2GoodDogs
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Jaynie, now we have the Dangerous Dog Legislation in GA, and reporting the dog will now put some teeth into the law. 
Scary, and it could have been us!
- Thread starter Sharon7
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scottanddeb
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I pity the dog, person or wild animal that attacks my pack. I have no doubt that Joy & Gage (at least) would risk their lives to defend me. Could I do less?
jail/injury? -this is my family. I protect my family at all costs.
scott
jail/injury? -this is my family. I protect my family at all costs.
scott
Jaynie, now we have the Dangerous Dog Legislation in GA, and reporting the dog will now put some teeth into the law.
Seriously? I thought that had died in legislature last year. When does it go into effect, and who will be enforcing it? Paulding County's Animal Control just plain sucks - takes them over an hour to get out here, and by then, the dogs have disappeared into the countryside. I've tried following them from a distance to see where they live, but it's a huge subdivision, with a lot of surrounding countryside, so I haven't been successful thus far.
Oh my gosh. How scary! This is why we no longer walk Lerwick in our neighborhood, either. Somewhere in our neighborhood there is an Akita and a Pitbull who get loose. These dogs have racked up enough attacks that they should have been surrendered to animal control a couple times over, but each time they are just sent back home to do it again. We were not aware of this, of course, until we had our own puppy. We tended to walk him at the same time of day, and often met a neighbor out doing her walk. She always carried a golf club with her in case they came after her. Many times we either cut our walk short or changed course because she was good enough to warn us that one or both dogs were running loose up the hill.
One day last November, we were walking Lerwick up the hill from our house. When we got to the top of the hill, we saw the Akita wandering around the other end of the street. It hadn't seen us yet and I decided it wasn't going to. We turned around right there and went home, and we have not walked through the neighborhood since. We get in the car and drive to a nearby rec center with a walking trail instead. It's inconvenient, not to mention unfair, that we should have to do this, but I am not going to risk being attacked by a vicious dog because certain pet owners can't be bothered to control their animals, and the law officials can't be bothered to enforce their own laws.
I know there are a lot of extremely gentle Pitbulls out there, and I know that conscientious Pitbull breeders are working really hard to weed out the aggressive bloodlines that were deliberately bred in to make the breed vicious... but how many of the Pitbulls in our neighborhoods came from one of these good breeders? I can say for a fact that the pitbulls around here probably haven't come from one, because several times a year I see some dude selling Pitbull puppies out of his truck by the side of the road about a mile from us. Puppy mills and backyard breeders cause enough trouble with breeds like Shelties, but when you're talking about a Pitbull, the results can literally be deadly.
I really try not to paint the entire breed with the same brush, but it's very difficult. It's very hard not to just condemn the entire breed as dangerous when every one of my friends who has been attacked by a dog, has been attacked by a Pitbull. And that isn't because the majority of dogs around them are Pitbulls, either. I'm talking about friends who live in several different parts of the country... urban, suburban, rural... the setting changes. The scenario doesn't. So it's very difficult for me to remain objective.
One day last November, we were walking Lerwick up the hill from our house. When we got to the top of the hill, we saw the Akita wandering around the other end of the street. It hadn't seen us yet and I decided it wasn't going to. We turned around right there and went home, and we have not walked through the neighborhood since. We get in the car and drive to a nearby rec center with a walking trail instead. It's inconvenient, not to mention unfair, that we should have to do this, but I am not going to risk being attacked by a vicious dog because certain pet owners can't be bothered to control their animals, and the law officials can't be bothered to enforce their own laws.
I know there are a lot of extremely gentle Pitbulls out there, and I know that conscientious Pitbull breeders are working really hard to weed out the aggressive bloodlines that were deliberately bred in to make the breed vicious... but how many of the Pitbulls in our neighborhoods came from one of these good breeders? I can say for a fact that the pitbulls around here probably haven't come from one, because several times a year I see some dude selling Pitbull puppies out of his truck by the side of the road about a mile from us. Puppy mills and backyard breeders cause enough trouble with breeds like Shelties, but when you're talking about a Pitbull, the results can literally be deadly.
I really try not to paint the entire breed with the same brush, but it's very difficult. It's very hard not to just condemn the entire breed as dangerous when every one of my friends who has been attacked by a dog, has been attacked by a Pitbull. And that isn't because the majority of dogs around them are Pitbulls, either. I'm talking about friends who live in several different parts of the country... urban, suburban, rural... the setting changes. The scenario doesn't. So it's very difficult for me to remain objective.
It really terrifies me to read stories like this. My sheltie was once grabbed in a headlock by a pitbull puppy and his owner didn't even know how to break them apart. It was terrifying for both me and Halo but since then I cross the street when I see a larger dog, I know it's unfair but better safe than sorry. Every time I see that pit and his owner(s) walking him around I get so frustrated-- it's so obvious that they don't know how to control or train him. Ugh, these owners. 
