65 Replies to "From the police files: Warning shot for charging dog; riverside-gunfire arrest"

• Sassy February 21, 2023 (8:09 pm)

  The man who shot at the dog is way out of line. He’s my neighbor and a paranoid nutter. The dog is a big playful pup, overly friendly but not vicious at all. My neighbor should have picked up his cat and walked away. To pull out a gun as his first reaction is scary and alarming to say the least. I hope law enforcement looks into this.

  • Guy Olson February 21, 2023 (9:56 pm)

    Yep, just like Travis the Chimp. I’m just glad that cat had 9 and 9mm lives. 

  • Boopy February 21, 2023 (11:21 pm)

    A German Shepard charging you…. Seems legit to me, get a lock for your gate.

    • Your Dog Sucks February 22, 2023 (8:56 am)

      Yep, another irresponsible dog owner whose “friendly” uncontrolled attack dog “wouldn’t hurt a flea”.  Sassy is damned lucky nobody got hurt.

      • Wow February 22, 2023 (10:07 pm)

        Ok and guns don’t hurt people. Good argument there bud

  • Mike February 22, 2023 (5:36 am)

    Something tells me you don’t get along with this neighbor already.  I’d love to hear their response to your statement.

    • shotinthefoot February 22, 2023 (1:36 pm)

      yeah, Mike, it’s so weird that they might not like or feel safe with a neighbor who has a propensity to shoot a gun in a residential neighborhood for no reason! guessing this wasn’t the first time. I wouldn’t get along with him, either. 

      • Mike February 22, 2023 (5:18 pm)

        “No good reason”Well, I wasn’t there and I’m assuming you weren’t either.  As much as I like German Shepherds and know they can be amazing family pets, I also know why they’re used for military, police and guard dogs.  I can understand why someone would be in fear of grave imminent harm or death of themselves, much less for their cat if a German Shepherd was charging at them.  People used to fear my goofy 70 lb Golden Retriever we had, because some people have had bad experiences with dogs and 70 lbs was a big scary dog to my mother-in-law so she was afraid of my Golden.  I’m glad the dog, cat and people didn’t get hurt.

      • alki_2008 February 22, 2023 (7:02 pm)

        If you read the article, then you would know it was not for “no reason”

        • Nope February 22, 2023 (9:50 pm)

          No good reason. Carrying a gun around your neighborhood should not be normal. 

        • shotinthefoot February 23, 2023 (8:06 am)

          You really think firing a weapon in a residential neighborhood is ok??! There is NO good reason – NONE. But maybe in your neighborhood? Let me know where so we can set up a practice range. 

  • DC February 22, 2023 (8:24 am)

    Lets be clear, assaulting a stranger is *not* ‘overly friendly.’ You have no idea what the dog is going to do to you and have every right to defend yourself. I agree shooting a deadly weapon is overkill, but dog owners should know it is never acceptable to allow a dog to run towards and jump on anyone who doesn’t specifically invite it. 

  • KinesthesiaAmnesia February 22, 2023 (8:36 am)

    I used to walk my cat outside on a leash in Seattle and would have wanted to do the same as the cat owner in this article if a dog came charging at us. When I was a little girl living a couple blocks off Hiway 99 my mom made me carry a squirt gun with vinegar or ammonia in it to stop loose dogs from charging at us while walking our leashed dog.If people don’t want their dogs getting in trouble then they absolutely can’t let them get loose.If a neighbors dogs are loose in Seattle call Animal Control immediately at 206-386-PETS.

  • Sasquatch February 22, 2023 (9:24 am)

    Taking your cat for a walk on a leash with a loaded handgun… knowing dogs will be interested….is just dangerous.my elementary age kids walk our dog all the time, and if our dog saw a cat on leash, walking towards them, they would be interested. We also have a cat, so our dog is not going to attack, but it is going to try and play with the cat. Hate to think worst case scenario… 

  • Adam February 22, 2023 (9:30 am)

    I would not have thought the Venn diagram of cat-on-a-leash-walkers and pistol-packers would intersect. Seattle, you never disappoint.

    • Mike February 22, 2023 (5:27 pm)

      LOL 😂

  • Seattlite February 22, 2023 (9:31 am)

    No one knows the temperament of a dog especially one that is charging you.   Owners who don’t control their dogs while walking them or keeping them in yards should be liable for endangerment to the public.

