“A pit bull named Big Boi began menacing George and Shellie Zimmerman in the fall of 2009,” Reuters reports in an excellent post about the background to the Trayvon Martin homicide. “The first time the dog ran free and cornered his wife Shellie in their gated community in Sanford, Florida, George called the owner to complain. The second time, Big Boi frightened his mother-in-law’s dog. Zimmerman called Seminole County Animal Services and bought pepper spray. The third time he saw the dog on the loose, he called again. An officer came to the house, county records show. ‘Don’t use pepper spray,’ he told the Zimmermans, according to a friend. ‘It’ll take two or three seconds to take effect, but a quarter second for the dog to jump you,’ he said. ‘Get a gun.'”