An Enid, Oklahoma woman, Michelle Slaughter was attacked by a pack of five large dogs last week. She was bitten repeatedly and the dogs refused to stop the attack until an armed neighbor shot one of them. Then the other four dogs ran off.
The dogs had escaped from their pen. Their owner, a firefighter, was in the northwestern part of the state, battling a wildfire at the time.
Otis Arnold was on his way home from work, and stopped to help right after one of the dogs, a Belgian (Malinois), was shot and killed by a neighbor who had stepped in.
“She was screaming that she thought the dogs were trying to tear her arm off,” Arnold said.
It was only after the gunshot that the other four dogs, all German Shepherds, ran off.
“One of them had a 4×4, and they were trying to fight the dogs, and it still wasn’t keeping them off.” Arnold said.
Slaughter sustained serious injuries to the stomach and arms and was taken to a Durant hospital. She’s expected to be okay.
“No one would’ve thought it wasn’t safe to just walk down the road, that dogs would attack you,” Arnold said. “Nobody deserves to be attacked by dogs.”
Dog owners are legally responsible for the actions of their animals. Under Oklahoma law, dogs that are attacking livestock can be shot by the property owner. Strangely though, there is no provision for shooting dogs that attack people. Oklahoma law allows people to shoot other people that are attacking them, however.
But while the neighbor’s actions might have been illegal, Marshall County Undersheriff Ed Kent showed common sense and discretion.
One of his neighbors shot that dog during the attack, which is against the law in Oklahoma.
“In Oklahoma, unless a dog is attacking your livestock and is on your property, you can’t shoot a dog,” Marshall County Undersheriff Ed Kent said. “However, these guys saved a life yesterday, so they’re good to go in our book.”
Most adult men can handle a single dog in combat, if they are determined and ruthless. Almost any weapon, even improvised weapons, will give a man the edge. But any number of dogs greater than one poses a significant threat. Dogs instinctively know how to take down larger animals when in packs.
Ms. Slaughter is lucky there was an armed neighbor who was willing to intervene. She could easily have been killed. She sustained over 40 lacerations requiring hundreds of stitches to close.
The use of firearms to defend against animal attacks is seldom mentioned as a reason to keep and bear arms. Maybe it should be.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Unfortunately, the owner probably shouldn’t own dogs.
Good for the neighbor!
Malinois are highly aggressive dogs. They even turn on and bite their owners/handlers. I almost had to shoot two that had charged out of their yard to confront me and my two young (Leashed) Brittany Spaniels, nose punching my dogs once. My dogs closed on either side of me and I yelled at the dogs. They crouched down as if to lunge/leap at me and I drew my pistol. I was about to sling lead when the owner’s teenage son ran out and called the dogs off. Told him they should have a good fence and gate, had it been a kid, the dogs would have torn him apart and had i been forced to shoot the dogs, i would have had to sue the owners for mental pain due to their negligence because i am such an animal/dog lover… I called the Sheriff’s Office and made a report and complaint. The deputies went out and talked to the owners. They had a new gate and fence that week.
In Oklahoma, unless a dog is attacking your livestock and is on your property, you can’t shoot a dog,
Unless of course you are a cop.
“It made a movement towards its waistband…wait, uh, it lunged at me.”
The dog complied with orders, it must be a threat! quick, find its owner and make him behead it!
“The dog complied with orders, it must be a threat! quick, find its owner and make him behead it!”
You are obviously on another planet – and off your meds.
How many times do we have to go over this?
It’s a “furtive movement”.
You have to remember that part.
Wrong snowflake read the laws concerning self defense
*sigh*
Within the first two posts, we blame the cops, who according to the story, never even showed up.
Classy.
Do you guys live in the real world? Ever been attacked by a pack of aggressive dogs? I have. Pepper spray has worked, but once I had to fall back on a Kimber 1911. And what is this thing about cops killing dogs? I never wanted to do it. Neither did anyone I knew. It’s a rare thing. Mostly, it’s the dog owner that ought to have been shot.
Legal or not, he should have shot all of the dogs. Clearly they are a danger to society. I bet the local Firefighters Union is protecting the owner from a lawsuit.
Now that they have tasted human flesh, all of those dogs need to be destroyed.
Just another reason to carry, as if you needed one. Last year in Dallas, a pack of put bulls killed a woman who was just out for a walk, and there are still packs of them roaming the streets in some areas.
