I wonder, did this happen ON or OFF of the dog owner's property? The article is not entirely clear on this point.
Irrelevant. It was a dog that posed no threat whatsoever. And you can't tell me the "yap! yap!" of a dog like that can be mistaken for something bigger, either. Little dog like that charges me, I'm just going to laugh and say "look who thinks he's all big and tough!"
Fuck that. I've had Shephard's literally my entire life. There's no maybe bullshit about it. If a grown Shephard is charging me, one of us is going down and it ain't me. A six pound toy poodle...that's different. But, with that said, I didn't read the article. If the owners were supposed to have the dog contained and they did not, this is as much their fault as anyone's. A long time ago, I was push mowing my yard with Hans, my working dog, laid up on the front porch watching me. I was pushing away in my own little world when I felt a shove. I turned and my across the street neighbor was standing there. He screamed and pointed towards the house. I saw Hans rounding the corner and disappear behind the house. I ran back there just in time to see him chomp. He bit the neighbor's Chihau...Chichau...Rat Dog in half. Turns out, they let the little rat dog outside and it ran across the street and started biting at my ankles. Hell, I didn't even notice it. Hans did. He went into protection mode and...solved the problem. It was a bad deal, and I feel sorry for them. But, they wanted to cause a stink and the Chief told them they could let it go or he'd write them a citation for violating the leash law. This was their fault.
To be fair, my poodle has a much deeper bark than any other poodle I've ever seen. The fact is though, that this guy wasn't in a war zone. He's a meter reader, not a PFC.. You're not allowed to hit, shoot, or stab things that aren't a threat to you because of how they sound. I don't shoot through my door if someone walks by it drunk and falls into it and then grabs the handle to get up, even if it really sounds like they're breaking in. No, I have to identify a threat before taking physical action to protect myself.
I guaran-damn-tee you this chickenshit douchebag had some pent-up hostility about yapping dogs in general fucking with him while he's trying to read meters. Probably set it in his head that the next dog that hassled him was gonna catch a wrench upside the head no matter what it was. Basically, Mr. Big Badass Man-Child had himself a tantrum over job frustrations and took it out on a 6lb dog. I can't believe there are no charges for this. If a small child charged me in a rage and a bashed his/her head in knowing full well he/she was never a threat to me, my ass would be behind bars. But since it's a dog, I guess it's just not worth the department's time. And when some spineless ass hammer like this gets himself dealt with because he fucked with someone's dog, we'll all act like it's a complete fucking mystery why someone would take matters into their own hands rather than rely on the law.
In Alabama, Cruelty to Animals is a Class B Misdemeanor. With Misdemeanors, that means that unless I see it with my own eyes, there's not a damned thing I can do about it. The dog's owner would have to file a complaint and ask for a warrant. Have they done that? If no, there's nothing the cops can do.
I know what you're trying to say here but that's a bad comparison. Injuring a child is one thing. This was, after all, only a dog.
I won't argue personal opinions on the subject, but I don't suggest putting this distinction to the test with me and mine. I care more for my dog than most human beings. Can't even guess at how I might react if I saw someone bash in his skull, but it wouldn't be pretty.
Many people, both with and without kids, feel toward their dogs just as they do their children, or would be children. I don't think it's out of the ordinary for an extreme reaction from people. What kind of dog do you have, UA?
I know that they're considered part of the family by many so I understand where you're coming from. I do love my dog and I'd probably want something more than just a slap on the wrist for someone hurting her, but she's not anywhere near the same level as one of my kids.
Yeah, somone who puts their dog on the same level with their kids is a little cuckoo. I'd imagine that most people who are like that actually don't have kids, so its hard for them to understand the difference. I love my dog, and would do everything in my power to protect it and would mourn for a long time if it was killed. Someone kills my kid is not long for this world. It isn't even close to the same thing.
My sister had a chihuahua, back in the day. For some reason, he attached himself to me - decided he was my protector. One day, one of my BIL's friends was teasing me - play fighting or whatever - and that dog jumped up and bit him just above the knee and held on. After that, whereever I went, I took that dog with me.
Yeah, the big, mean 6lb poodle made the poor meter-reader fear for his safety with its aggressive behavior. That's why it was necessary for him to bash in its skull with a wrench. To save himself from the grievous injury the poodle might have caused. Not because he's some bitter, disgruntled asshole who was sick of yapping dogs fucking with him while he tried to do his job.
How do you "accidentally" hit something so hard you break every bone in its face? This argument presumes he actually felt threatened by a toy poodle with its ferocious, squeaky bark. That's nonsensical. If it was an actual threat, he wouldn't have lied to the owner saying the dog was convulsing. He was pissed off at somebody and took it out on the dog. Unfortunately, the law can't prove it and the tiny little killer dog had run out the door and off its property. Like I said, I hope he doesn't have any kids.
Your affection for your dog is obvious, and your dog is about the same size as the poodle. I get it. And so far the dogs size has been the extent of the discussion. Say we switched out the poodle for my dog, an 85lb Black Lab/Great Dane mix. Now imagine she is off leash, off property, barking and aggressively approaching a Meter Reader... No brainer right? Given the evidence available I can't come to much of a conclusion about the meter-readers mindset. All we know for certain is a small dog met a violent end.
That renders it a completely different discussion, of no relevance to this topic. This poodle was not a credible threat to his safety. He was acting on annoyance. We also know who caused that end, and how he tried to pass it off to the owner.
It wasn't a Great Dane mix. It was a toy poodle. A man has no dick if he is actually frightened of what a toy poodle could do to him. They're the girliest of little girly dogs.
It clarifies that this discussion is limited to the size of the dog. Yes and no respectively. Please understand I'm not interested in playing lawyerball or justifying any action. Yet it seems emotion has created a wide variety of fanciful descriptions of this unnamed meter reader.
Only way I would take out an animal outright this size would be if it were rabid, all bets are off to any animal rushing me in that state and it's usually clear. That said, a six poiund dog could easily be launched with a foot, and I don't mean kick the shit out of it, just launch it. I would think as a meter reader he'd have a better plan than to bash a dog's skull in but then again he is a meter reader after all. Not much for thinking in that position is required. He evidently has issues with dogs or maybe got the crap bitten out of him a few times.
Size and breed are relevant to the threat presented by the dog to the obviously dick-less sack of shit that bashed in the face of a 6 pound toy poodle with a wrench.
Pepper spray? Taser? Seems we've had similar discussions about how best the police should handle someone.
It's unfortunate, and if it wasn't an accident then the dude is a real dick, but ultimately I think that people need to control their dogs. The article does mention that the authorities determined it was off the property. I fucking hate when people allow their animals to rush up on me, and if it were the 40th time that day that I had encountered one as a meter reader, I probably would have felt like swinging at it too. Haha, way to go, letting that one out, Mom.
This I will agree with, but there is a difference from feeling like something and actually doing it, and this douchebag showed the impulse control of a 6 year old with Down's Syndrome. If I'm not allowed to toss a hand grenade into the car of every dumb shit driver who fucks up in my presence, meter readers can put up with the annoyance caused by yapping dogs.
Meter reader guy is a pussy of the first order. I've had to deal with dogs at various times in the last twenty years and the most "violent" I've ever had to get with a little rat dog was to brush it aside with my boot. I did have some sort of chihuahua/terrier-looking mix nip me on the calf a couple of years ago because I was in the middle of shooting something and didn't see him/her approaching. That little rat would've gotten drop-kicked had s/he tried it again.