    • Eddie February 22, 2023 (3:26 pm)

      I find it interesting that the person thought that firing a warning shot would have some deterrent effect on an incoming dog.  Yeah, a person probably would see/hear and interpret a shot fired into the ground as some sort of “better hold up on my approach”, whereas a poor dog doesn’t know an out of control idiot firing a gun from any other person. Seems as though they would have to have the weapon at quick draw readiness in order to pull and fire it before a dog was upon them. Did they walk around with one hand on the holstered weapon, or did they already have it in their hand just in case, just in case. “Are you talking to me”.Sad. This isn’t the wild wild west and reacting like that shouldn’t be tolerated or normalized.

      • alki_2008 February 22, 2023 (7:01 pm)

        Gunshots are extremely loud. It’s expected that animals will be scared off by shooting one, whether those animals are domestic pets or wild animals makes no difference. No surprise that the cat-walker would expect the dog to get scared. Some hikers “pack heat” for the same reason, not necessarily to kill wild animals but to scare them off.

  • Ly February 22, 2023 (7:57 pm)

    I don’t know Sassy…have you tried picking up a panicked cat that is being charged by a dog? How did that turn out? When an unknown dog charges at someone, that person has no idea about the temperament of the dog. How are we to know the dog “just wants to play” or “wants to chomp my leg”? We don’t. I love dogs. I don’t love presumptious dog owners that assume their dog just wants to play. 

    • Meeko March 4, 2023 (10:43 am)

      The thing is it wasn’t an unknown dog, the dog that charged at the man was his neighbor, and the man was walking in his own neighborhood where it doesn’t make sense to carry a gun.

• Not the Mr T February 21, 2023 (9:50 pm)

  Police arrested a man for firing at a couple of people working on the river with a prior court-ordered violation and bail is $3000.  Anyone see a problem here?

  • WSB February 21, 2023 (11:00 pm)

    According to the report summary, the two did not believe the shooter was firing at them, but rather into the river. I don’t have info on the distance between them and where the shots are reported to have gone into the water.

• Karen B February 21, 2023 (10:30 pm)

  Whether your neighbor is a “paranoid nutter” or not, or the most irritating person in the world, doesn’t necessarily mean that he was wrong in this situation. He shot at the ground, rather than shot the dog. One could infer from the police report that the person with a flimsy gate that could blow open without being intentionally unlatched was in the wrong.  Or, that both parties were wrong – but realized the incident wasn’t intentional and tried to do the right thing after it happened.I’ve been on many sides of this issue – having had German Shepherds myself, as well as cats — and in recent years, having taken care of many little dogs or other vulnerable dogs. No one who is trying to protect a small pet (dog or cat) from a bigger animal running toward them can possibly know for sure that the encounter between the two will be fine.  It may not be – even if the big goofy friendly dog has never done anything to harm another creature before. 

  • Cascadiarocks February 21, 2023 (11:29 pm)

    Agreed. I’ve been on the other side before too and you just can’t know exactly how both animals will react. Use of the gun in this case is of concerning tho

  • Erik February 22, 2023 (8:50 am)

    I completely agree. I’ve been bitten by several dogs over the years whose irresponsible owners let them run free. Most times as a child. You never know what your dog will do. even if they’re “the sweetest dog in the world” they still have animal instincts, and some random person walking down the street won’t know if they are friendly or not just by looking at them, so keep them safe and contained. 

• Rhonda February 21, 2023 (11:47 pm)

  Quick thinking by that cat owner. He likely saved his cat’s life. We walk our cat on a leash every day and one of my biggest fears is a loose dog attack.

  • Alki resident February 22, 2023 (8:00 am)

    Same here, and you don’t just pick up the cat when you’re around a dog. The cat will scratch the crap out of you. 

  • nonni February 22, 2023 (10:09 am)

    Maybe if my senior neighbor had been packing heat while she tended her garden, she could have warned off another neighbor’s loose dog, before he sank his teeth into her leg. Good thing she isn’t a cat!

  • KB February 22, 2023 (10:48 am)

    Agree, we also walk our cat on a leash and worry about this.  We recently purchased a cat backpack so that we can stuff our furball into it whenever we encounter an offleash or leash aggressive dog.  It’s worked quite well for us and gives us a little extra security.

  • 1994 February 22, 2023 (9:59 pm)

    But what I am curious about is how did the cat react to the shooting of the gun?!? Did the cat go out it’s mind and practically go flying in the air at the end of the leash in attempt to get away from the gunshot? Anyone have ideas on how the cat may have reacted to it’s owner’s gun firing? Maybe happens all the time and the cat is habituated to gunshot sounds?