As a GSD owner, I hate to hear that some were involved in the attack. They’re wonderful dogs for owners who know what they’re doing (which doesn’t include keeping them outside in a pen). They need firm and consistent leadership, and they have to be in the house with you to get that. Otherwise, they’re a ball of nerves with really sharp teeth and a bite force that’s only bettered by a pit bull.
And the Mal, forget about it. There are very few people who can handle Malligator ownership. That’s a breed that needs a job, period. They’re very much like what the original GSD’s were intended to be, as envisioned by Max von Stephanitz, widely considered as the father of the breed.
Hearing about that Malinois breaks my heart… I know only one: a Marine bomb dog that now serves as her (retired) Marine partner’s service dog – sweet as can be and loves having her butt scratched… the dog, not the human Marine…
If I’m not mistaken, German Shepherd biting power surpasses even pit bull, I always heard that, anyway. I’ve got four, they’re the best dogs. This sounds more like “pack” behavior, especially from dogs that have been penned up, could have been plenty of other large breeds. Dogs in packs get kinda het up sometimes. I know, I have seven total now, though the Chihuahuas (another great breed) can’t do much damage.
One of my current group of GSDs is a little squirrelly so I keep him inside as protection for my wife while I’m away. He’d take a bullet for her, for sure. I wouldn’t enter any place where I heard that bark. GSD’s are great family dogs, great farm dogs, loyal, smart, protective, funny. Good people. I’ll always have a couple.
Yeah, I could have the bite forces mixed up, but I do know that they’re pretty close to the same force.
Bryan1980,
Unfortunately, an elderly couple across the street from me has three German shepherds which often spend hours a day in a small pen (about 9 feet by 12 feet) outside. When the dogs are in their outdoor pen, they bark incessantly at any sound or movement. (The rest of the time those dogs are inside.) The owners NEVER walk their dogs and I never see those dogs get any stimulation, exercise, nor training. As you might imagine, they are ticking time bombs. They have broken out of the home three times and all three times involved aggressive and dangerous confrontations with adult men. (One of those confrontations might have been: with me, where a dog ran past the owner to attack me, and only stopped a few short feet away when I drew a handgun and stepped forward to shoot it.)
I am ALWAYS armed when I go outside. It is only a matter of time before those dogs get out again. And if they see a child or an adult who is bending down working on their yard or garden, I am deeply concerned that they will attack. Your commentary suggests that my concerns are warranted.
I hate to hear that, those three dogs could have been great companions for the right people. Three GSD’s is a lot to handle for a younger person, let alone an elderly one. Probably why they’re outside most of the time.
Roaming packs of put bulls in the city? I see that Texas has feral hog hunts(because they are dangerous pests). It maybe time to add feral put bull hunts(dangerous predators).
Just another reason to own, keep, and carry a .357 Magnum revolver. My choice of the former are both a pre-1982 Smith and Wesson (K-Frame) Model 19 and 66 “stainless” .357 Combat Magnum, 4″ barrel. For both
two and four legged attackers and predators I couldn’t think of anything better to have handy for instant
use.
You got it.
Nothing wrong about 5 shots in a revolver, unless 4 dogs attack and your aim isn’t too good.
The extra rounds in a semi-auto are nice insurance…
In my personal experience, actually shooting a dog in one case and shooting at dogs in another, the first shot sends them off in a panic. The one time I killed a dog who was part of an aggressive pack was with a .22 rifle. Not a loud boomstick at all. But his mates took off and left him dead. The second time was against another pack and I used a .32 acp. First shot sent them running.
In Georgia a couple were killed by a dog pack and the first cop on scene fired one shot and the pack left. 2 people died because between them they couldn’t fire one shot.
How many shots and what type of gun were used in this attack?
Carry what you want. Just carry.
This life saving use of firearms will piss off some leftie anti-gunner community.
God forbid if an AR-15 was used to save this life. Do the right and honorable thing (in minds of left idiots) and let the person die from mauling, at least it’s legal and lawful approach to the self-defense issues. Their approach to this dog attacking situation should be handled by posting boards around “No Dogs Free Roaming”.
NO DOGS ALLOWED.
(Or birds…)
*snicker*
(Good luck getting *that* voice out of your head!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpsmW-s4Z1A
If it saves only 1 life………
“Most adult men can handle a single dog in combat, if they are determined and ruthless.”
Dean, you are correct if the dog in question is untrained. But I used to train attack dogs, and man without a gun would be ripped to pieces by a well-trained dog.
One of the things we trained the dogs to do was seek to out the “offending limb” and destroy it. Got a club? Got a knife? Neither are of much use if your arm is hanging by a thread.
