Dog day. (Exercising the Right).(use of pistol saves woman and two young girls in attack by rottweilers)

On January 18th, Teresa Castellano was tending her six-year-old daughter Alysa and Alysa's eight-year-old friend Kaitlyn Green at Kaitlyn's home in Tampa, Florida. She and the girls began laughing at something on television when, for some reason, their laughter agitated two Rot-tweilers in the room. When the dogs began barking and growling, Castellano cautioned the girls to be quiet, hoping that the animals would calm down, but it was too late. They attacked.

The February 1st Tampa Tribune reported that Castellano laid on the girls in an attempt to protect them, then tried to hinder the dogs so the girls could scamper to a bedroom. When that didn't work, the Tribune reported: "Castellano and the girls bolted outside the house.... The girls ran to safety in a neighbor's house while Castellano distracted the dogs." But then a pit bull joined the attack.

John Anderson and his wife were driving by when they heard the commotion and saw the three dogs attacking Castellano. Mr. Anderson turned into the Green's driveway and began honking the horn and yelling, hoping to startle the dogs and allow Castellano to reach the vehicle. The dogs stopped biting the woman, but due to her injuries she was unable to make it to the car.

Anderson was about to get out to help when he glanced over his shoulder and noticed a man approaching with a handgun. He kept honking the horn, then sped away to alert Justin Turner, a friend who lived nearby.

The armed man was next-door neighbor Winston Harr, accompanied by his wife Deborah. He had grabbed his .45-caliber pistol when he heard the screaming. The Tribune story continued: "Harr fired three shots into the ground to try and scare the dogs." He and his ...