Pit Bull and Other Dog Attacks.

[Nova]

The best decision was to never have had a monkey as a pet and to do some research before you bought one.

I think Cheko1 knows that now. It was the point of her post.

Your post seems gratuitously heartless. I don't see the point of that.

 

[southcitymom]

poco,
I bought a sweet darling baby monkey several yrs ago. He was only 11 days old. He was dearly loved by all of us. He had his own room, TV, plenty of room to run around out doors. Could ramble in the trees etc etc.This little fella was loved, cherished & apart of our family.

That said, at the drop of a hat his mood changed. He could & would turn on anyone. I was his first victim, he decided one day he wasn't going to go into his cage & I for sure wasn't going to make him. He bit me / scratched me & I won the battle. But alas he never forgot.....it steadily got worse. We knew we were headed for trouble. I have alot of Grandkids & feared he'd bite or hurt one of them.

2 yrs ago we made the decision to put him into a sanctuary.....no place would take a spoiled monkey. He had to have a dilly bar every night & would cry til he got it. Trust me when I say we TRIED everything to find him a 'good' home, to no avail.

We had him put to sleep 2 yrs ago, the hardest thing we have ever done. We cried like babies for wks. Not a day goes by that I don't think of my Cheko. But it was for the best & everyone is safe & sound. It was the best decision we ever made!

I'm so sorry, cheko1. That must have been a hard decision.

 

[Nova]

I'm so sorry, cheko1. That must have been a hard decision.

I put down a cat with diabetes so severe she could no longer feel or use her hind legs. I couldn't be at home with her all the time and I couldn't leave her laying in her own filth for hours at a time, when she had once been so fastidious.

That decision still haunts me 8 years later, though I know it was the right thing to do.

Cheko1 had to put down a healthy animal because of behavioral problems that weren't the animal's fault.

It was the right thing to do, but I can barely imagine how difficult that was.

 

[southcitymom]

I put down a cat with diabetes so severe she could no longer feel or use her hind legs. I couldn't be at home with her all the time and I couldn't leave her laying in her own filth for hours at a time, when she had once been so fastidious.

That decision still haunts me 8 years later, though I know it was the right thing to do.

Cheko1 had to put down a healthy animal because of behavioral problems that weren't the animal's fault.

It was the right thing to do, but I can barely imagine how difficult that was.

It is tough, Nova.

In the last 6 years, I have had to put down two cats and a dog - 2 for health reasons and one for a behavioral/health reason and, though I have no regrets and know we did the right thing, it is never easy. I deeply understand the pain cheko1 must have gone through in making the decision with her monkey.

 

[SadieMae]

The best decision was to never have had a monkey as a pet and to do some research before you bought one.

I think Cheko1 knows that now. It was the point of her post.

Your post seems gratuitously heartless. I don't see the point of that.

I don't think Boyzmomee was being heartless. It happens tooo often! The animal pays for the lack of reseaching ownership in the end, as in this case. That cute little furry thing is so irresistable, you have to have it. When it grows into what it's SUPPOSED to be, it's a problem. Why a problem? Because all the things associated with owning the animal wasn't researched. Seen it happen way to many times with Danes in rescue. The dogs are mistreated, abandoned, or volutarily given up "because it got to big"...I mean WTF! why did they get one in the first place? They really had no idea that 6 week old ball of fluff was going to grow into a 140 pound dog? Pretty much everything to maintain that animal is going to cost 3X more than a 40 pound dog.

There was a very valid point made by Boyz. It applies to all animal ownership, including pits. Some people as we have seen in stories of pit attacks, should never have owned the animal.

 

[Texana]

You know, if an animal is being sold legally as a pet, I'm not sure we can fault the prospective buyers for not doing every bit of research possible and knowing all the "downsides" of ownership.

And on the issue of pit bull physical aspects: They have big ol' fat honkin' jaws, for pete's sakes. Look at a pit bull. Look at a chihuahua. Tell me which one you think is going to hurt more when it bites.