• Terry February 22, 2023 (4:30 am)

  American gun culture.  The rest of the world collectively shakes its head.

  • Adam February 22, 2023 (1:12 pm)

    American dumb culture. Adam is just shaking his head. 

• NoGunNutsRNotOkay February 22, 2023 (6:54 am)

  Love dogs and cats but this guy is walking around with a gun in the burbs. Ridiculous and scary. 

  • Alki resident February 22, 2023 (12:04 pm)

    A gun in the burbs? Lol do you know you pass a lot of people daily, carrying a gun in the burbs? 

  • alki_2008 February 22, 2023 (7:08 pm)

    There are people walking around with guns all over West Seattle everyday. Just because you don’t hear about them, don’t see their guns (concealed carry) and/or there aren’t incidents of them pulling out their gun doesn’t mean they’re not out there. From reading comments here, I think many people would be surprised if one day everyone with an everyday carry gun raised their hands.    

    • shotinthefoot February 23, 2023 (8:07 am)

      what are you all so frightened and triggered about that you feel the need to carry a weapon around? It must be exhausting to be that scared all the time. 

• marcus February 22, 2023 (8:14 am)

  The wind blew the gate open? Really?  Lucky the dog is not dead because if the case is as described the cat owner was surely in their rights to protect themselves.  A charging german shepard is nothing to fool with.  I am concerned about people carrying firearms however what are we suppose to do?  

• WildWestSeattleite February 22, 2023 (8:25 am)

  Please correct me if I am wrong, but shooting into the grass to scare a dog is also an “illegal firearm discharge.”  
  Are there any consequences to the gun toting leashed-cat walker?
  Or are we becoming so inured of shootings that we accept this?

  • flimflam February 22, 2023 (5:21 pm)

    i can’t imagine that mans cat was very thrilled over the gun discharge.

  • Sixbuck February 22, 2023 (7:30 pm)

    He broke no law discharging his firearm. He stated that he feared for his safety. Be happy that this gun owner had the presence of mind to shoot into the ground and not into the air. 

    • Jethro Marx February 23, 2023 (12:23 am)

      I think you’ll find it is illegal to fire a “warning shot” although I am sure it will not be prosecuted. It’s bizarre but he would possibly be within the bounds of the law to kill the dog but definitely not to shoot intentionally into the ground. Weirdest part of this whole thing is how many people walk cats on a leash.

      • Sixbuck February 23, 2023 (2:56 am)

        Jethro Marx, I disagree. If the cat walker had shot at the dog and missed that bullet continues to travel. Where it ends up is somewhere in beyond the dog’s location, possibly in a child playing in a nearby yard, possibly in a person sitting on a couch in their home. Shooting into grass all but nullifies any chance of ricochet and the only things harmed or killed may be a worm or an unlucky mole. The law states that it is legal to use deadly force if a person is in fear for their life or the life of another human (cats don’t count). I find it reasonable to believe a large dog charging at a person in a menacing manner could lead a reasonable person to fear for their life. 

      • waikikigirl February 23, 2023 (7:28 am)

        We have neighbors that walk their dog (leashed) and carry their cat on his shoulder or sometimes its following behind them. Yes, it is different to see a cat walking with its owner but a very long time ago one of my cats would follow anywhere I walked to! Me personally don’t think it’s safe for them or their owner if they have to suddenly grab the cat for safety. Makes me think of a Ted Nugent song! 

• KT February 22, 2023 (9:01 am)

  Pretty sure it is illegal to discharge a firearm in the city like that (dog incident).  When I used to volunteer at King County Bar Association’s neighborhood legal clinic, a client came in for advice because he shot at a racoon in his back yard.  The attorney told him to plead stupidity and hope the judge would give him some community service.

  • alki_2008 February 22, 2023 (7:10 pm)

    Was the raccoon coming at him, or was he just taking a potshot at it?  The cat-walker in this story was not shooting for fun. He was defending himself and his cat from a large dog running directly at him.

• AN February 22, 2023 (11:13 am)

  I was walking my baby in a front-facing stroller with one hand and had my dog on-leash with the other hand when a large dog came charging at us from a driveway. I yanked my dog and loudly yelled “no!”. The dog’s owner was nonchalantly trimming his hedge and when I said “your dog charged my dog”, he said “he’s in his yard”. I said, “the sidewalk is his yard?” and he rolled his eyes at me. What a douche. If it happens again, Animal Control will be getting a notice filed. Why can’t people just be decent?

