dkphelps

The Kiwanis Club of Pike county will be holding its annual "Tour de Pike" bicycle ride on Saturday, 3/17. Most of the routes pass Kings Mountain Road along Hwy 109. Maybe a hundred of so bicyclists could make a showing by the perpetrators house, with enough pepper spray for both that dog and its owner. Plenty of witnesses, too.

chandltp

I don't know if I'd be "man enough" to do this if I was in the actual situation, but from here it's what I hope I would do if I ended up in a similar situation.

HBxRider

Thats horrible, OP. Wish there was more that can be done. I've never been to GA, but it sounds like an area that's not too kind to cyclists. Hope you can find some company on your future rides.

iconicflux

Having had a bad crash because of a dog, I can tell you that any dog acting aggressively whether in front or behind would get sprayed if it were me.

OP - Next time, carry a can of bear spray so you have plenty left for the redneck truck driver.

rydabent

But about 10 seconds of pondering this situation beggs the question, why didnt the cop question why the guy stopped, and stopped you on the road???

The answer may be cyclist with concealed carry. The idiot couldnt follow me with a bullet in a tire and one in his radiator!!!!

limeylew

I have found these spy cameras to work very well AND they are very affordable:-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/808-Version-...item3cb947d20c

Hope this helps you.

Juan Foote

I find it rather funny how a group of e-thugs have come on here spouting how brave and strong they are, calling OP out for a situation they are completely ignorant of...we are all impressed with how bad-ass you are.
If you were paying attention to the post rather than flexing your e-muscles you would have noted that the OP mentioned this man was LEO. Had OP defended himself, it most likely would have ended in his being shot (I don't know a single LEO who doesn't carry) and/or badly beaten by the aggressor OR his friends on the force, as well as charged with a bevy of crimes to which he would have no defense since there were no witness to the act aside from people the aggressor would likely call friend and brothers (in law enforcement). Violence is the option of an ignorant man. Using your head and thinking ahead is a tough thing to do under duress like what the OP encountered and it likely saved his life, if not at least his wallet and job.

NCbiker

You're the one not paying attention, the OP only presumed the attacker was a LEO. I assure you, if the OP had maced a LEO's dog he would not have been attacked, he would have been arrested.

david58

Ummm, you had HALT for the dog, was there any left? Mr Pickup woulda had trouble dealing with the rest of his day had you given him a facefull.

I still vote CCW, but there is a lot of responsibility that goes with that. You might not get your tuckus kicked, but dealing with the aftermath of a shooting is at best messy and guaranteed to be expensive.

Deathly Hallows

People keep saying things like why didn't the OP kick the dog owner's butt. I ask why didn't you just pedal hard to get away from the dog?

I don't know how things work where anyone else lives, but in my jurisdiction a person can call animal control to report an unleashed dog. Animal control will investigate and has the authority to issue fines, monitor both the dog and the owner, and even to remove the dog.

And where do people get that the dog owner was a cop?

Chris516

Unless they have a racing bike and/or, can pedal hard n' fast, the dog will most likely catch the cyclist. So instead racing the dog, befriend the dog.

Deathly Hallows

I guess I must be able to bike faster than most dogs.

NCbiker

See post #10 in this thread.

I have to agree with you, I have yet to run across a dog I could not out run, except a greyhound my sister had, but that dog would just pass you as it thought you wanted to race.

mechBgon

When chased by an aggressive dog, my normal tactic is to skid to a stop while letting out my best non-human growling snarl, turn on it while showing my teeth, and chase it back where it came from while continuing to make threatening snarls. I have yet to have one stand up to this treatment.

Chris516

While I may stop abruptly, it is to help calm the dog down.

I came across two dogs today, while on my ride. The first looked like it was a husky but the owner commented that it was a different breed. Anyway, The dog was a big 'sniffer' and trying to 'get all up in my business'. While I gently redirected the dogs jaw/nose, I also let the dog and the dog's owner know, that the dog had a pleasant demeanor and that I was not mad at them.

The second was about the size of a miniature poodle, but a different breed from a poodle. That dog was more sedate in their demeanor and didn't interact with me.

Dogs can be maladjusted and/or their owners can be the cause of that maladjustment. Regardless of which or both, forget about the owners in the immediate instant and communicate with the dog(s).

DaHaMac

While I was being assaulted by the man he informed me that he was a sheriff and in year's past I have seen a patrol car parked repeatedly at the man's house. I believe that he is indeed retired LEO.

This occurred in the county and the Sheriff's Deputy informed me that Pike County has no leash law and the perpetrator had no responsibility to control his dog.

I tried the outrun the dog trick a month ago and earned a trip to the emergency room when the other dog I didn't see hit me from the side.

