The particular incident as shown on the KHOU link on page 1 was in Conroe, Texas , about 50 miles north of Houston, south of Huntsville.

Carol, Ansewring the question why he went all the way home is that; the poor guy was scared to death. Man has no older or greater fear than being killed by an animal. With his heart rate at the level it must have been, he may have not even seen the other houses, only his own. Some people go into slow motion, others get tunnel vision when this happens and it does happen. Ask the cops in here.

I understand the "fear". I work on the ambulance, fire department and also a reserve officer.
I give up, I concede. I said something when I was HOT about ANOTHER PB attack being exploited in the media but not explained fully and I should have just not said anything being as irritated as I was.
Sorry guys....

I feel bad for this guy. He basically did what he had to do. It may not be right, but perception is reality. Society perceives pits and some other breeds as dangerous, no matter what. He only did what in his mind was the only thing he could do to protect himself. Maybe he could have scared away the dog some other way, or he could have kept on going and the dog would let him be, but he wasn't willing to experiment and I don't blame him one bit. I live in South Georgia where evryone has a pit and conversations can turn into arguments about who's pit is more badass. Really stupid I think. I live in a good neighbourhood and I used to go on frequent walks with my Rott, but its terrible the amount of people who go on walks and theit dogs are the one's walking them. We had an encounter with a pit some time ago. I saw the owner and dog from a long ways off. I could tell it was a pit, short cropped ears, huge head, short wide stance. I crossed the street to avoid confrontation and kept walking.They got closer and the dog pulled the leash out of the owners hand and came towards us with everything he had. Honestly I froze for a second. I didn't snap out of it until he lunged and my Rott met him in mid air. The only thing that saved us was the size and power of my boy. He was able to put a proper asswhooping on this unruly beast.I dont condone dogs fighting, but my dog was only protecting himself and his master.The guy got his dog and started appologizing saying his dog hasn't really been around other dogs.So what, who cares?Do we have to make exceptions and provosions for aggressive dogs and their idiot owners? Absolutely not. I told him that I have young kids that play outside, and if I ever saw that thing roaming without a human at the other end of the leash I would shoot it dead on the spot, no matter what it was doing. Pit people are always complaining about BSL, but come on people. Stop complaining and do something different. I like nice pits, my Father in law has many that are very friendly and great with my kids. But stop whining and look at the stone cold truth, for every good pit there are ten bad ones.And it's beside the point whether its the owners fault for the dog or what.The point is these dogs exist and ARE a real menace.

There was another incident that happened just a couple of days later, Louise you may have seen it on the news. Two pit bulls trying to get at a cat that was in a car. Wish I had a picture to show you, but the damage to the fender of that car was amazing. Not just scratches but holes through the fenders that were caused by the teeth of those animals = It gives you a pretty good idea of what that type of bite could do to a person.

 Quote: Judy Troiano

Hmmm, I have no fear walking around my neighborhood either but I always have a plan - and a weapon! It takes no effort whatsoever for me to carry something with me to help in protecting me and/or my dog. Before I got my GSD I used to think he'd protect me from the nasties that might cross my path. Boy was I ever wrong. Ever since I got my dog, I've been protecting him!! Without that walking stick I just wouldn't feel safe sticking my arm out to block the stray dog. And if the dog was very aggressive, without the stick, I'd be next to useless in defending my dog .

I know from Judy's description I would be thinking to do the same thing.

What is the legality of protecting yourself and using a makeshift weapon like a walking staff when the line gets crossed by a stray or a dog that breaks off a leash or fence. My old dog and I was viciously attacked years ago by a unleashed dog. So now I've thought about bringing bear repellent with me as that is about the only thing legal up here for that type of situation. At least a puff of Cayenne pepper in the nose of an advancing dog shouldn't do lasting damage. I don't want to put myself or my new dog into any line of fire like that again.

Any legal Beagles care to comment?

Not a legal Beagle but I've heard many times that if you are protecting yourself (with a LEGAL weapon) - you're in safer legal territory than if you use that same weapon to protect your dog.

I for one would love to know if that is accurate.

But this is why I carry a walking stick...it's to clobber the dog if needed but this weapon wouldn't kill it. Just need to state the obvious, I wouldn't be bashing a bijon w/the stick .

