I had a similar personal experience and my actions saved my life.
I am an avid power walker and hiker. I always,
every time I leave the house (even if I'm just driving to Wal-mart for the latest issue of Tactical Warfare magazine...lol), carry a large folding knife that is within legal limits for my area (a Spyderco Para-military II with G10 handle and 4.5 inch blade, for those knifies out there). I have some training and know how to use it.
I was walking in my town early last summer, sweating up a storm, Walkman (only put in one earbud so I can still hear traffic) and walked on the side of the street (not even on sidewalk). A huge, blonde Labrador started way down the street and ran across yards and then into the street toward me, full speed. (photo is not the actual dog, but one just like him). I had only an instant to react, and the knife came out. Obviously I stopped walking and was in the middle of the unbusy street now, and the dog was circling me and barking. Just being friendly--or ready to eat me? Absolutely no way to tell in a split second encounter. All I know is, like the UPS driver, if the dog is within my arm's reach , he is too close and will be hurt. Sure enough, after one or two circlings of me, I'm standing in a prepared "gaucho" position (for those with knife fighting background) and tracking his movement, he lunged in. Rule one of fighting: Always be preemptive. I took that knife and stabbed him in the side of the neck. He took about an inch of the blade. The dog
immediately stopped barking and stood perfectly still, as if he didn't know what hit him. He just stood there, no blood (that I could see), just stood there. Then, in about five seconds, he trotted away back down the street.
I wasted no time and walked to the police station; you can imagine, still sweating from the exercise and adrenaline making my head pop. A little kid in my situation (or just about anyone else, to be honest) would have been devastatingly overwhelmed by that dog. I reported the episode (officer said he had an idea of which dog it was) and the location of the dog and an officer had me show him where it happened. I was sort of fixed on the fact that it occurred on the public way. He said that the location being private or public does not matter; with any dog attack, even on private property, a person is allowed to defend themselves fully and legally by any legal means necessary (such as a legally carried knife; an AK-47, not so much). An hour later, the officer called me and said he spoke with the owner and the dog is not significantly harmed (lucky dog, if he'd have come in two inches closer, he wouldn't be alive now; the key here is that he was coming in on me, not me on him). I could press charges, the officer informed me, but since I wasn't bitten it would likely be no more than a slap on the hand of the owner, a small fine for an unleashed pet, at most. I'd have to go to court (yes, take a day off work to do it), and that would be the outcome. Since the officer had spoken to the owner, I let it go.
So, I agree with what you have all said in this thread. The USP driver did not over-react when he struck the dog; had the small dog been later discovered rabid, bit him and then he hit the dog in the eye, no one would say he over-reacted. He had no way to know. Had the UPS driver been, instead, a neighborhood kid who rode up the driveway on a bicycle, the kid would be in the ER for stitches and shots.
If the dog owner loved their pet--either the one that nearly got me, or the one on the video--they would keep them safely restrained.
Thanks for posting, Hodge. I'm going out of my way to ship
one more package with UPS this week.