True story: The other day I was running with my dog and suddenly another dog that we ran by broke free of the owner’s grasp and attacked my dog. This dog was a more vicious breed than my dog, as well as quite a bit bigger and heavier, so once he had his jaws clamped around my dog’s neck, my dog fell to the ground helpless. The dogs were separated as quickly as possible, but not without my dog incurring injury.

Afterwards as I spoke with the attacking dog’s owner, we disagreed about the course of action that should have been taken. I did whatever I could to ensure my dog would sustain the least amount of injury, as well as keeping myself a safe distance from teeth and claws. While I didn’t wish injury on the other dog, I did plan on reporting it to animal control. The other owner said she wouldn’t have reported my dog if the tables were turned, but she would have kicked her in the face instead to protect herself.

There is a lot of controversy over the humaneness of using Tasers as defense weapons against vicious animal attacks, specifically dogs. How is a Taser, which generally inflicts no lasting damage, any less humane than this woman’s natural response, which was to purposely inflict bodily harm, most likely disfiguring at that, on my animal? Surely the animal rights activists can see how the argument that Tasers are inhumane is flawed when compared to other alternatives.