not just a trigger happy, anti-off-leash-dog vigilante. ;)
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by disentangled »

please leash your dog. there have been times when i've been alone in the mountains in more isolated spots, feeling tired from a long day and maybe also feeling vulnerable because i'm alone..... when out of nowhere comes a large animal rushing at me full force.... an unleashed dog. awhile later, the owner comes along to tell me he's friendly. yeah? your idea of friendly turned out to be a frightening encounter for someone else.
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by Somewhat of a Prick »

Eagerly awaiting the other side of the story where the rabid off leash dog was lunging and biting at the man's child, or something to that effect.
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by nunns »

hellmanm wrote: Sun Aug 30, 2020 11:14 pm Anyone who is so trigger-happy as to shoot a dog with the owner around clearly isn't mature enough to own a gun. It's a dog, not a mountain lion or a moose. Injuries can happen, but by and large you don't have to fear for your life when a domestic dog is around you and the owner is nearby. s**t, if the shooter could hear the owner, he could probably have hit her by mistake.

I'm sure there's more to the story, but I struggle to come up with a situation in which this was justified. I'm sure there's a conceivable one out there, but this sounds like a POS who deserves to face both public ridicule and legal repercussions.
Not taking a side on this particular case, because I wasn't there and have only one side of the story.

However, I CAN easily think of a case where shooting a dog would be justified. A large dog rushing at me off-leash menacingly enough that I feared serious bodily harm would be enough to make me pull the trigger (although this is hypothetical for me since I don't carry on mountains).

I broke up a situation in my neighborhood a month ago where an off-leash dog was viciously attacking an on-leash dog AND its owner in the street. Had I had a gun with me I would probably have used it. Later I was told by a neighbor that the off-leash dog frequently is out and behaving aggressively towards people.

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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by Somewhat of a Prick »

CaptCO wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 10:23 am
Somewhat of a Prick wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 10:20 am Eagerly awaiting the other side of the story where the rabid off leash dog was lunging and biting at the man's child, or something to that effect.
You’re telling me a man of your build would rather shoot a dog than man-handle it away from your child, I’d imagine it wouldn’t take much. If a dog is attacking your child, are you really going to blast a 9mm or .45 right next to them? Doubt it, interested in both stories as well
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by Cruiser »

100% chance that the dog in the op's story doesn't get shot that day if the owner just follows the clearly marked rules and keeps their dog on a 6' leash. Simple as that.
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by Marcos »

A couple of years ago I was charged by an off-leash pitbull at the exact same location, Windsor Lake. Just walking by the lake on my way to the ridge. The owner managed to call off the dog before it made contact. I pretty much used up all of my adrenaline for the month, though. I've seen that even "nice" dogs can get very defensive out in the wilderness.
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by mindfolded »

Cruiser wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 10:28 am 100% chance that the dog in the op's story doesn't get shot that day if the owner just follows the clearly marked rules and keeps their dog on a 6' leash. Simple as that.
Sure and if no one ever went hiking it also wouldn't be a problem.
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Re: Hiker Shoots Off-Leash Dog

Post by Cruiser »

mindfolded wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 10:42 am
Cruiser wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 10:28 am 100% chance that the dog in the op's story doesn't get shot that day if the owner just follows the clearly marked rules and keeps their dog on a 6' leash. Simple as that.
Sure and if no one ever went hiking it also wouldn't be a problem.
Pretty sure it's still perfectly legal to go hiking. The person who broke the rules here is the dog owner.

Why is Fido so special that his need to run free on a mountainside supercedes his owner's duty to abide by the law of the land?
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