It's virtually impossible to be impartial about pit bulls; the statistics speak for themselves in the United States. Just this year alone, 11 out of 16 dogs involved in fatalities were pit bulls or pit bull mixes. (See www.dogsbite.org) Of the remaining 5, they consisted of a German Shepherd, a Husky, a Rottie, a Golden Retriever mix, and a mastiff/Rhodesian ridgeback.
Note that all these dogs were involved in FATALITIES. In other words, they killed HUMAN BEINGS. The pit bulls were the only ones of the group who attacked in pairs. The rest were single person/single dog encounters. The breakdown of victims is telling:
These dogs are prone to attack the weak, the old, the young. Yet in most of these cases, the dogs were not put down, and there were no charges filed against the owners of the dogs. With a few exceptions, most of the dogs were family pets - most of the victims (excepting the infants) more than likely very familiar with the dogs as they belonged to family members.
I do have a friend with two very polite, nicely behaved pit bulls. They are very nicely trained and she is a responsible owner. But would she (or I for that matter) leave the dogs unattended while family members or visitors are in her home? No, she would not. Neither would I. They are just unsafe breeds. The statistics speak for themselves. This is only half the year. How many other deaths will be caused by careless, ignorant owners of these monsters?
I love dogs, but I would never have a dangerous dog in my home. My dogs are trained, given tons of "civilizing" activities, and I think they'd rather die than bite anybody. But I still watch them like a hawk around young children and strangers, as I don't know their early lives and experiences and haven't had them long enough to be able to "read" them as well as I'd like.
You should have to pass a test before owning a breed that kills. You must pass practical and written tests to drive a car - which can become a dangerous weapon. Isn't owning one of these dogs require just as high a level of owner/driver training?
Note that all these dogs were involved in FATALITIES. In other words, they killed HUMAN BEINGS. The pit bulls were the only ones of the group who attacked in pairs. The rest were single person/single dog encounters. The breakdown of victims is telling:
- an 84 year old grandmother, dog owned by her grandson (pit bull)
- a 16 month old child, dog owned by his grandparents (pit bull)
- a 6 year old child, dog owned by a family friend (german shephers - expecially disturbing as the dog was supposedly trained as a medical service dog belonging to a man with PTSD)
- a 2 day old newborn, dog owned by parents (Husky)
- a 59 year old female letter carrier, dog owned by the owner of the property she was delivering to (pit bull)
- a 17 month old child, dog owned by a neighbor (Rottie)
- a 4 year old child, dog owned by a neighbor (pit bull)
- a 92 year old great-grandfather, dogs (2) owned by a neighbor (pit bulls)
- a 2 month old baby, dog owned by his parents (golden retriever mix)
- a 74 year old grandfather, dog owned by the victim himself (pit bull)
- a 15 month old girl, dog owned by her father (pit bull)
- a 73 year old woman, dogs (2) owned by a neighbor (pit bulls)
- a 3 day old newborn, dog owned by her parents (pit bull mix)
These dogs are prone to attack the weak, the old, the young. Yet in most of these cases, the dogs were not put down, and there were no charges filed against the owners of the dogs. With a few exceptions, most of the dogs were family pets - most of the victims (excepting the infants) more than likely very familiar with the dogs as they belonged to family members.
I do have a friend with two very polite, nicely behaved pit bulls. They are very nicely trained and she is a responsible owner. But would she (or I for that matter) leave the dogs unattended while family members or visitors are in her home? No, she would not. Neither would I. They are just unsafe breeds. The statistics speak for themselves. This is only half the year. How many other deaths will be caused by careless, ignorant owners of these monsters?
I love dogs, but I would never have a dangerous dog in my home. My dogs are trained, given tons of "civilizing" activities, and I think they'd rather die than bite anybody. But I still watch them like a hawk around young children and strangers, as I don't know their early lives and experiences and haven't had them long enough to be able to "read" them as well as I'd like.
You should have to pass a test before owning a breed that kills. You must pass practical and written tests to drive a car - which can become a dangerous weapon. Isn't owning one of these dogs require just as high a level of owner/driver training?
Those are very sobering statistics. One cannot argue with them. Just acknowledgement that pits CAN be dangerous would be a step froward. Many owners are unaware how quickly a dog can bite and the damage it can do, and are in denial about the possiblity. Sad. And iresponsible.
I carry pepper spray with me on every walk, even if it's just out in the yard. We have a few dogs in the area who are known to slip their yards; they are friendly but intact and Olive just went through her first heat. I always carried the spray before (and will later) because we also have deer here that have no problem walking up to people. I had a young buck chase my car down the street a few years ago!
