Exercising the Right
Man’s “Best Friend”
While this column sometimes uses the term “animal” to refer to the criminals who are shot while in the commission of a crime, a news story out of Palm Coast, Florida, reminded us that citizens also need to be armed to defend themselves from actual animals! News4Jax.com reported on July 1 that a 69-year-old man who was out walking his dog was forced to shoot another dog in self-defense.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the incident, but it has determined that the man had a valid concealed-carry permit and the shooting appeared to be justified. The man was walking his dog when two dogs got loose from a nearby property and became very aggressive toward him and his dog. The man tried to leave, but one of the dogs, a German shepherd, became increasingly violent and tried biting both the man and his dog. That’s when the dog owner felt he was left with no other option but to use deadly force. He pulled out the pistol he was carrying and fired at the snarling animal.
Authorities were soon called to the scene, where they discovered the deceased pet. The sheriffs interviewed the owners of the rampaging dogs, who admitted that the dogs did have a habit of escaping the property. The sheriff’s office acknowledged that this incident involved the death of a beloved pet but that the circumstances might have forced the man to defend himself: “This is an unfortunate tragic neighborhood situation. While we never want to hear about the killing of a pet, pet owners must be responsible and watch over their animals.”
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