Three More True Tales of Wild Dogs
Three more true attack stories. The first one makes me sick of people that feel they are above the law. No name is being used for the first one at the request of the author.
Story 1
Many years ago I lived in a small town, sort of a suburban setting and had a job where I got home about 2 a.m. I noticed a few dogs loose and wandering when I would get home. As the weeks passed, there were more and more dogs, and they would gather where people came and went, where there was garbage or food, or just travel together. These were all neighbors' pet dogs.Story 2Due to circumstances, I had to park about 5 car lengths from our door. I began to get nervous about the situation and talked to the police, but the mayor's dog, as well as 2 councilman's dogs were involved and I was told there was nothing that could be done. I was also told to not even think of carrying or using a gun. I was very unhappy, but still had to go home at night.
One night I got out of my car and as I was headed towards the door with key ready for the lock, I heard a snarl and the pack of about 10 dogs were running for me. I ran for the door and got in just as a dog bit into the heel of my Western boot. When I looked at the boot later the heel had 2 teeth broken off in it. I complained loudly and was informed that if I fired a weapon, I would be arrested. Period. End of discussion. After that I would call home when I was about 10 min. away and someone would stand by the door to hold it open for me as I ran for it. Most times I just didn't go home until about 8-9 a.m.
This went on for a week or two, and then the pack got together during the day one time. There was a child, about 4 maybe, I never found out for sure if it was a boy or girl, playing outside in it's yard. I saw the dogs, about 6 of them, go for him/her. I was too far away to do anything, all I could do was scream for the kid to run, and they hit the kid. Some people were able to beat the dogs off, but she was mauled pretty badly. Mauled. Such a nice painless word. Puppy mauls its squeaky toy. What I saw was a child, still alive, screaming in agony with chunks of flesh and muscle ripped out of its arms, legs and body. Those dogs were eating that child alive. The face and scalp were literally shredded, what little remained. The nose and lips were gone, it was almost just a skull. You could see the bones through the ripped muscles and blood was everywhere. The paramedics were good; they saved the child's life. Five years after the attack the kid is crippled from muscle damage, an arm had to be amputated, and the face -- after many surgeries, that face and head still looked like something out of a horror film, and if you were not prepared, you would become ill just seeing it.
If people wonder why I'm so against dogs and cats running loose, just think about what 6 dogs did. The scary thing? All those dogs were indoor family pets, all were breeds known for gentleness or considered harmless. All were less than 50 lbs. They were just allowed out at night to run. From when they first started to run together to the attack? About 3 to 4 months.
This one happened in Indiana. Thank you Mingo for e-mailing it to me.
Lucky for me, this was a small pack. Dad and I were fishing in the strip pits of Green Co. IN. Nothing biting and I was getting tired of thrashing the water with my line and told Dad I was gonna take a walk over a couple hills. Sometimes you find real strange rocks the draglines dig up and put in huge piles called stripper hills.Story 3These strip hills are barren soil and rock where the dragline digs out the pit for the coal and dumps the buckets and it forms hills from 40 to 80 ft. tall. I was probably 3/4 mile into them and alone, but armed as always. Suddenly I heard something I couldn't figure out. It sounded sort of like a bunch of brush swishing on the dirt or something like that. I don't know how long they had been watching me -- maybe all the way and just waiting for me to get far enough back in the hills. I turned to my right where the sound seemed to be coming from just in time to see fur and gnashing teeth come over the top of a small hill. On instinct, I drew my 1911 .45 and lined up on the leader. I don't remember really aiming, just lining up. When it was only about 25 feet from me I fired. It crumpled and slipped a few feet on down the hill. I don't know if it was the sight of their leader dropping to the ground or the sound of the .45 or just plain good luck, but as I recover from recoil and was going to line up again, all I could see was asses and tails going back over the top of the same hill.
The downed dog was only a few feet from me and not moving. I approached it cautiously, but it wasn't breathing. Upon examination, I learned that by luck I had hit it right through the neck, and the big .45 slug shattered the spine. I dragged it back with me all the while watching for the others which I never saw again.
To this day, I don't know if there were 5 or 6 of them but I was very lucky because they usually ran in packs of 15-20 size. On the way home, we stopped by a friend of mine who was a trapper and I ask him if he wanted it. Nope, those things aren't worth anything, but I wish you'd shoot every damn one of em. We did get most of them after they started really ravaging the young livestock around there and some of us got together to actually organize hunts. Set up sort of like snipers and then we would start using a Burnham Bros. mouth blown Fox call. It worked and I've still got that old call and lots of memories. Just thought I'd tell you of an experience of my own of what happens when people take these nice puppies that grow up out in the country and dump them.
The last one is on why a .22 is not enough. I have said it before a .22 is a poor defense gun, now read why. To be fair I have also received other e-mails from people that have used a .22 and it drop the dog in its tracks.
I used to live in the country, and we all know how it is out there. A dog that kills livestock either winds up as someone's pet in the city, or he gets put down. I had adopted a retired Greyhound from the local shelter. Sweet dog, been abused all her life I guess, because she was pretty blown away just to be petted.I also have some good wild animal attack stories coming up next. I hope and pray we never have to find out if the dog packs will rule. I received a pile of e-mails like the above 3 and one common comment is "Thank God it was a small pack." Please always remember shoot the lead dog first! The pack is following him or her and will keep attacking until the Alpha is down or dead.Anyway, after a few months, she took it in her head that she wanted to chase chickens. Chickens are quick little boogers, but they were no match for a dog that was just fresh off the racetrack. Needless to say, she decimated my flock.... and a few other people's flocks in a single day as well. I tried keeping her penned up after that, but she got out one day and decided she was in the mood for a veal steak.
Well, came time to pay the piper (and the owner of the calf). I took her out back, choking 'cause I liked the dog but couldn't find anyone to take a livestock killer, and placed the end of the .22 Marlin between her eyes. It was a .22 Stinger too, come to think of it. Pulled the trigger and said I was sorry. Be damned if she didn't just howl in pain and start running about in a circle. It took 4 more shots in the head, and finally one in the heart, to drop her. I've never seen anything like that in a horror movie, and I still have nightmares about it. 1 shot between the eyes, 1 shot in each eye, 1 in the ear, and one more behind her skull at the base, and she was still squalling and running in circles. I'll never shoot another dog with a .22 as long as I live, unless it's a matter of life and death and that sorry a** .22 is all I have left.
Even then like the first story when the attack is in frenzy mood on the child you would have to kill every one of the dogs -- without hitting the child. A friend of mine was a W.W.II sniper told me of an attack once by two German shepherds on a little girl. This guy was an expert shot. Dropped both dogs off the girl with 2 shots from a 30-06. Never attempt this. I would never shoot like that but the guy was a true firearm expert. Good thing it didn't happen now days the useless animal rights whackos would have had him arrested for animal cruelty. You see the child is not important in their eyes but saving the child mauling dogs are. What a mixed up country we have become.
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