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May 5, 2006
On dogs
Please understand, I love critters. I love dogs, I love cats, I love squirrels, chipmunks, bunnies, birds, horses, and all other furry or feathery critters that God put here on this earth.
Yesterday, in Independence, Missouri, 3 Pit Bull dogs, running lose, mauled and seriously injured 3 different men in 3 different incidents. One man is in critical condition.
Oddly enough, 2 of the men were mowing grass when attacked.
The police had to shoot the dogs, these were horrible violent attacks that were completely unprovoked.
The really bad local TV channel interviewed a witness. He was upset that the dogs were killed in front of his son. I would be upset that dogs tried to kill 3 men in front of his son.
Good God, people, if you own a Pit Bull or a Rottie or a Chow, you are responsible for the actions of those dogs. Keep them in your well-fenced yard or in a kennel.
I will bet you anything Independence will now ban Pit Bulls from the city. And after this horrible incident, I would not blame them. I just hope that the police track down the owners of the three dogs and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.
Now, then, there are wonderful, brave dogs - like this little daschund named PeeWee who chased away an armed robber to protect his owner.
Posted by Beth at May 5, 2006 8:21 AM
Comments
Unfortunately in Omaha we've had a number of incidents with pit bulls in particular. Once the Humane Society gets ahold of them (whether they are strays or were causing "problems") they usually get destroyed. The ban has been brought up multiple times in Nebraska as well.
You're right - I'd think worrying about watching dogs almost kill humans would be a bit more traumatizing to a child than watching said dogs get shot. People are a strange breed at times, huh?
Posted by: Merri at May 5, 2006 9:42 AM
Yes, we all have to be responsible owners when we have pets.I cringe everytime I hear a story about unsupervised dogs attacking children or adults.I sure do hope the owners of those dogs are found and prosecuted.
Posted by: keewee at May 5, 2006 9:46 AM
I've seen both stories already.
Lost in the fracas over pit bulls and other 'dangerous breeds' is the fact that the little dogs like PeeWee are much more likely to attack people. They just don't (usually) do enough damage to make the news.
In these cases PeeWee was definitely being a good dog and the three pits were not.
Results would have been somewhat different had I been one of the people attacked (unlikely since I don't live in Independence). The cops would have had at least one less dog to shoot. If attacked while mowing I would have had an advantage over at least one of the guys - I use a push mower, not a rider, and I can swing it up to show you the spinny bit if needed. What can I say, I get bored while mowing and have time to wonder about all sorts of things.
Posted by: KCSteve at May 5, 2006 1:48 PM
SHOOT THE FRIGGIN' OWNER, NOT THE DOGS. The SOBs that don't take care of their dogs need to be locked up or fined to the extent that people stop and think before they teach dogs to be mean or allow them to run wild.
Pit Bulls are't dangerous, it's the people who own them who are dangerous....
Now, I'll get off my soapbox, stop raging and do something constructive...like hug my dogs.
Posted by: vicki at May 5, 2006 6:19 PM
Bottom line for me: if a person owns an aggresive, dominate breed like pits or rotties, there is added responsibility [a.k.a. liability] with those breeds.
It's tougher to get homeowner's insurance... you can never turn your back on them... and containment becomes a huge issue.
Why bother?
Oh, and the difference between a 15lb dachshund and a 115lb rottie should be clear: One can kill you, one can't.
Posted by: pam at May 6, 2006 6:10 AM
I think the *real* lesson here is "don't mow the lawn" :-)
Posted by: Harvey at May 6, 2006 4:38 PM