I almost had to shoot my neighbors dog yesterday

[LocustsOfSteel]

My neighbors have a 100+lb great dane, its aggressive, and they leave it outside unrestrained and unsupervised on a regular basis.

When i first moved here, it bit a hole in my leather coat, its mauled my dogs on multiple occasions, and much more...

Yesterday it attacked me, my brother, our dogs, and a neighbors dog that we were taking for a walk... It didn't draw blood so i didn't pull the trigger, because the people who own it appear rather rich and i presume they have an expensive attorney.

I'm writing a letter to give to them, and including a giant tennis ball in order to avoid further drama... The indecent and more is in there.

Someone tell me if this written well enough, i tried not to be too irritable about it, but at the same time i really couldn't sugar coat it much.

Dear family at ------------,

First of all, please give this giant tennis ball to Romeo as a peace offering.

Now to cut to the chase... Romeo may be a lover and protector to you and your family, however whenever you leave him outside unrestrained (this happens rather often) he has extremely aggressive tenancies, the first time I met him he bit a hole in my coat when I tried to introduce myself just after moving here (narrowly missing my arm), he's mauled my brothers dog Dude on multiple occasions while taking walks, he walks down the street on a regular basis to slam at the fence while barking and generally harassing my dogs and my next door neighbors dogs, he has terrorized other neighbors and there visitors while they were taking walks, he jumps on peoples cars when driving down the street, tries to bite through the windows and leaves scratches on the sides (including on our car).

On Tuesday April the 16'th, me and my brother took a walk to Lituanica park with our dogs Sandy and Dude and our neighbors dog Mergey.
While walking back from the park Romeo charged down the hill and threw my dog Sandy in the bushes by her throat, he then clamped on to Mergey by the throat and plowed her to the ground, and proceeded to my brothers dog Dude, I shouted at him as he started to bite Dude and pulled out my handgun and took aim, then he charged at me, at that instant one of you called him and he briefly paused, then just started lunging and pulling back over and over a couple of feet away from me while bearing his teeth and barking... I did my best not to pull the trigger while my instincts and my brothers voice begged me to shoot.
I thank you for managing to arrive on time during this indecent in order to put this to an end without the necessity of bloodshed, but I feel deeply disgusted that the first words you said in an indecent where I feared for the lives of my family were “Is that a gun?!”, that you looked at me with unworldly scorn, had your son repeatedly and intimidatingly ride by our house, called the police on us when you and your pet bear were completely out of line, and that there has been no apology.

Please get your dog under control, I fear what he could do to other people when you leave him outside unrestrained, and what the legal repercussions would be for you and your family friend.
I love dogs and would never want to hurt one, we have 2 of them at our house, but if romeo ever draws blood, I will not hesitate to open fire on him in self defense.

Please regard this letter as a reality check, not hate-mail... I would like to walk in our block of the neighborhood without feeling like I need to remain armed, and would prefer that there aren't any incidences that may create some kind of stupid and pointless small town rivalry between us.

Sincerely, ----------------

 

[hooky]

I wouldn't put anything in writing saying I drew my pistol. I think that's just asking for trouble. IANAL

 

[.452browning]

Did you file a police report? If so what did they do/say?

I recommend saying "I will not hesitate to use any means necessary to defend myself if my life is in danger" rather than "I will not hesitate to open fire".

Maybe omit words like gun, shoot, armed, etc. and just let them know you will do what it takes to defend yourself and others from mortal danger.

 

[mrjarrell]

tenancies = tendencies
me and my brother = my brother and I
bearing = baring
indecent = incident


Just a few small edits. Now, you really need to file a report with animal control. Don't wait for this monster to draw blood. He already knows he can get away with violence, it's only going to get worse and you (and your gun) may not be there next time. You need to get on top of this immediately and establish a paper trail with the proper authorities. Shooting the dog, (or shooting at it) may have bad repercussions for you. Just ask INGO's own Liberty Sanders. A dog this size could easily take down an adult or child and cripple or kill them. Don't wait.

 

[Mr. Habib]

You have much more restraint than I. I, too, love dogs and have two labs of my own. The first time he attacked me he would have been shot and the police called. I understand that you don't want to hurt the dog, but don't wait until it draws blood. It could be too late. If this dog has attacked you and your brother multiple times what is going to happen when it decides to go after a small child playing on the sidewalk or riding their bike down the street. IMO, you need to involve the police and animal control, NOW, before someone is seriously injured or killed.

 

[WC Deer Hunter]

First off I would have called animal control and the Police when it happened. Secondly you are a better man than I because it would have only took the initial incident for me to do something about it.

 

[clt46910]

Don't worry about warning them, they already know they have a problem with the dog but think they can get away with it.
Report them right away. This is a dangerous dog and needs to be taken away from the owners.

