Attacked by a vicious dog tonight

[M1aMatt]

I hate stupid dogs.

So I head out to my dads house, you know, just to stop in say hey. Pull up, and I hear barking coming from in the house. Like a rat terrier on speed or something. I start walking towards the house, and my dad yells at me through the window. He says they got a new dog, and it went ape shit. Him, my step mom, and my little bro (5) and sis (4) are in the bedroom, and it won't let let them out, and it already bit my step mom.

There are no guns in the house (dads a felon), and he can't even open the door to get it with a bat. Well, I'm expecting some big ass dog, no. It's a miniature pincher thing, maybe shin high. So I sneak in the back door, and I see the little bastard barking and scratching at the door to the room. I drew my .45, and he saw me. It was like a damn zombie movie, he like just stared at me for a second, then takes off like a banshee barking and snarling towards me.

First thing I thought of was Resident Evil: Extinction, you know, with the dogs. There was about 15 yards of floor between us. I shot 3 times before I even hit him. Got the fucker in the spine, dead. But man, 185 grn TAP makes a MESS. There was shit everywhere. The kids came out crying, my step mom was all covered in blood, my dad came out with his SHTF bat. I guess they just bought it that day, and it freaked out when they took it in the house. The previous owners said it was very mild tempered, never a problem before. It cost $300.

Hands down the most expensive round I have ever fired.

[URBAN ASSAULT]

Man I hope you are pulling our legs about your actions, because I have two of those types of dogs in my house right now, and there is absolutely no frigging way they could ever be so dangerous as to have to shoot one with a .45!

There is no threat, period.

All you would have to do is shove it away with your foot if it got close, then throw a blanket on it as it ran to get away.

If you are serious that this is what you did then you need to put the gun down, and take up something more your speed... like knitting.

Pulling your piece inside a home, with loved ones in another room, and then firing your gun multiple times(and missing!) at a tiny 10 lb. dog?

Wow.

I think you have some major judgment issues, and need to rethink carrying a weapon before you make another mistake.

-urban

[bonanacrom]

I disagree, My sister has two of them and the male is a psycho freak. I have over 8 scares on my legs from the fucker running up and taking bites out of my leg. Now I'm not talking cuts he takes chunks out ! I've tried pushing him away and he jumps up to get my leg. I'm not the only one, he attacks all men and some women. My sister was told the next time he bites my I am calling my friend at the health department and reporting the bite as well as the others and he will send that fuckers head to harrisburg to have it tested for rabies. I don't believe a gun was necessary as a good boot could have sent it into another room.

[M1aMatt]

Well, my step mom is up at the hospital now getting stitches on her arm and her legs. So as good mannered as your dogs are, this one was really bad. I have been bit too many times by stupid dogs, I am done with that shit.

I probably could have just booted him, but from the way my dad was freaking out, and how bad my step mom sounded, it would have most likely been killed anyway.

And yeah, I missed twice. Have you ever tried to shoot at something that as a target is about 6"x4" or less running full tilt towards you? Under pressure? I was well aware of where family members were, and was not even close to hitting them at any possibility. I carry everywhere I can legally carry, and I have no doubt in my ability to accurately engage a threat. Saying I should "put the gun down and and start knitting" is pretty much like you kicking me in the balls. I shoot just fine thank you.

As for judgement, earlier this week, I was at a pawn shop when a pissed off customer pulled a knife on the owner. Again, I pulled my 1911, and forced the man onto the ground. The cops came, and hauled his ass away. I would have been completely justified in shooting him under any S.D. law, but did I? No. Because I did not want to. That is called good judgement. This little dog attacks a family member, and then comes at me? You can bet your ass that dog is toast.

[JibbaJabba]

Glad you're ok, OP. Not too crazy about discharging a firearm with loved ones in the possible flight path of the bullets, but you did what you had to and thankfully nobody got any more hurt due to your actions.

I still think it's a little crazy that there weren't any blankets or fire pokers or even metal/wooden bars (like the ones you hang your clothes on in the closet) handy, I would've beat the little sumbitch to death. Wonder what made him go so psycho.

[M1aMatt]

If I had grabbed something before I went in, maybe. But from the time I shut the door behind me, to the time I shot was maybe 3-4 secs. The only thing even in the entry room is a mirror and a bunch of hooks screwed into the wall to hang keys. There is usually a bat there, but my dad had to put it in his room because the kids get a little crazy with it.

[BobtheBreaker]

If your parents decide they want to do the dog thing again, you should consider encouraging them to purchase Halt! or similar deterrent formulated for dogs and cats. Having options is never a bad thing.

[jdavidboyd]

There is usually a bat there, but my dad had to put it in his room because the kids get a little crazy with it.

