Tough question. The problem is in any confrontation you risk escalation. If you are not ready and willing to Kill to defend yourself then I would say you need to keep your distance and call the authorities. You walk up and tell them to stop, what are you going to do when instead of stopping they turn their aggravation on you? Pick up a rock, or a stick, or knife or even a gun and threaten you with it? Remember your already dealing with a potentially unbalanced person. You don't know what their motivation is for their violence. Personally I do not think an animals life is worth a human life, no matter how innocent the animal is or how deranged the person is.
So my answer is: I would call it in.
If instead of an animal it was a person, I would intervene.
My son snuck around the house, his friend watched, and took a few rocks and threw it hard and hit one of the kids in the head. My son is very tall and lanky. He probably doesn't look like a young teenager if he's going after someone younger. Supposedly, the kids were younger. The boys yelled back and my son took after them, cursing and throwing stuff at them and telling them to leave the dog alone. The boys took off in a hard run.
Originally Posted by ElisabethWhispers
The problem here is what would you have told this other kids mother if the rock your son threw had caused permanent brain damage? What if it had killed the other kid? Extremely unlikely I know, and I'm not at all trying to demonize your son. However extremely unlikely it is still a possible consequence.