 

[wizard_of_ahs]

You have much more restraint than I. I, too, love dogs and have two labs of my own. The first time he attacked me he would have been shot and the police called. I understand that you don't want to hurt the dog, but don't wait until it draws blood. It could be too late. If this dog has attacked you and your brother multiple times what is going to happen when it decides to go after a small child playing on the sidewalk or riding their bike down the street. IMO, you need to involve the police and animal control, NOW, before someone is seriously injured or killed.

Ditto, and why is the dog running loose in the first place ??

 

[eldirector]

The guys above caught the edits.

1) File a police report, or it "didn't happen"
2) Call Animal Control, or it "didn't happen"
3) talk to you neighbors in person, if that goes poorly, then a certified letter.

Had a similar incident with a neighbor's boxer after it attacked my wife (got her jacket, but only bruised her). They laughed it off until animal control and IMPD stopped by to complete their "investigation". The dog was chained up after that.

Of course, IMPD also stopped by my place to ask if I really said "If it attacks her again, I'll take a shovel to its head.". Oops.... yeah, sorry about that. Heat of the moment, you know.

So, leave the gun stuff out if you do talk/write to them. Not worth the hassle.

 

[nfranke]

like said above i would file reports with the pd and animal control and any other time that it is running loose call to report it, establish a pattern of them letting the dog run loose

 

[LocustsOfSteel]

I wouldn't put anything in writing saying I drew my pistol. I think that's just asking for trouble. IANAL

When they came and grabbed there dog it was about 2 feet away from me and i was holding my gun.

Did you file a police report? If so what did they do/say?

Suggestion: Maybe say I will not hesitate to defend myself rather than I will not hesitate to open fire in defense.

Other than that it looks pretty good. I'd personally be wary of using words such as gun, drew on, armed, etc. I would simply state I will use any means necessary to defend myself being in fear for my life.

You apparently didn't read all of the letter... They called the police, and the officer who arrived said i was acting within my rights... However your right about the "any means necessary" thing.

@mrjarrell, Thanks for the editing and legality tips.

@ all, I would rather they get a fair chance to work on there own behavior as well as that of there dog, I'm sure theres a great deal of love between them and there dog, i have a pitbull puppy and a pit-chow-lab mix and plenty of people s#!+ on them and instinctively want to see them castrated and put down just because the propagandists say so.

 

[DanVoils]

Double check your locale but my understanding is that all dogs need to be on leash whether it's physical or electronic. The next time it's out I would call animal control and advise them a large dog is running loose and needs to be taken in before he harms someone. This is well within your rights as a citizen and member of the community.
I agree with others in that I would not have had the restraint you showed. But then I also have scars on my face from a dog bite years ago. I am a dog lover and have owned them all my life. I even worked K9 many years ago. None of this would preclude me from dropping an animal I consider dangerous to my family or myself.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Call the police. Dogs being mauled is destruction of property. The dog would be dead as a door nail if it attacked me, a friend , or my dog. No nasty letter just dead. And after it was dead I would have called the police and reported it.

 

[LocustsOfSteel]

Double check your locale but my understanding is that all dogs need to be on leash whether it's physical or electronic. The next time it's out I would call animal control and advise them a large dog is running loose and needs to be taken in before he harms someone. This is well within your rights as a citizen and member of the community.
I agree with others in that I would not have had the restraint you showed. But then I also have scars on my face from a dog bite years ago. I am a dog lover and have owned them all my life. I even worked K9 many years ago. None of this would preclude me from dropping an animal I consider dangerous to my family or myself.

There are leash laws here.
The problem here (Beverly Shores) is that were in the middle of a national park, and as such, if your property didn't have a fence before the park was established, then you cant build one, so they seem to put the dog on a wire most of the time.
I have a fence, but rather sadly they do not.

 

[Hoosierdood]

1) File a police report, or it "didn't happen"
2) Call Animal Control, or it "didn't happen"
3) talk to you neighbors in person, if that goes poorly, then a certified letter.

This ^^^^


Hate to be a grammar nazi, but you asked for a critique. EDIT: Talk to a lawyer and pay to have the letter sent via certified mail on the lawyer's letterhead.

Edits are as follows:

Dear family at ------------,

First of all, please give this giant tennis ball to Romeo as a peace offering.