• Jay February 22, 2023 (12:16 pm)

  I carry a knife for dogs. I’ve been bit by a dog with a $10k medical bill
  before. And I have a 9lb poodle I like to go on walks in the woods with.
  I assume that owners who refuse to secure or leash their dogs are not
  responsible enough to do proper off-leash training. Dogs that approach
  me and my dog off-leash and don’t respond to a verbal warning are going
  to be treated like a threat, because in my experience it’s better to
  assume the worst. Yell, kick, stab. I think firing a gun in the city is irresponsible, though. Bullets travel far and ricochet.

• Joe February 22, 2023 (12:44 pm)

  I find it interesting that people just assume everyone knows their dog is friendly and playful. Perhaps, it’s just friendly to you because you feed and care for it. A charging German Shepard is nothing to scoff at. These dogs could potentially cause a lot injuries quickly. Walking around the neighborhood with a gun seems a bit paranoid. But, who know? Maybe he has a reason to do so, and it’s his right.

• Leash your dogs February 22, 2023 (12:49 pm)

  Sounds like a very valid shooting.  If a strange dog is off leash and approaching me without my permission, especially a large dog like a German Shepard, I’m going to pepper spray it or if I have a firearm with me, I would certainly shoot at it to protect myself and my own dog.  Seems like a great outcome in this case to only need a warning shot into the ground rather than actually hitting the dog, which would have been well within his rights.  Dogs MUST be on leash (or properly secured in a yard/house).  Responsibility lies fully with the person whose dog escaped.  There is no valid case for a “friendly, playful dog” to approach other people and pets.  Happy no one was injured, including both pets.

  • Wow February 22, 2023 (10:03 pm)

    Let’s do more questioning of the gun owner and not the dog owner. Guns are killing people everyday NOT escaped dogs. I hope my neighbors care more about the regular and increasingly emboldened use of guns and less about shaming neighbors who made a mistake. I can’t even remember how many gunshots I hear and report to 911. Not to mention being woken up from dead sleep to gun shots echoing against the hills of West Seattle and marginal way. If the dog bit someone then there are very serious actions taken by animal control — clearly this is not the case. The dog would receive an investigation and ‘strikes’ against it in which case it can be euthanized. Can you imagine if we held people to this same high standard? Would gun owners be so quick on the draw? How different the city might feel if we had an semblance of these consequences for dogs put upon those that discharge guns—wake up! 

    • Rhonda February 23, 2023 (1:48 am)

      In the 90s I had the horrible experience of watching two large, escaped dogs murder our next-door neighbors’ cat in their own fenced back yard. The cat owner/walker in the case above did everything right and used outstanding judgment to prevent the death or serious injury of his loved one or himself.

    • Sixbuck February 23, 2023 (3:07 am)

      Wow, I’m fairly certain the gunshots you hear often in West Seattle are not from people doing target practice in their backyard (which would be illegal. Most, probably all, are from stolen / illegally owned guns being shot by criminals, mostly gangbangers. You should have little or nothing to fear from a responsible and legal gun owner, most of whom you would not even know are carrying (there are many). Maybe sometime in the future if you are getting assaulted a legal gun owner might be nearby and take action to save your life. It happens. 

• cshecks February 22, 2023 (12:58 pm)

  The only thing worse than a careless gun owner is a careless big or vicious dog owner. Looks like these two had a meeting of the mind (as feeble as they may be)! That being said – this is the reason I carry a knife most public places, as dog owners seem to feel pretty entitled and treat our public beaches and parks as their own off leash doggy playground. It’d be nice if the local authorities would ticket these perps. 

• Doggate February 22, 2023 (6:09 pm)

  Against my better judgement I’m responding to this as the owner of said dog.  First of all, those that say the responsibility begins with me are absolutely correct.  Please do not presume that we don’t care or feel we are entitled. Unfortunately, accidents happen, in this case the gate did indeed blow open because my contractor had replaced the latch with a temporary set up.  That does not absolve our responsibility to double check that under the weather conditions the other day. Lesson learned.  And luckily it wasn’t a harsher lesson.As an owner of a large dog I also understand that an excited dog on the loose (especially one who is not used to that situation and sees OMG a cat on a string!!) may elicit fear in others.  She is friendly but that should not be relied on nor others to interpret her excitement the same way.  My primary concern on the other side is that those packing a gun can be overconfident and resort to using it rather than taking other reasonable precautions first such as picking up the cat, moving away and/or communicating with her to stay away. None of which happened.  However, I greatly appreciate that he only fired the weapon into the ground.  And yes folks he knows the law and self-reported the incident.  All that said, we’ve had a good conversation with our neighbor and secured the gate.   We’re good now, move along. 