The knife I carry is for (sorry people) pitbulls and or any other large, powerful, vicious dog wherein using my walking stick is just pissing him off!

 Quote: Carolyn White

Interesting article. All I have to say is..Having lived in Texas, idiot dog owners (in Texas) are a dime a dozen.(This statement does not apply to responsible dog owners.)

You got that right. I am the only one in my neighborhood who keeps her dog under control at all times. It drives me crazy when the neighbors' dogs come over and harass my cats and horses.

I feel sorry for the dog that died (and also that the walker had to go through that). Again, the innocent pay for one person's carelessness and arrogance.

I wrote more here on pits and BSL: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/115672/pit_bulls_what_the_media_forgot_to.html

 Quote: markseebran

I feel bad for this guy. He basically did what he had to do. It may not be right, but perception is reality. Society perceives pits and some other breeds as dangerous, no matter what. He only did what in his mind was the only thing he could do to protect himself. Maybe he could have scared away the dog some other way, or he could have kept on going and the dog would let him be, but he wasn't willing to experiment and I don't blame him one bit. I live in South Georgia where evryone has a pit and conversations can turn into arguments about who's pit is more badass. Really stupid I think. I live in a good neighbourhood and I used to go on frequent walks with my Rott, but its terrible the amount of people who go on walks and theit dogs are the one's walking them. We had an encounter with a pit some time ago. I saw the owner and dog from a long ways off. I could tell it was a pit, short cropped ears, huge head, short wide stance. I crossed the street to avoid confrontation and kept walking.They got closer and the dog pulled the leash out of the owners hand and came towards us with everything he had. Honestly I froze for a second. I didn't snap out of it until he lunged and my Rott met him in mid air. The only thing that saved us was the size and power of my boy. He was able to put a proper asswhooping on this unruly beast.I dont condone dogs fighting, but my dog was only protecting himself and his master.The guy got his dog and started appologizing saying his dog hasn't really been around other dogs.So what, who cares?Do we have to make exceptions and provosions for aggressive dogs and their idiot owners? Absolutely not. I told him that I have young kids that play outside, and if I ever saw that thing roaming without a human at the other end of the leash I would shoot it dead on the spot, no matter what it was doing. Pit people are always complaining about BSL, but come on people. Stop complaining and do something different. I like nice pits, my Father in law has many that are very friendly and great with my kids. But stop whining and look at the stone cold truth, for every good pit there are ten bad ones.And it's beside the point whether its the owners fault for the dog or what.The point is these dogs exist and ARE a real menace.

Well if breed irradication is the solution to an irresponsible people problem, we all better hope and pray the next "problem" breed is not some one elses breed of choice. If this becomes the mode of operation I can see us all owning toy breeds...they bite but the damage I suppose is acceptable. Now that is an eye opener.

I for one am more inclined to restrict powerful dog ownership to those that are willing to be scrutinized and measured against a standard that qualifies one for such ownership......as unpopular as that is.

 Quote: Judy Troiano

Not a legal Beagle but I've heard many times that if you are protecting yourself (with a LEGAL weapon) - you're in safer legal territory than if you use that same weapon to protect your dog.

I for one would love to know if that is accurate.

Yes, Ed mentions that in one of his videos. Laws vary from place to place, but no matter where you live I would say it's best to say that your were protecting YOURSELF instead of protecting your DOG. Fair or not, problems between animals often become just a pissing contest between owners. A dog going after a human, however, makes people take more notice.

And not to get involved in the endless good breed/bad breed debate, but...

 Quote: MarkSeebran

But stop whining and look at the stone cold truth, for every good pit there are ten bad ones.And it's beside the point whether its the owners fault for the dog or what.The point is these dogs exist and ARE a real menace.

It's NOT beside the point on whether it's the owner's fault for the dog's behavior. Because for every good pit OWNER there are ten bad ones. These dogs come with an image--aggressive and dangerous. Many people purchase the dog ONLY for that reason...a status symbol...and therefore train their dog to act that way.

Because of the pit bull's IMAGE, your average nice old lady isn't going to pick that breed, but your average drug dealing gang member (or wannabee badass) will.