Whatever floats yer boat...
Rabbits? Not so much. Pit bulls that are trying to shred me or someone else? Pistol gonna go 'Bang!'.
Armed neighbor saves boy from pit bull mauling, KDKA, Pittsburgh, Pa. 01/10/16
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
A husband and wife were at home in Pittsburgh, Pa. when the wife heard the screams of a 14-year-old neighbor. The boy was calling for help, as his 7-year-old brother was under attack by a pit bull. The wife alerted her husband, who retrieved a gun and went to the site of the attack.
When he arrived, the dog was on top of the boy, prompting the husband to shoot the dog in the rear in order to halt the attack and not harm the child. The first shot got the dog off the boy, but as the dog continued to act violently, the husband was forced to fatally shoot the animal. The husband then carried the boy, who suffered facial lacerations, out of the house. (KDKA, Pittsburgh, Pa. 01/10/16)
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2016/01/10/dog-fatally-shot-after-attacking-7-year-old-boy/
OK, so in this case it's justified, at the same time I would not carry one just in case, as I think they do more harm than good.