A good dog is a fierce weapon, but cannot survive against a gun.
We had a similar situation right by my parents place. The owners were far worse. They LET their pack of five run. They’d attack just about anything that moved. Of course the owner denied everything but everyone in the area knew the deal.
Finally they attacked a jogger who had recently moved to the area. Poor lady lost her leg. Well, the owners couldn’t deny this one so they moved. Just up and disappeared overnight. Sent a company to pick up their stuff, had it sent out of state to an address they never seemed to inhabit and that’s the last anyone knows of what happened to them or the dogs.
The woman was an activist for Cats Demand Action.A staunch supporter of Bury Your Poop, lobbied against hike high fire hydrants, And was reported to slander the NRA ( No Rowdy Airedales). These dogs have shown us the answer
Commiefornia has the same laws.
A guy I know blew a way a pitbull cornering his daughter in their yard while she was checking on her rabbit hutches.
The cop said “your daughter wasn’t there, and the rabbits are livestock, right?”
(He lives outside the city limits on a small farm, so rabbits can be counted as pets or food)
Buddy says: “Huh?”
Cop explains the law- exact same as the Oklahoma law in the article.
Buddy says: “Yeah- that’s right.”
Cop says: “Thank you for your time, have a nice day.”
To this day, I wonder about keeping rabbits around in case of a human thief, home invader, etc., shooting, and saying “he was threatening my livestock, and that’s why I blew him away!”
Might work under some odd law, but, rather than go to court, I keep shovels, tarps, quicklime, and waterproof mattress covers handy instead. (They make great bodybags)
When the law was written, (unfortunately today too) legislators wrote broad sloppy laws, counting on Prosecutorial Discretion to protect the innocent from the law, assuming that no persecuting attorney would be evil enough to destroy an innocent citizen’s life for doing what was morally right just because sloppy laws made it possibly legally wrong.
Now we need laws to protect us from persecuting attorneys. You know which prosecutors should rightfully be called persecutors, or preferably be taken out behind the woodshed and shot; they’re the ones that howl the loudest when the laws put the burden of proof on them instead of the victim in self defense cases.
I live in Oklahoma and have shot many a stray dog that was on my property but only once had the Sheriff called on me. Turns out that one was someone’s dog, but might as well not have been the way it was allowed to run loose and terrorize the area.
Seems they didn’t care that their close to 200lb great dane would go on to other peoples property and be aggressive until they heard gunshots while the dog was out. I shoot fairly regular anyway but only when the dog was out did they care to investigate.
I killed this dog a good ways into my property and the owner even admitted it. The deputy that showed up was annoyed he even had to deal with the situation. He said he had to turn it in since the guy filed a police report but once it was turned in that nothing would happen since it was on my property.
I shot this dog at about 50 yards straight in chest with an AR-15 and it began to come at me. I fired about 5-6 more times as it closed until it hit the dirt about 20 yards from me. Being charged by a huge dog that’s eating 5.56 for lunch will get your heart going. Don’t tell me the AR is too powerful or can shoot too fast or holds too many rounds.
The dumb ass got two more great danes after that and lets them run free too. I’ve called the Sheriff’s department a few times on him to stay ahead of the curve. Every time they just say to shoot them if they are a problem on my property. Least these aren’t as aggressive, sent some rounds over ones head and he hit the barb wire fence at full speed. Still didn’t learn his lesson though. The next time a can of beans to the ribs seems to have worked.
The other neighbor thanked me for shooting the one and said he about shot of the new ones that ran up on him.
My dog does a pretty good job keeping most other dogs away and would defend my daughter with his life but he’s no match for numerous huge dogs. People don’t realize how dangerous dogs can be.
My state where no snowflakes fell and no one had to run to the safe space, no my baby wasn’t doin nuffins and all was well.
Welcome to Free America
I am a dog lover but I know that once you get more than three dogs in a pack, they become very aggressive. Any group of dogs larger than three is an attack waiting to happen.
I live in the next to last suburb of Dallas on I35E, and I remember the lady killed by the pack of dogs. Dallas has a feral dog problem, and there are areas where it isn’t wise to be when unarmed. Yes, 1 untrained dog can probably be fought off by a healthy adult if the person is willing to be hurt some in exchange for survival. These dogs run in packs. I don’t know if Dallas’ new Police Chief would allow citizens to defend themselves, as she is from the Politically Retarded Officious gressive (PRO gressive) city of Debtrot (Detroit). I am guessing it would be better to shoot and scoot. When you load your carry arm, use gloves so that you don’t leave fingerprints on the brass so that it can be reloaded without issue if you are a reloader.