I'm pretty sure I can kick an aggressive chihuahua off my ankle. (and we actually encounter one rather frequently on our walks through the neighborhood, proof that idiocy in dog ownership crosses all breeds--"Oh! Watch out for him! He bites!") but I'm not so sure about a pit bull, which is considerably heavier and more muscled.

I've lived next door to a pit bull that escaped the backyard on a frequent basis. It's not a good feeling.

 

[SadieMae]

You know, if an animal is being sold legally as a pet, I'm not sure we can fault the prospective buyers for not doing every bit of research possible and knowing all the "downsides" of ownership.

And on the issue of pit bull physical aspects: They have big ol' fat honkin' jaws, for pete's sakes. Look at a pit bull. Look at a chihuahua. Tell me which one you think is going to hurt more when it bites.

I'm pretty sure I can kick an aggressive chihuahua off my ankle. (and we actually encounter one rather frequently on our walks through the neighborhood, proof that idiocy in dog ownership crosses all breeds--"Oh! Watch out for him! He bites!") but I'm not so sure about a pit bull, which is considerably heavier and more muscled.

I've lived next door to a pit bull that escaped the backyard on a frequent basis. It's not a good feeling.

Knowing the downside of pet ownership is being a responsible owner. Researching the animal you own protects the owner and the animal. I am very knowlegeable of the breed I've owned. Their behavior, health problems, etc. If I couldn't handle them I wouldn't own them. The owners of the pit next door should have corrected aspects of their backyard to prevent the dog from escaping after the first time. I would not own an aggressive breed, of any size, because I don't want any animal I own to bite anyone.

 

[southcitymom]

Knowing the downside of pet ownership is being a responsible owner....

This is true, but it is equally true that many of us learn things through hard-won experience and empathy is often called for.

There are, of course, people (like my Mom, for example) who see pets as dispensable and make unsconscionable decisions based on that. But people who love an animal enough to adopt it and commit to it can still find themselves in tough spots from time to time for various reasons.

 

[dingo]

Some breeds are more of a danger than others....IMO its as simple as that.
A pure bred dog is going to show traits of the breed....my lab for example is forever bringing me things...whether it be a towell or a bathmat...he is always dropping stuff at my feet or in my lap....imo this is the retriever coming out in him.
We have friends with a Border Collie which spends alot of time herding their chickens as this breed is especially bred to herd sheep.....neither of theses dogs have been trained to do these things..its bred into them and I think purebreds are automatically programmed at birth to do what they have been bred to do.
Sadly the pittbull is a breed that have been bred to fight and the ones doing the killing are simply doing what they are designed for.:truce:

 

[SadieMae]

Some breeds are more of a danger than others....IMO its as simple as that.
A pure bred dog is going to show traits of the breed....my lab for example is forever bringing me things...whether it be a towell or a bathmat...he is always dropping stuff at my feet or in my lap....imo this is the retriever coming out in him.
We have friends with a Border Collie which spends alot of time herding their chickens as this breed is especially bred to herd sheep.....neither of theses dogs have been trained to do these things..its bred into them and I think purebreds are automatically programmed at birth to do what they have been bred to do.
Sadly the pittbull is a breed that have been bred to fight and the ones doing the killing are simply doing what they are designed for.:truce:

Looking the history of the breed it's true they were bred for fighting. It was considered a sport. Breeders did try to develop it into milder mannered dog after fighting was outlawed. But those fight genes are still passed on. The problem happens when backyard breeders indiscriminately breed these dogs. They are not trying to make that fight instict recessive. Those that have illegal dog fights kill the weak and those dogs not willing to fight.

 

[Texana]

Looking the history of the breed it's true they were bred for fighting. It was considered a sport. Breeders did try to develop it into milder mannered dog after fighting was outlawed. But those fight genes are still passed on. The problem happens when backyard breeders indiscriminately breed these dogs. They are not trying to make that fight instict recessive. Those that have illegal dog fights kill the weak and those dogs not willing to fight.