Now to cut to the chase... Romeo may be a lover and protector to you and your family, however whenever you leave him outside unrestrained (this happens rather often) he has extremely aggressive tenancies(.) The first time I met him he bit a hole in my coat when I tried to introduce myself just after moving here (narrowly missing my arm)(.) He's mauled my brothers dog Dude on multiple occasions while taking walks(.) He walks down the street on a regular basis to [STRIKE]slam[/STRIKE] lunge at the fence while barking and generally harassing my dogs and my next door neighbors dogs(.) He has terrorized other neighbors and [STRIKE]there[/STRIKE] their visitors while they were taking walks(.) He jumps on peoples cars [STRIKE]when[/STRIKE] while they are driving down the street, and tries to bite through the windows and leaves scratches on the sides (including on our car). (This is a run-on sentence. Place periods where noted)

On Tuesday April the 16th, [STRIKE]me and my brother[/STRIKE] my brother and I took a walk to Lituanica park with our dogs Sandy and Dude and our neighbors dog Mergey.
While walking back from the park Romeo charged down the hill and threw my dog Sandy in the bushes by her throat(.) He then clamped on to Mergey by the throat and [STRIKE]plowed[/STRIKE] threw her to the ground(.) He then proceeded toward my brothers dog Dude(.) I shouted at him as he started to bite Dude and [STRIKE]pulled out my handgun and took aim, then[/STRIKE] prepared to defend myself as he charged at me(.) At that instant one of you called him and he briefly paused, then just started lunging and pulling back over and over a couple of feet away from me while bearing his teeth and barking... [STRIKE]I did my best not to pull the trigger while my instincts and my brothers voice begged me to shoot.[/STRIKE]
I thank you for managing to arrive on time during this indecent in order to put this to an end without the necessity of bloodshed, but I feel deeply disgusted that the first words you said in an indecent where I feared for the lives of my family were “Is that a gun?!” [STRIKE]that[/STRIKE] You looked at me with unworldly scorn, had your son repeatedly and intimidatingly ride by our house, called the police on us when you and your pet [STRIKE]bear[/STRIKE] dog were completely out of line(.) Even more disturbing is the fact that there has been no apology.

Please get your dog under control, I fear what he could do to [STRIKE]other people[/STRIKE] me and my family when you leave him outside unrestrained, and what the legal repercussions would be for you and your family friend.
I love dogs and would never want to hurt one, we have 2 of them at our house, but if romeo ever [STRIKE]draws blood, I will not hesitate to open fire on him in self defense.[/STRIKE] attacks me, I will defend myself by whatever means necessary.

Please regard this letter as a reality check, not hate-mail... I would like to walk in our block of the neighborhood [STRIKE]without feeling like I need to remain armed[/STRIKE] safely, and would prefer that there aren't any incidences that may create some kind of stupid and pointless small town rivalry between us.

Sincerely, ----------------

 

[hooky]

When they came and grabbed there dog it was about 2 feet away from me and i was holding my gun.

Then your letter needs to state they had to physically restrain the dog, not that they just called out to him and he slowed down.

I still wouldn't state that I drew my weapon.

Edit: Hoosierdood +1

 

[fullmetaljesus]

This makes me quite sad to hear. I have a great dane myself and he is the greatest dog a person could possibly ask for.

 

[.40caltrucker]

Something definitely failed but I'm not convinced it was the thread.

You and this thread have failed miserably. This has been tried before right here on INGO https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/133415-semi_driver_mangles_school_buses.html

serpicostraight is an ass and should be banned, he brings nothing of value to this site. NOTHING. That's what you should have made this thread about, not his chosen profession.

I know his kind, he is the guy in the back of the truck stop looking for lot lizards EVERY NIGHT. He's the guy who tries to back into the easiest spot 20 times before giving up and parking next the scales. Then he goes into the truck stop and brags about how good of a driver he is. He probably works for Swift or Schneider because nobody else will hire him. I'm even willing to bet his wife left him for another woman. Probably a woman cop. That would explain a lot now wouldn't it?

Now Phylodog, I'm not sure if you've ever read any of my posts or not. I have spent time defending cops when they were right and bashing the ones who were wrong. Here is the last cop thread I have posted in https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...cussion/200464-another_punk_with_a_badge.html I see you even posted in there. As far as I know only 1 truck driver was bashing cops there and 1 truck driver was defending cops. When will you look into the professions of everyone else and bash them?

Now Phylodog is on the same worthless list as serpicostraight.

Interestingly enough I logged in a week ago to look into become an advertiser on this site and came across this thread first. I'm glad I did, I wouldn't want to spend my money not only supporting this site but advertising on it also. Sucks for INGO that those 2 morons are making this site lose money now.

Now for everyone wanting to see a shooter. Here's your chance, ban me PLEASE so I wont even be tempted to come back. I can start spewing off 4 letter words if you need me to. One way or another you will have to ban me and while your at it ban my IP I will get my gun news from somewhere else.

 

[.452browning]

You apparently didn't read all of the letter... They called the police, and the officer who arrived said i was acting within my rights... However your right about the "any means necessary" thing.

Sorry I wasn't specific. I saw where you mentioned they called the police. Did the responding officer advise you on a course of action of contacting animal control or anything of that nature or did he just state you are within your rights to protect yourself from the dog?

 

[45fan]

This makes me quite sad to hear. I have a great dane myself and he is the greatest dog a person could possibly ask for.

Every great Dane I have known was usually quite sociable, if not a bit aloof and down right friendly.