Think about that. Think about it good and hard. Think about how it would work out in all scenarios. Think about how you wouldn’t be able to ride while your wounds heal, assuming you’ll be able to ride afterward. Think about your agonizing death from Rabies. Read these threads and any others like them.
The moment I notice a dog coming at me? Now I know you’re nuts. Who’s the dominant species here? This is a very common occurrance. Some days. Yesterday, I had no dog encounters out of the ordinary. A few fence-barkers, maybe.
There are other threats on the street besides dogs, some of which might be successfully addressed by non-lethal means. I have not encountered any of them yet, though your statement below suggests that I might. Or maybe I should just dispense with the mace and carry a gun. That would be better, right? Actually, I know the answer to this one. It would not be better. Neither mace nor guns are toys. You don’t use them “just because”. You hope never to have to use them. Mace is a one-use thing (don’t want to run out during your second encounter) and not exactly cheap. Duh. Some folks might choose the gun, but that is a completely different discussion.
Yet you make positive assertions and threats of violence based on incomplete knowledge. This also could be a whole other thread which would probably belong in JC, rather than here. I’m not going to start such a thread, though, because I don’t care enough to.
So many? What are you counting as issues? Encounters? Even trivial ones where I am not chased? Then yeah, rather a lot. But if so, it is you who digress, from your own fixation on mace. I ride a lot. Through the city, some of which is downright suburban. 20 miles is not an unusual ride for me, and I have done it several times this week alone. My slice of life post contains vignettes from several rides, but I thought my word choices made that clear.
It only takes one vicious attack. Zero (and it’s cousin, 100%) is funny that way. I haven’t been mauled yet, but you’re darn tootin’ that if the issue is forced, I’m going to do whatever I can to minimize the damage, even if that means injuring the assailant. Who is paying for the healthcare, downtime, “pain and suffering”, and possible lifetime disfigurement? The dog sure isn’t. Are you? Avoidance of actually injuring the dog should go without saying, but I get the impression it might have to be stated overtly for you.
Good for you. This must be why you think it is reasonable to dismount on all such occasions. We ride in different places.
If only one in 100 (or 1000 or whatever) injures or kills you, you’re still hurt, maimed, or dead. I, too, have ridden by many dogs. Only some of them chase me. Only some of those appear to actually pose a threat. It only takes one. When you get that one, you just might regret not having anything to dissuade it with. You probably also don’t wear a helmet because maybe one out of 50 UPDs lands you on your head. Your figure, not an actual helmet figure. This is not digression. The helmet and mace perform their respective functions as safety equipment. They get used very rarely if at all, but are useless if you don’t have them when the time comes.
I have never suggested macing every dog one sees. Go ahead, look; I’ll wait. The puppy was clearly not a threat. You did actually read that far in my post, yes? You know, beyond the word “mace”? The dog that pushed me (and was part of a group, which is more dangerous than one dog) might have gotten me to draw the can, but deployment would have depended on what happened next. In that case, it would have been re-holstered. That’s not some misguided effort to placate you, it is just what I think/hope would have happened in the hypothetical. When you are being attacked, you don’t necessarily have a lot of time to think things through. Another argument for temporary measures such as mace.
Do it. I need the money. I’ll wait for the cops. If you don’t call them, I will. This should set me up for a few years at least. Sure, the pain would suck, but my old lady’s got medical expenses. If you’re broke, well, the results are less satisfying, but I assure you, you won’t like them. Some of us are not playing.
Let’s see, what wins? Self defense against a dog which is, as the law sees it, running “at large”, versus a vicious human assault and battery. A 20 year-old kid beating up an old man. Hmmmm. You don’t improve your position by committing a bigger crime. Also, in my city, several complaints of leash law infraction can lead to the animal being “destroyed”. You know, in case the fines weren’t good enough. This interaction would definitely generate one such complaint, and I would know exactly who to file the complaint against because that information would be in the police report.
And what about the cases where the owner is not present or simply does not exist? When the owner is present, I know it because they’re calling to their dog to get out of the street. That is nice, because it tells me who to sue in the event, however stastically unlikely, of an attack. None of those dogs have threatened me so far. It has always been unattended ones. They’re still running at large, but, you know what? They’re not pooping in my yard, and they didn’t attack me, so I don’t rat them out. I should, as a good citizen, but I do not, as a matter of karma and of not being arsed.