Reply #74: On suicide and dogs [View All]

[Euromutt]

If you father had hanged himself, would you have an active dislike of rope? Would you be in favor of "rope control"?

And as far as "a good watch dog" sufficing for protection, well, I'm actually more concerned about negligent handling of dogs than I am about negligent handling of guns (which is not to say I'm not concerned about the latter). Domestic dogs bite over a million people every year in the United States, 60-70% of them children; and even though the number of fatalities is comparatively small (20-25), that number does not reflect lasting disfigurement. Then there's the fun fact that an estimated 50% of domestic dogs aren't vaccinated against rabies, even though that's required by law in every state. My entire city is a "dog control zone" (no dogs off-leash in public) but there's an awful lot of dog owners in my neighborhood who ignore that ordinance and just leave their gates open, making it possible for their dogs to wander onto the street. In fact, I ran into a couple of such dogs while taking a stroll around the neighborhood with my two year-old, including one "good watch dog" that took its job so seriously it threatened my kid even though we were a good hundred yards from its house. Loose dogs, frankly, are the main reason I feel compelled to arm myself on the streets of my own neighborhood; the handgun is in case the pepper spray turns out to be insufficiently effective.

In fact, much of your complaints about certain gun owners can be fairly leveled at dog owners as well, though at least guns can't scamper off onto the public thoroughfare and menace passersby of their own accord.