I received a wake-up call last Thursday morning about
3am. The ring-tone in question was in
the form of frenzied dog barking. I was
confused for a bit… it was coming from my backyard! It did NOT sound like the miniature daschund
next door (it’s an indoor dog and doesn’t bark much). No, this was some big, angry dog.
So, I grab my Sig Sauer (AC officers of last resort) and
proceed to the sliding doors off the kitchen.
Flip on the floodlight, and there is that big, brown brindle PIT BULL (“Woggie”)
I have seen at large quite often… he definitely has an affinity for my back yard. How about helping out with the rent,
pal? He’s standing about 25 feet from
the house barking his proverbial ass off at me. After a few seconds in the
spotlight, he tears off into the woods.
Poor Woggie was probably heartbroken I didn’t toss my cat out the door
to him. How can he go on?
Cue the pit nuts that are going to claim that Woggie was
doing me a favor by guarding my house for me.
Sure, I am genuinely thankful Woggie got my ass out of bed at 3am to
notify me that there was a squirrel in “our” backyard. How could I have gone on without that?
The anti-pitbull folks are probably wondering why my two
AC agents didn’t dispatch Woggie to that great Pit Bull resting place in the
sky, where toy poodles and 2 year old girls abound? Of course, Mr. Sig and Mr. Sauer act strictly
at my discretion. They were kept in
check.
Indeed, it has been burned into my conscious brain that
Woggie and his slacker owner have full legal protections and I do not. Did I bother calling county AC the next
day? Nope. They never did anything tangible about any of
the neighborhood pet problems before, so why should they start now? How about the Police? What is the point in calling police if they
aren’t going to do anything, either?
Sure, it LOOKED like a dog I’d seen at large a bunch of times, but who
knows. How do you tell one brown brindle
pit bull from another?
Anyone considering using force in a situation similar to
mine should consider the following circumstance: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/07/st_bernard_parish_man_kills_do.html
Russell Banks, Jr., fed up with a Pit Bull that had
repeatedly trespassed and behaved threateningly in his girlfriend’s property,
fetched a 12 gauge shotgun and shot the dog dead. This was during another “canine
trespass” incident where the dog was allegedly “growling” at Mr. Banks. Mr.
Banks was arrested for animal cruelty and inappropriate discharge of a firearm
and is being held on $26,000.00 bond.
One salient detail that stands out, relevant to any
self-defense scenario: Mr. Banks was in
his GF’s backyard when he noted the Pit Bull trespassing and growling at
him. After observing the dog trespassing
and behaving threateningly, he then proceeded back inside to fetch the shotgun,
returned outside and shot the Pit Bull.
The articles are light on details. A few things I would like to know:
-
Was the dog behaving dangerously when Mr. Banks
returned outside with the weapon?
-
Were any complaints regarding the dog filed with
AC or Police prior to this incident?
-
Were these complaints acted upon in a fast,
efficient manner?
-
Does the neighborhood in question have recurring
issues with dogs at large, off leash dogs, and other pet related offenses?
-
Had Mr. Banks or his lady friend contacted the
dog owner prior to the incident?
-
Had anyone else complained directly to the dog
owner about his pet?
-
Has the owner of the dog in question been cited
for dog at large?
-
Does Mr. Banks have legal representation? If so, have they made any statements?
-
Have any neighbors made statements regarding Mr.
Banks, the dog owner or the dog itself?
-
Where is Al Sharpton when you need him?
Debate rages on whether this fits a “stand your ground”
self defense scenario. Mr. Banks was
without his gun when the dog threatened him the first time (first time THAT
day, it had allegedly trespassed and behaved threateningly in the past). He went back into his house, then returned
back outside with the shotgun and shot the dog.
One could argue that, Mr. Banks was safe in his home
after the first confrontation (that day).
Did he need to return back outside and shoot the canine trespasser? Why didn’t he just stay indoors and call
police or AC? Hmmmm…. Why indeed? This is where we need more information. I would say if local AC had completely failed
(as it does in most places) and repeated complaints about the dog had been
ignored, Mr. Banks was justified. IN MY OPINION.
People say “Use the system!”. Sure, and what do we do when the “system”
completely fails? What do we do when the
“system” is systemically corrupt and completely owned by those who are bent on
taking all of our rights? Do we cower
and live in fear forever? Do we just
wait until the miscreant comes for us for the last time?
Consider that, unless one lives in a bunker or the
International Space Station, no one is “safe in their home” from a Pit Bull. The “home invasion” attack is a Pit Bull
exclusive. Mr. Banks had no confidence
that the Pit Bull would not return to invade the home and attack either he or
his lady friend. Furthermore, Mr. Banks
may indeed be lucky he saw the Pit Bull before it saw him. The next “confrontation” may result in Mr.
Banks in the hospital with an arm missing, and the dog destroyed. Would that have been a good outcome? Additionally, Mr. Banks may have saved a neighborhood
child from being mauled.
It is also my opinion that “Castle Doctrine” and “Stand
your ground” type laws do not necessarily apply when someone uses force against
an animal. The two laws indicated are relevant when a
human being uses force against another human being in a potential self-defense
scenario. That’s not to say you can’t
use force when an animal threatens your safety:
I’m contemplating that the same standard does not apply. In my
opinion the threshold for using force against an animal is lower than that
for a human being. I am not saying we
should just all go out and shoot dogs for the fun of it, but that full burden
of proof is not required when using force against a dog or any other
animal.
Lastly, the dog owner bears a burden of
responsibility. If he had not been using
his dog to terrorize the neighborhood, as many Pit Bull owners do, his dog
would not have been shot dead. Q.E.D.