Someone needs to read the laws concerning self defense and stand your ground again. It doesn’t say it has to be human.
I don’t like dogs, but I understand why people have them. Alll the dogs in this story should be killed now that they attacked a person
When we first moved to Mountain City Oaks, Texas a subdivision bordered a working ranch with sheep.
Pack of pet dogs got to killing lambs.
Watched as LEO on horseback entered ranch, heard number of rounds of gunfire. Watched him ride back out.
It made the evening news. Press Representative had to explain to the danger to livestock.
The lack of a law that made it actually illegal to shoot the dog can and could result in a lawsuit against the person who shot the dog even though they saved a life. So why was there no politician brave enough to step up to the plate and propose a new law that would allow people to defend themselves and save others from attacks by vicious on the loose dogs. It just goes to show you how worthless politicians really are. They never do anything unless it means that they might lose re-election.
So the law explicitly allows a property owner to shoot a dog if it’s attacking its livestock. Does Oklahoma law explicitly state that otherwise shooting a dog in the act of killing a person is illegal? Obviously, if it’s OK to shoot a dog that is attacking animals, its more than OK to shoot a dog attacking a person. After all, livestock, while the bread and butter for someone, is just an animal.
Why do people with those dogs always say “he’s so gentle/sweet/good with the kids”?
Of course they are….with you. My neighbor had a pit bull that was “sweet” with their kids. When it wandered into my yard and I said “shoo, go home” it growled at me, showed its teeth. I went into the house….walking backwards. When I told the other mom, she said “no, but she’s so gentle”.
The owner of this pack of dogs does the community a great service. However being that he’s likely to be away from home for periods of time, he should not own these attacking animals. Or other pets that he can’t care for or find a service That will.
As far as I’m concerned the man who stepped in is a hero and there should be laws that protect him. There’s laws that protect people who use deadly force when a persons life is in danger. I’m sure no charges would’ve been brought against that good Samaritan. Clearly, there’s a few laws that seriously need modification or implementation, and in fact some that need abolishing COMPLETELY. And-
For
Instance:
Prosecutorial immunity, prime example Gayland Gieger, Oklahoma county ADA.
Sadly seems more and more, DAs are using their so called immunity to be able to lie to juries thus wrongful convictions are on the rise!
Thanks to the backwards and upside down state… do people there notice this even?
Lol.
I guess all the TWISTERS have twisted-up that state of Oklahoma, and many prosecutors, DA and ADAs- like this Gay Geiger. Just as twisted but they’re not just* in Oklahoma. But most are in the Midwest per research.
What a damn shame.
He’s all kinds of corrupt. Glad he’s not in my state.
Oh that’s right, they call it.. Pyongyang on the prairie
LMAO
Well i just now realized this WAS in Oklahoma. Changes things a bit, first off, i believe most cities in Oklahoma at least Oklahoma city and those metro cities and towns have ordinances that allow a home NO MORE THAN 4 DOGS. In said communities, same goes for felines- cats.
Was he breaking the Oklahoma law? Enid city ordinances? Idgaf what his title is, he’s not exempt and he needs to be held accountable and at the same time his furry friends need new homes. If he cares about the animals, he’ll find good homes for them, if he hasn’t already. Apparently they were hungry, owners been away but no matter what- That’s no excuse.
Being a pet owner does require some responsibility. Your pets need and will prosper when cared for…PROPERLY.
OMG
Dog attacks aren’t that rare, but it’s just that the media rarely tells the public. Oklahoma media…. bites. Pun not intended.
Just last year poor lil tiny 82 yo woman was mauled by a couple or 3 dogs, and in that area on council road- you definitely wouldn’t expect it there. I don’t recommend watching any video it’s quite graphic. I was enraged at first thinking why aren’t those fools helping, thing is they did try but much like a Cujo flashback, they couldn’t get to her to help. They did the only thing they knew and hoped would help, recorded it. Idgaf about the owner, least is he’s alive to tell how sorry he is. This 82 yo woman who was attacked so ferociously but these bitches had kids, grandkids too. I can’t even imagine it.
It’s a horrifying feeling being attacked by an animal you can’t communicate nor reason with them.
The same way the owner should control his animals, weapons are also to be controlled by people. Weapons don’t make a choice to shoot. The owner does. I’m glad the good Samaritan chose to use force.
keep your dumb-ass dog on a leash and nothing will happen to it
Comments are closed.