So in other words, dog owners of the breed have legally (because there are no consequences for doing so) bred this kind of dog into an aggressive animal that is genetically wired to fight.

And the rest of us should willingly accept that our neighbors should be able to own these animals without any kind of license or other requirement that differentiates them from a hamster or a bunny rabbit?

Why should I have to take on the financial and physical responsibility to rebuild my fence, because my neighbor bought a pit bull? That's what we have to do. We don't know if Mr. Next Door Neighbor is a "good" owner or not. We don't know if the dog is a "good dog" or not.

We only know that this dog has jaws three or four times the size of any other dog and a breed history for attacking or killing. There haven't been any publicized reports of poodles going wild and please, don't tell me that the news just underreports that breed's actions.

A poodle attacking and killing or a couple of shi-tzus would get the news attention in a hurry.

You can talk all day about how safe these dogs are with "the right owner" or when "bred responsibly" and that still means that a couple of pit bulls can attack and kill me when I'm taking out the garbage on my own property.

What's wrong with that picture? I'll defend your owning a handgun, but I won't defend your owning a pit bull.

 

[SadieMae]

So in other words, dog owners of the breed have legally (because there are no consequences for doing so) bred this kind of dog into an aggressive animal that is genetically wired to fight.

And the rest of us should willingly accept that our neighbors should be able to own these animals without any kind of license or other requirement that differentiates them from a hamster or a bunny rabbit?

Why should I have to take on the financial and physical responsibility to rebuild my fence, because my neighbor bought a pit bull? That's what we have to do. We don't know if Mr. Next Door Neighbor is a "good" owner or not. We don't know if the dog is a "good dog" or not.

We only know that this dog has jaws three or four times the size of any other dog and a breed history for attacking or killing. There haven't been any publicized reports of poodles going wild and please, don't tell me that the news just underreports that breed's actions.

A poodle attacking and killing or a couple of shi-tzus would get the news attention in a hurry.

You can talk all day about how safe these dogs are with "the right owner" or when "bred responsibly" and that still means that a couple of pit bulls can attack and kill me when I'm taking out the garbage on my own property.

What's wrong with that picture? I'll defend your owning a handgun, but I won't defend your owning a pit bull.

I would never and never have owned a pit bull. I'm also not responsible for dogs people breed. Until the dogs are banned in your neighborhood...you will have to put up with your neighbors pit. If they are not responsible enough owners to put in a secure fence, then to protect your family, I guess you do what you have to do. Believe me, if a pit lived next door to me. It has one chance to escape in my yard and attack any person or animal in it. It would be the last time. And there are detriments of owning the dogs, many homeowner's policy will not insure you if you have a pit. My bottom line is if you can't control it, then don't own it.

 

[Jolynna]

I have to agree that certain animals are bred for specific reasons.

I found a stray Jack Russell wandering in my yard. It was thin, every rib showing and it was scared and shaking. So, naturally, I took it in.

He was adorable, looked like the dog in Mask and got along wonderfully with the dogs we already had. However, when I looked up Jack Russells, all of the Jack Russell websites said that this breed could not be trusted with other small animals.

Sure enough, within a day, Jack was chasing our cats.

Articles I read online said Jack Russells had been known to kill cats they had lived with and gotten along with for years and years. And that the Jack Russells should never be left alone with smaller animals.

So, even if I could train Jack to leave cats alone now, that didn't mean cats would be safe with him in the future. There was no way I would keep a dog that might one day kill one of my cats.

We found another home for Jack. One that didn't have other pets.

I would not endanger my cats. I also would not have a pit bull. Not unless I had pens as sturdy as the tiger cages in zoos. I do believe individual pit bulls can be loving, wonderful and intelligent pets. But, so was Elsa the lion featured in the movie Born Free. And we've all seen loving tigers on animal planet.

