has animal control been called on you???

[tatsxxx11]

A GUN??????? OMG! How terrifying!! I can understand the fear someone has when dogs come "charging" at "you." You don't know if the dog is just wanting to play or is vicious and ready to attack. That happens a lot here on our beaches, with lots of dogs running around, some on leash, some not. Most owners try and get control quickly and will yell out that the dog is friendly. But this was an overeaction to put it mildly! It sounds like he had his own dog safely in his arms and I have to think that by the time he pulled out his gun he knew the dogs were not going to attack. It was unfortunate that the dogs got away from you, but you did have them on leashes; they got away from you; it was an "accident." Here, a first "offense" such as that would have warranted a warning by Animal Control with a bit of helpful education on how to better keep the dogs under control while on a leash, perhaps (as she did) suggesting you might need to walk them separately, etc.

I suppose as a police officer he is permitted to "carry" a gun. But I don't think pulling it out was warranted in this circumstance. What if any of OUR dogs had escaped our yards and was running around the neighborhood, getting excited? The dog sees someone walking with their dog and wants to play, running up to them. Would he have shot him/her?? This is the type of potentilly dangerous scenario that sends chills down my spine. Except in situations where someone has a legitimate reason to believe they have an immediate need to protect themselves, I am very much opposed to civilians being permitted to "carry" a handgun on their person or in their car. People perceive a threat, get into arguments, tempers get hot and the next thing you know, someone pulls out a gun and someone's dead. Yesterday, the news reported that some young guy was throwing tomatoes and paint balls at passing cars on a rural country road. One of the cars that was hit stopped and the driver said if he didn't stop, he was going to kill him. The car got hit with another tomatoe. The driver took off but returned almost an hour later...with a gun...and shot the guy dead. They haven't found him yet! Of course the tomatoe thrower was causing a danger and needed to be stopped. But by the police, not by an enraged vigilante.

I'm so sorry you were given such a scare. For your own sake and the dogs' safety, I definitely would try to keep them leashed. This guy must live in your neighborhood and I fear what he would do if it happened again.