Question about Law governing Dogs in US?

Question

This is just a hypothetical Question that always makes me wonder..
Let say that a family owned a guard dog (somewhere along Rottweiler, Boxer, or Dobbermann).
A thief came at night to rob the house and he carried a gun.
And he got attacked by the dog causing the death of the thief (or serious injury).

Would the law in US put the owner to prison and killed the dog?
(and in the case of the thief is injured) Is the law permits the thief to sue the owner for physical and mental anguish?

My understanding is that the law actually will euthanize the dog..
Am i wrong? It seemed a bit unfair to me...

Answer 1

Depends on the state, in some states you have the duty to retreat, and this would apply to your dog as well. In states in which the castle doctrine has been passed, you have no duty to retreat, and can confront and kill an armed threat.

Answer 2

That will vary from state to state. If the dog is dangerous and the property owner failed to post proper notice of that fact then there might be some liability there. That would be up to the courts to decide. That said, keeping a vicious dog is illegal in most parts of the country. They usually will be euthanized if they cause injury to anyone, even a thief. In extreme cases, owners have even gone to prison

A properly trained guard dog will NOT cause serious injury to an interloper. They don't attack, they do protect. There is a major difference between the two. If the interloper leaves, the dog will not follow. If he remains still and non-threatening, the dog will hold him, but not attack viciously. In this case, there would be little if any liability to the owner and the dog would not be put down.

Answer 3

There was actually a case where this happened and the owner of the house was sued after the robber was attacked by his dog. The owner actually lost the case and had to pay for damages but was not put in jail. The dog was not euthanized either. I know it just seems so backwards that this burglar could actually win this case, but sometimes our justice system seems a little unfair..

Answer 4

After actor's intentions are determined, I believe the case would be closed with no action taken against the dog, or it's owner. The dog, for all intents and purposes, performed his duties.
If the suspect survived his illegal entry, he would (theoretically), be introduced to his new home. Prison.

Answer 5

There would be no criminal charges against the homeowner. There have been cases were an intruder has sued the homeowner in civil court and the jury awarded damages. It the intruder is dead, he can't sue.

Answer 6

Castle doctrine being...Your home is your castle and you have the right to defend it.

I live in such a state. I have been specifically told to make sure I kill any intruder...then it's my word against no one's. I can claim fear of my life...additionally, if my dog attacked and killed the intruder, I'd shoot him the intruder immediately. Then it would be impossible to determine which killed him, and I could claim I was in fear of my life.