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Originally Posted by Izzy Princess  Dame..sorry you had to use your spray but have you ever gotten screamed at by an owner of one that you have sprayed? My only worry now with this is if I ever have to use it and I hope I never do..will I get sued? |
I've never actually sprayed, I started carrying the Halt after getting attacked for what was the 5th time (by different dogs.) I do test my can every couple weeks to make sure it works though.
If you ever find yourself in the position that you have to spray, I don't think the owners (if present) will exactly be happy. Generally its the irresponsible ones and they are never kind to people who disagree with their... methods. Would the interaction be pleasant between the two parties?
I doubt it.
I doubt anyone would sue you though, they would have no real grounds for it. None of the pepper based spray actually harm. They are just unpleasant, you could empty an entire can in the face of the dog and beyond being uncomfortable they wouldn't be harmed. I am pretty sure the spray has the approval of a couple different agencies (like the dept of agriculture or something.) There would be no real grounds for being sued, unless you're using it in malice... like going around and spraying people's dogs in the face for no reason. We do live in a somewhat messed up world, but no one is going to say "you cannot protect yourself from a dog thats attacking you in a non-harmful way." I carry the Halt for that reason.. because if you were to actually harm a dog that attacks you or your dog, the potential risk of being sued would potentially be real.
There was a new article about a postal worker incident (
Postal Service to probe Dexter dog spray case - Bangor Daily News) but its the first any only thing I've ever seen like that - and its because she got the child as well. It also seems to be blown somewhat out of proportion as well, since I doubt the postal worker said "let me spray the child's eyes as well" and the mother admits upfront that while her daughter complains and she hasn't slept well because of it (obviously meaning this happened on a Saturday and its been over 24 hours) she hasn't seen anyone past the EMT's on the scene. (Ok, I have to give her the fact that they talk about going to the ER Monday afternoon - but thats 48 hours + afterwards?)
Had that been just the dog, I doubt very very much that anything would have happened because of it. There are thousands of postal workers that get bitten every year (and I am sure several thousand more that get avoided with things like Halt). I think if the risk was there the USPS wouldn't use it, and I think we'd definitely hear about someone being successful with it.