(Paul Brumman) wrote:

We had some high profile dog incidents in the neighboring county. I
have two kids, 6 and 2, and am wondering. If, let's say, a neighbor's
dog wanders in our yard and starts growling at my children, in a
threatening manner, would it be legal to just take my trusty SKS and
shoot the dog wile it is trespassing on my property? That has not
happened, but my neighbors two houses over keep a dog that I do not
like and I am a little concerned. Waht to know the legalities. I am
near El Paso, TX.

Anyone asking for legal advice on a woodworking newsgroup gets what he
pays for -- and deserves what he gets.

As someone else has pointed out, if your kids are in imminent danger,
legalities fly out the window. In the meantime, the advice to check
with local police sounds good--although I'd tend to approach it along
the lines of "what are my options for dealing with a threatening
animal?" rather than "is it okay for me to just blow it away?" Police
will certainly provide better advice than you will get here, but still
not legal advice--a real lawyer will advise on both criminal and civil
risks.
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.

As a Texas resident and a CHL holder I can tell you that regardless of
what the local police may say, you better check with a lawyer. Civil
law is MUCH nastier in some ways (burden of proof, etc.) than criminal
law or local ordinance.

Texas state law generally allows the use of "deadly force" to avoid
"serious bodily harm" to yourself or another. The odds that the local
law enforcement folks in Texas would gig you for illegally discharging
a firearm in their jurisdiction if you met the first hurdle are
negligible.

The odds that your neighbor will sue for emotional distress,
depravation of companionship (who knows what he did with the dog?),
etc are very high.

Never confuse the law with common sense. (Thomas Payne)

In any case, your "trusty" SKS is a BAD choice. It is not trusty (it's
a HOS), it fires (if it fires without blowing up) an FMJ round that
will put a knitting needle hole in a dog (doesn't stop or kill), and
the house behind it and anything in between. Shotgun, #1 buck, as many
wild dogs on my property (600 AC) can (or could) attest is the
requisite medicine.

WTH is this doing on this NG????? Why am I responding??? Aggggh!


As someone else has pointed out, if your kids are in imminent danger,
legalities fly out the window. In the meantime, the advice to check
with local police sounds good--although I'd tend to approach it along
the lines of "what are my options for dealing with a threatening
animal?" rather than "is it okay for me to just blow it away?" Police
will certainly provide better advice than you will get here, but still
not legal advice--a real lawyer will advise on both criminal and civil
risks.

On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 15:33:15 -0600, Tom Banes wrote:

The odds that your neighbor will sue for emotional distress,
depravation of companionship (who knows what he did with the dog?),
etc are very high.

Hence the "shut up" part of the 3 S's, yes.

In any case, your "trusty" SKS is a BAD choice. It is not trusty (it's
a HOS),

It depends. I have a 1950 Russian SKS that has never had a problem.
Chicom crap, yeah, not so good.

it fires (if it fires without blowing up)

Sorry, not a fair claim. I don't know that the SKS has a reputation for
KaBooms.

an FMJ round that
will put a knitting needle hole in a dog (doesn't stop or kill),

Winchester, Remington, and several others manufacture a variety of ammo
for this caliber. It's about as effective on deer-sized creatures as a
..30-30.

and
the house behind it and anything in between. Shotgun, #1 buck, as many
wild dogs on my property (600 AC) can (or could) attest is the
requisite medicine.

I'm a fan of #8 shot, myself, but haven't had to do the dog thing.
Works fine on coons, though.

WTH is this doing on this NG????? Why am I responding??? Aggggh!

Yeah, I thought for a while I was in misc.rural until I checked the
headers. Was confused why someone would bring up firearms ordinances in
a rural context. But, most guns have wood stocks, so there ya go.