I yelled "Back" at the dog loudly three times, I attempted to stop my bicycle, I crossed into the other lane trying to avoid the dog, and the dog was on the road when I deployed the "Halt" spray. Maybe I am a little jumpy about dogs running into the bike since one sent me to the hospital last month but I certainly don't feel unjustified in deploying a non-lethal, non-permanent spray designed to train dogs to stop chasing bicycles.

Yes, I was very tempted to use the Halt spray on the perpetrator.

dkphelps, look me up at the Tour de Pike. I will be there.

mprelaw

I love all the remarks about getting a CCW and pulling a gun. One of the very first rules that any firearms instructor will drill into a student's head is to NEVER pull a firearm on another human being unless you have already formed the intent to shoot to kill if necessary. I highly doubt that many people would have the necessary mindset to take a human life over something like the situation here. Basically a shoving contest.

So, I guess the idea is that pulling the gun will scare the bleep out of the guy and make him back down? And with 99 out of 100 idiots, that's exactly what wil happen. But what about that 1 guy in 100 who has looked down the barrel of a gun before, and can see in the eyes and face of the guy holding it that he's more scared than himself, and totally unwilling to pull the trigger. What happens when that guy sees your fear and takes the gun away?

Guns aren't toys, and should never be used to try to scare an aggressor into backing down. They should only be used to defend oneself or a loved one from the imminent use of deadly force. Never point a gun at anyone unless you've formed the conscious intent to pull the trigger if necessary, and never pull the trigger unless you're prepared to deal with the consequences (legal and emotional) of taking a human life. I've met and talked to a lot of cops in my lifetime, and the ones who have killed someone in the line of duty, even when justified, take years to get over it. Some never do.

Talk is cheap.

DaHaMac

+100

BTW, I formerly had my CCW in Georgia and was trained informally in the way mprelaw describes. In Georgia, if you show your gun in a threatening manner it is considered "brandishing" and is a felony. I don't care to be a felon. Also, my understanding of self-defense is that you must feel threatened and be back into a corner so that egress is not possible before deploying force to defend yourself. Since the perpetrator did not continue to physically threaten me then I did not have grounds for self-defense. I am following my Master's teachings to turn the other cheek and I am pleased that neither myself nor the perpetrator were seriously injured.

Did I post this on the forum to whine? NO, I posted this so that someone else could be informed of how to appropriately defend or prepare to defend themselves in a similar situation.

Chris516

I don't think that was 'jumpy'. I checked both, the State of Georgia, and Pike County. I did not find any leash laws. As for the guy being a Dep. Sherriff, call Pike County Sherriff Jimmy Thomas to verify.

Chris516

The other thing to think about, pursuant to my original comment, is that I do not want to be party to killing a dog directly, or indirectly. Yes, I know that dogs can be dangerous/vicious, or even rabid.

After putting a cat to sleep the year I got married(1992-2000), I swore that I would never be a party to that again. For me, that includes dogs.

CB HI

Bubba Cop talk for "I am too dam lazy to do my job right and I do not want to fill out any dam reports".

CB HI

OP is screwed. Not only is there NO animal control, but the advice is to call the Bubba Sheriff for dangerous animal ordinance action. OP, you may want to get with these groups and add your story and support for a new leash law.

https://griffindailynews.com/pages/fu...%20&id=3302386

https://pikecounty.ga.gov/animal/

unterhausen

I thought bubba the deputy was supposed to read from a card that says, (translated to English), "well, if that dog chases you again, just shoot it"

mechBgon

Another option would be to call or email your local news-hungry TV station and try the name-&-shame approach. Nothing like having reporters on the guy's front porch with cameras and microphones to make him think twice about assaulting people for defending themselves from his loose dog. Heck, maybe they'd set up their own little "sting" operation where they park just up the road while you go by, record the dog coming after you, and then Mr. Big Shot trying to throw his weight around.

The next phase would probably be to ask the Sherrif why nothing is done about this. Oh well it's not my place, blah blah... ok, then whose is it? What if that was a little kid on a bike, not an adult, and he panicked and veered into oncoming traffic? Gee, maybe there should be some changes, y'all think?

Juan Foote

I don't think many of you have dealt with the ire of a pissed of country deputy and his friends. Where OP lives is a tight knit community where everyone knows everyone else in some fashion or another. The two of them will see each other again, and given that the OP enjoys his hobby in solitude across the county at different times while getting exercise and commuting, it would be the smartest thing of him to just let this go.
The reasoning behind the lack of justice was the simple fact that one friend didn't want to arrest another friend, embarrass the station house with this incident, and thus they hardlined the OP with a threat of jail for himself. They knew that the buddy had lost his cool and faced being in a great deal of trouble. But, without witness' the guy knew the ways to manipulate his version of the story to ensure OP was dragged into a situation like this, where he would pretty much be forced to back down.