I have had two encounters with vicious dogs and ended up killing them both.

I was deer hunting a few years ago and it was doe day. About 11am I heard something running to my direction and I saw fat doe running toward me. I put a .530 round ball through her ribcage when she went by. She ran into a thicket and disappeared. I reloaded and was going to wait a few minutes before looking for her. I heard something else running toward me and I thought it be another deer but it was a Rotweiler instead. I let the dog pass. A bout five minutes later I climbed down and started looking for my deer. I had traveled no more than 50 yards and the dog had found the downed deer. The dog jumped out at me and was snarling at me, hair bristeled up and I was no more that five feet away. I thumbed the hammer back on my big bore mountain rifle and shot the dog kiling it instantly. I got my deer and went home.

The next incident happened while I was on duty at the fire dept. I accompanied two paramedics to the scene of a dog bite call. To make a long story short we were attacked by an enraged pit bull dog. I had my .44 charter arms bulldog pug in my inside jacket pocket. The dog had "treed" the lead parametic on some banister railing on the second floor and came after me as I was asending the stairs. I had just enough time to draw my weapon and fired point blank range into the dog's head. It tumbled down the stairs and landed at the other paramedics feet. You know, a 44 special is loud in a stairway. I was shooting cor-bon 165gr hollow points. There was no exit wound, which was a good thing since we were at an apartmeent complex. I had the the animal control personnel weight the dog's body(what was left of it) and it weighed 85 pounds. Had I not taken the action that I did I would have been seriously injuried or possibly killed.

When hunting I try to avoid killing peoples dogs because it makes for bad relations between land owners and hunters. If dogs come around my stand I pop them with a slingshot loaded with 40 cal round balls and that will usually send them on their way.

In both cases I only shot the animals in self defense.