That sounds a little strange....

[White Bear]

If your parents decide they want to do the dog thing again, you should consider encouraging them to purchase Halt! or similar deterrent formulated for dogs and cats. Having options is never a bad thing.

Or perhaps get a dog that wasn't bred to be a pure killing machine. I pretty much love all dogs, but most terriers I've met were always one wrong move from going completely apeshit on everyone in the room. They're a lot of dog in a small package.

[Browning 35]

Well you might have saved your parents some money by just booting the thing, then they could have returned it and gotten their money back. However being fed up with something and then adding the fact that it had already bitten the shit out of a family member and that your family felt threatened enough to try and beat it off with a bat and that they had to take cover inside a house while it ran amok in the yard leads me to believe that shooting the thing was completely justified.

Just because something small in size doesn't mean that they can't really mess you up. Raccoons and Wolverines aren't all that big either and if given half a chance they'll fuck your shit up. What's that saying? 'It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog'. This one sounded like it wanted to show his ass, act like the pissed off fearsome rabbit from Monty Pythons the Holy Grail and it got blasted into submission, problem solved.

[Abacus]

Reading about it makes me think that it couldn't have been all that threatening, BUT I wasn't the guy on the ground.

From what I recall, Matt seems to be pretty solid, if he thought it needed killing, then I'm cool with it.

As to shooting little fast things moving right at you, it is indeed much harder than it looks. We once took a nerf soccer ball, secured a clothesline around it, threw it in front of the shooter, and the others in the group reeled it in between his legs as fast as we could so it "charged" him. It is tricky, leading a target towards you is not a natural act.

[Jamie]

3 shots in the house with my family members in the environment...at a mini-pinscher...puppy...

I can understand how it would be tough to hit...the things max out at (as an adult) at 12.5 in and 12 pounds...I crap bigger than that...

I wasn't there, but I think that I would have tried to kick the thing out a window (or catch it in a blanket) before opening fire in a crowded house...





I'm fucking with you a bit, but am also having trouble picturing this as a safe and prudent use of firearms to defend yourself and your loved ones...

It's possible (even probable) that I don't have the right picture in my head, as is so often the case, and am just not getting it...

Jamie

[crypto]

There was about 15 yards of floor between us. I shot 3 times before I even hit him.

Hope you didnt fuck up wires/plumbing in the floor, or shoot the HVAC


I hate little vicious dogs too, but I'm more prone to just kick the shit out of them rather than put a round in.

Did he keep charging after the first 2 rounds?

[AwPhuch]

Believe it or not the smaller dogs are responsible for more hospital visits than the big meat eating dogs..however a big meat eating dog are more likely to inflict life threatening damage.

http://www.dogexpert.com/Dog%20Bite%20S ... stics.html
http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html

Dunno if I would have shot it...maybe smooshed it with a frying pan or stomped it to a greasy mud hole on the carpet...zinging rounds off like that (especially where I live) can land you in some pretty hot water. Bigger dog is a different story.

[Beefy_Stew_Menu_9]

Sounds like a weird day for you. Good thing that you were in the neighborhood. Since the dogs previous owner claimed that it was harmless and then all of a sudden freaked out, did you scoop up what was left of that dogs brains and send that pink sandwich baggy in for rabies testing? Also, how is your hearing after firing indoors. I once shot one round of .45 ACP without ear protection outside and I was ringing for 2 weeks. I no longer carry do to having to sell the gun for financial reasons. If I was in your situation I would have used a blanket as a net to catch the dog and then I would hug it and cradle it until it calmed down instead of killing it... and if it was still acting like a little grumpy doodle I would swing that blanket covered dog into the sidewalk time and time again until it leaked out of the fibers.

[M1aMatt]

Yeah, the really strange thing that almost bothered me was that even after 2 rounds, inside a house, from a short barreled .45, it kept coming. It's like it was possessed. That is the best way I have of explaining it's actions.

And it wasn't a puppy, they bought it out of the paper, I guess it was about 2 years old. And they already talked to the previous owners, and they are dumbfounded why it happened. And no, they won't give a refund haha. My dad was so pissed off he offered to bring the dog back and exchange him.

In order to get anything else than what I have on me once I was inside the house, I would have had to get past the little shit, then actually find something. My dads house is really long, and really open. He would have tore me a new asshole before anything could have been procured. Best I would have had would have been a couch cushion. Fuck that.

My dad lives kinda out in the sticks, closest neighbor is maybe half a mile. I shoot out there all the time.

And no, as of this time, there was no HVAC or plumbing that was collateral damage to report. Other than holes in the linoleum.

[Beefy_Stew_Menu_9]

But seriously, hows your hearing doing? I have always been curious about having to use the carry and then busting an eardrum.

