I know the kick well.

Good for you LH.
The only 2 times I've ever pulled my gun was when I was charged by unleashed dogs while hiking.

@bigpawbullets Then you are bloody fool who has no idea about dogs, and are as much of a trigger happy lune as this fucking killer cop.

EDIT just occurred to me, why the hell were you carrying a gun while hiking?

@Literatehiker, that dog was doing what any dog would do, protecting its owner with challenge behaviour.
Pulling a gun on a dog like that is foolish, firing with a person in the line of fire is damnably irresponsible, even if he had hit the dog the bullet would have gone straight through and killed the woman.
An animal like that is to be challenged and then instructed to show you the problem, once it knows you are no threat it will allow you to help.

Apparently this "Rookie" cop had only just finished his training and was little more than a kid himself.
Now he is a killer, and has to live with that for the rest of his life because he thought being a cop was playing at cowboys and Indians.
He's a Bloody fool.

@LenHazell53

People need to train and control their dogs. While I was snowshoeing where dogs are required to be leashed, two irresponsible women released six dogs at the trailhead.

As a pack, the six dogs ran ahead and attacked me, growling and barking. One dog jumped up on me, knocking me sideways on snowshoes in a deep snow trench. My face was at the level of the bared teeth of two snarling German Shepards. It was terrifying

"Call your dogs!" I yelled. "They are required to be on a leash!"

"They're friendly," they called from below. That's what they always say.

With my right knee twisted painfully, I pushed myself up and managed to get away from the goddamn dogs. I was too upset and in pain to write down their license plates.

It took six months for my knee ligaments to heal. I blame selfish, irresponsible dog owners.

In Michigan, I grew up with two, loving obedient Labrador Retrievers. Lady won the Michigan State Obedience Championship twice. My mother did a superb job of training our dogs.

Now I feel terrified of strange dogs.

@LenHazell53
Different cultures Len.
I always carry a gun. I've a concealed carry license.
Most of my neighbors do too. Our police chief recommends it. I know the difference between a friendly dog approaching on the run as opposed to a snarling dog on the attack.

@bigpawbullets @Literatehiker,
I hope you will forgive my anger but in the last week I lost both of 14 year old dogs, one to bladder cancer, and the other to heart failure, so on the subject of dogs at the moment I am a little touchy.

@LenHazell53

Sorry about your loss.

In Wenatchee, WA where I live, police officers are allowed to shoot and kill dogs that attack them, including on the dog owner's property.

Within city limits, dogs are required to be on a leash or in a secure, fenced yard.

@LenHazell53
All is good Len. I share your sadness. We lost our GS a few months ago. Old age..... the pain of losing a furry member of your family is intense.

@bigpawbullets
To my mind you carry a gun you are prepared to kill someone.
I am not prepared to kill, I consider myself a civilised human being, therefore even if I were allowed to I would not carry a gun.
As a child I won prizes for marksmanship with a .177 air rifle, lesson one was you NEVER point the gun at anything living, it is not a toy, it is a weapon.
I last touched a gun at the age of 21, when I realised the the relatively harmless air rifle was just a gateway to desensitising me to deadly weapons, I could not live with the idea of being even a potential killer.

@LenHazell53
I’m not a gun owner, but here in Montana and other states with grizzly bears and cougars, it’s pretty common for people to carry guns when hiking - it is a bit of a cultural thing here.

@LiterateHiker I agree, I would never walk a dog off a leash, other than in a fenced and designated play area for dogs.
It is irresponsible to do otherwise.

@LenHazell53
Len, I respect your view and philosophy on firearms.
I just don't agree with you.

I think we will never understand the American psyche Len....just be glad that for all our problems, we don’t have to really worry about being shot by either a trigger happy cop or a fellow hiker with concealed weapon, who may just need to fire at a dog!