  • newnative February 23, 2023 (9:06 am)

    I’m glad it’s resolved. I have been in your situation when a utility person came into my yard and left without closing the gate, letting my dog out. By the time I realized what happened, my dog was long gone down the neighborhood. I was terrified as I didn’t have a car and had a baby in tow so I couldn’t go far to look for him. Luckily he was returned, unharmed and without hurting anyone. I also know plenty of people who have been tackled and injured by a dog that has left its yard. 

  • Rick February 27, 2023 (8:55 am)

    Thank YOU for being the kind of person to come to a healthy resolution with your neighbor.  It’s possible you’d preferred the gun being fired into the ground than your dog being hit with pepper or bear spray.  By taking responsibility for your dog getting loose, even though it may not have been foreseeable, and giving grace to your neighbor, not second guessing what was going through his mind, you have not only peace with him but a stronger relationship knowing that the two of you can have something like this happen and not result in division and strife!  I would love to have you as a neighbor, both of you.  That’s what this country needs. People who come together and work out their differences!!! That’s what the world needs. God Bless you!!!

• Sixbuck February 22, 2023 (7:24 pm)

  We have coyotes in West Seattle. Would the discharge of a firearm be viewed differently if the German shepherd had been a coyote?  German shepherds and coyotes look similar. Not that it matters. This person broke no law. 

• Wow February 22, 2023 (9:38 pm)

  Are we seriously more concerned with expressing our disapproval of the dog owner more than we are about the gun use ? Wtf wake up and check priorities

  • Sixbuck February 23, 2023 (3:15 am)

    Wow, if the above comment was directed at me:  I have made no mention of the dog owner. I have just referred to my knowledge of the law and how the actions of the dog and the mindset of the gun owner would be considered interpreted to be cause for a legal discharge of a firearm. 

  • Julian February 24, 2023 (8:22 pm)

    People are allowed to defend themselves within the confines of the law regardless of your extremist opinion.

• Jellylorum February 23, 2023 (7:16 am)

  I love cats, and I do sometimes take mine out on a leash.  Obviously more people will be walking dogs than cats, and obviously some dogs will want to run towards a cat (whether out of aggression or friendliness).  You should have a plan for what to do when that happens and it shouldn’t be “I know!  I’ll fire A GUN!”   Carry a walking stick or pepper spray, or do what I do and just be prepared to scoop your cat into your arms. What if his aim had gone askew because the jumping dog jostled his arm or the frightened cat clawed up his leg?  God only knows where the bullet would have ended up.  In the dog, in the cat, in a neighbor? The more you think about it the dumber this situation is.  Dogs don’t understand what a gun is or that it can harm them .  So what actually made the dog back off was the loud noise.  Which could have been achieved by shaking a can of pennies.

• Alki resident 2 February 23, 2023 (9:39 pm)

  Curious…. Has anyone had experience using dog repellant spray?  There is a dog in our neighborhood that gets off leash sometimes and has charged me and my dog before.

• Rick February 26, 2023 (8:42 pm)

  I love dogs. I’ve also been backed up against a wall by a pack of them which was extremely scary.  The article states that the gun was fired into the ground to scare the dog.  Concealed carry is legal and there are countless incidents I’ve read in the last year where people who do have stopped brutal criminals and even stopped mass shooters. This is just a day old article about a dog killing someone.  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/san-antonio-dog-attack-man-killed-three-injured/

• Critical Thinker February 27, 2023 (10:53 am)

  German Shepards can be loving members of the household and still have a tendency for dominant or aggressive behavior. If you are walking an animal on  a leash or walking by yourself or with a baby… If German Shepard shows any signs like  raised hackles, bared teeth, tense body posture, direct eye contact or tail being tucked or to the left, an attack is imminent.  Let me repeat, an attack is imminet.  As you are backing away trying to defuse the situation, there are endless data points being analyzed every second. Is the dog responding and retreating or proceeding to attack? What is the position of the cat? What is the distance between the defender and the attacker? Where can I shoot a warning shot  so the bullet will not travel and no harm will come to the dog? What if the dog does not respond to a warning shot?  Where would the bullet travel to if the dog was shot?  Fortunately this turned out well. 

Sorry, comment time is over.