Which still doesn't make tigers, lions or even pit bulls, pets people should own and keep where they can be exposed to and get at people...especially children.

IMO

 

[SadieMae]

Jolynna...that's exactly what I was trying to explain about researching the breed. If you had not done that with the dog you found you would have had the heartache of losing your cats to it.
Dog breeds were developed to have certain temperaments and traits. If you have cats, research what breed get along with them. If you intend to get a dog and you have very small children, get a dog suited to them. If you want to have more than one dog, find breeds that enjoy the company of other dogs. If a breed needs lots of outdoor exercise, don't get it if you live in a small apartment and there's no place for it run. If you get a dog that requires a lot of grooming and you don't have the time or funds to maintain it, find another breed. If you really want a dog but are allergic, get a poodle. If you want a dog,but work long hours without a lot of time to spend with it, get a breed that doesn't always have to be with you to be happy. If you want to get a dog that is like the breed standards, get the dog from reputable breeder, not out of someones backyard or a pet store. A reputable breeder will have the ancestry of the dog andtheir goal is to produce dogs that meet the breed standard. Just because it looks like the breed, a backyard breeder has no such information to give you as how that dog will be to breed standards. A little research is all it takes for a happy pet and pet owner.

 

[LinasK]

And on the issue of pit bull physical aspects: They have big ol' fat honkin' jaws, for pete's sakes. Look at a pit bull. Look at a chihuahua. Tell me which one you think is going to hurt more when it bites.

I'm pretty sure I can kick an aggressive chihuahua off my ankle. (and we actually encounter one rather frequently on our walks through the neighborhood, proof that idiocy in dog ownership crosses all breeds--"Oh! Watch out for him! He bites!") but I'm not so sure about a pit bull, which is considerably heavier and more muscled.

I've lived next door to a pit bull that escaped the backyard on a frequent basis. It's not a good feeling.

Exactly! Some people will say all dogs can bite, true, but how many Golden Retriever bites are fatal???:doh: And why aren't Golden Retrievers the drug dealers dog of choice??? Pit Bulls are bred to be canine weapons and should be banned as a breed for that reason alone. It's ridiculous to think that that would happen to German Shepherds.:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: Presa Canarios maybe, but their maulings are fatal also, as the in the Bay Area case of Dianne Whipple.
I recently had an old guy in a dog park try his best to convince my 6-year-old and her friend that his pit bull was harmless. The breed is inherently mentally unstable and prone to snap, no matter who bred them. (Another friend who worked for the local animal rescue, and evaluated the temperment of many pits for possible adoption, told me she would NEVER own one, and she owns 3 dogs!!!) I stood there silently ready to lunge at it if it attacked, my slight comfort was that her friend's mother was also there and we had two huge black labs between us also if necessary to fight off this pit. The jerk also had an aggressive female mixed breed with him. GRRRR!!!

 

[dingo]

Hi LinasK.....if the pit had decided to attack, the labs wouldnt have stood a chance up against it.

 

[SadieMae]

Hi LinasK.....if the pit had decided to attack, the labs wouldnt have stood a chance up against it.

I agree. The labs may be bigger in size but they don't have the kill instict a pit has. I have heard of a pit killing a Great Dane, and that Danes are prized as a bait dog for pits.

 

[dingo]

Thats terrible SadieMae.....the people breeding these dogs to kill should be thrown into a ring with a couple of them...it makes me sick to think of it.
I have read that a labs mouth is far too soft to do any real damage in a short time.....ofcourse they can snap and bite but as you said they lack the killer instinct......once again its all about breeding..labs have soft mouths to insure they dont damage the game when they are retrieving it.

 

[catsmeow]

OT.......Frank is absoutley beautiful.

Just wanted to say THANKS! :crazy:

 

[dingo]

Youre welcome