[M1aMatt]

My ears were ringing for a few hours, but they stopped. Feel fine now. If I would have known that I would have been using it, I have plugs in my EDC bag I could have grabbed. Just didn't think I would actually have to shoot it.

But yeah, if you aren't used to it, that first shot will almost make you drop the gun. I've shot out of the truck before at coyotes and jack rabbits, and that is almost as loud if all the windows aren't down.

[Czechnology]

But seriously, hows your hearing doing? I have always been curious about having to use the carry and then busting an eardrum.

I've fired a 9mm, and a 7.62x54r indoors, and lets just say I've rethought the whole "Home defense shotgun" idea since then. Blurred vision and a headache don't make for very good followup shots.

[zXzGrifterzXz]

As long as there is no loss of human life, trying to second guess the 1st person on scene is always an exercise in futility. In other words, If you weren't there you don't know what you would have really done.

On a personal note, I find it interesting how many of you think it would have been better to beat the dog to death(notably a rough, slow, and painful way to die) rather then put it down quickly and with little suffering.

[Y.T.]

While I'm glad your family is safe, I have to be honest and say there are 2 things about this story that bother me:

#1. It seems to me there was a much easier, obvious solution available.

Anyone could have called animal control and let professionals trained in such situations deal with it. Animal control could have tranq'd the dog and tested the it afterward, or put it down if necessary. They might've provided some insight as to what provoked the attack, or let you know if any disease or infection could've been spread. Who knows, they might have even fined the sellers.

This dog was cat-sized. It wasn't going to tear a hole in the door in an hour, nor knock the door down. Your family was safe in the bedroom, just inconvenienced by having to sit there. But no one was at further risk in the bedroom. As you've told it there was no immediate danger that required the dog to be dealt with by a being blown to bits at that very moment. I also can't imagine that it was great for 4 and 5 year old children to see the dismembered and/or bloody bits of dog strewn about the room as part of the solution.

If your mother's injuries were severe enough that she couldn't wait for animal control to arrive and remove the dog, then an ambulance could have been called. The medical workers could've climbed in through the bedroom window if she needed immediate assistance.

Actually, as a second option... the entire family could've climbed out the window to safety and let the dog go nutso in the house until help arrived.


#2. This whole biz of the dog going crazy sounds fishy

I feel like we're not being told the whole story here, either you or the people who sold the dog are withholding important information. Dogs don't just freak out without cause. They're ill, or traumatized, or have been threatened, or have been trained to attack. Something's just not right here.

If the dog was so well tempered why did the previous owners get rid of it after just 2 years? And why were they not concerned about the incident or willing to make recompense?

Were the previous owners mistreating it? Were they lying about it being a trouble-free dog? Where did they get it from? Was it a shelter dog that had been abused and had a trigger as a result?

Had one of the children done something to provoke the dog? (kids that young sometimes don't understand how to gently play with an animal and do things like poke it in the eye or yank the tail) Did your mom unintentionally do something to make it feel threatened?

Did it have all its shots? Was it well cared for? Was it ill?

Something caused the attack. Dogs don't just freak out and go vicious for no reason.


oops. kept trying to fix typos.

[Browning 35]

As long as there is no loss of human life, trying to second guess the 1st person on scene is always an exercise in futility. In other words, If you weren't there you don't know what you would have really done.

True enough.

On a personal note, I find it interesting how many of you think it would have been better to beat the dog to death(notably a rough, slow, and painful way to die) rather then put it down quickly and with little suffering.

Side note : When I talked about 'booting the thing', I was talking about stunning it into submission which might have got it to cease it's attack, not beating it to death. Even with dogs dogs that are acting really aggressive a boot to the head or a rolled up newspaper to the nose sometimes works wonders.

I don't know if it would have worked in the case or not, I wasn't there and I don't know how bad it got.

[dogbane]

As long as there is no loss of human life, trying to second guess the 1st person on scene is always an exercise in futility. In other words, If you weren't there you don't know what you would have really done.

On a personal note, I find it interesting how many of you think it would have been better to beat the dog to death(notably a rough, slow, and painful way to die) rather then put it down quickly and with little suffering.

+1 on both counts.

[Beefy_Stew_Menu_9]

On a personal note, I find it interesting how many of you think it would have been better to beat the dog to death(notably a rough, slow, and painful way to die) rather then put it down quickly and with little suffering.

Ah, for those of you who are scolding the use of the .45 ACP (do to wall passing bullets hitting family members) and for those of you who are against slow painful deaths, I think the middle ground would be a 10 lb. sledge or maul of some sort. In the end, we can all agree on a safe and quick squishy death.