Another Neighbor attacked

Has anyone noticed that you didn't even see pits around years ago.  They seemed to have taken over the dog world!  I don't recall it as a child for sure.  And 70 percent of the mixed breeds at our dog park have pit in them.  They managed in a short amount of time to get their genes into most mutts we see now.  And the adoption groups have tons.  I have seen them drop pit from the dog mix descriptions even to try to home them. 
Anyone who knows dogs can see the pit mix a mile away but it seems to make others feel more comfortable not mentioning it.  I generally unless I already know the dog and his play style will not let Dublin play with a new pit who shows up at our park till I observe them a bit.  But I also tend to be onguard with other dogs in general just to see if they are socialized well or not.  You can tell rather quickly.  I don't want my dog to be the test subject for how well their dog will handle a first time dog park visit.  Nope not my dog.  On the other hand we have had incounters with labs that are very aggressive and such and the other day a small terrier went nuts over someone drinking his water.  Luckily my dog backs down and takes heed quickly and doesn't forget who is safe and who is to be avoided.  He has been bitten by small dogs most often.  Ankle biters.  That being said.  My take on this topic is that I would rather NOT have a pit living two doors down.  Why....?  The owner isn't using common sense and lets her off leach in a close area with children and other dogs all over.  Its a time bomb.  I am curious why so many choose this breed in the first place.  With so many wonderful breeds to chose from why put yourself in the fire so to speak?   Like if you get one..then why be upset when you know that others will react in a certain way towards you.  Is it that you like the drama of it?  The danger of it?  Do you like peoples reactions?  I don't get it.  I only do sporting breeds for a reason.  I don't want to be protected. 
I want a pet.  I want a dog my family and friends aren't afraid to approach and know they can walk into the house to a greeting not a weapon.  I would get a gun for protection.  Not use a dog for it.  Its my companion.  But I want a good citizen too.  Welcomed into our community without hesitation.  I don't hate all pits. But I am wary of them too.  I am not walking my dog in our neighborhood like I used too because I need a valium to do it.  Its too freaky for us.  We are safer with our friends in the dog park where we know who is coming and going.  I can control it better that way.  Which makes no sense does it  It should be the other way around.  But with young children walking not one but two pits up the street daily here...I don't believe that is safe for Dublin and I to approach on leach towards them.  No freakin way!  I am sick of the all breeds bite arguments.  Not all bite to kill.  Not all maim and tear apart dogs and kids.  Some bite and run off.  I just want the peace I felt years ago walking my dog.  I just want the security I used to feel owning a dog.  Thank god my kids are older and don't run on sidewalks to the park or ride bikes anymore.  I would fear for them.  From many breeds not just pits.;   I guess its will be my turn to get attacked from the masses here.  So be it.  I feed Purina I can take it!

Maybe it is becaause i live in a smallish town, pop 9300, but we see loose dogs all the time. The black lab at the end of the street is often free in the front yard, the golden chow around the corner is almost alway laying in the front yard or street, there a a couple of small dogs that roam around the neighborhood all the time.  Even the cocker mix next door is often running free.  The pit that came after my old golden as my husband walked it was kept in the back yard and the guy didn't know how it got ou.  We didn't even know it lived there, never saw it again before they moved.  The animal control was scared of the two that dug under the fence into linda's yard behind me and would not even attempt to remove them.  She had to wait til owners came home.  They had dug under the fence from their yard into her yard as she had known they would eventally due because of the way they acted on the other side of the wood fence when her dogs or her foster dogs when near the fence.  The one that went after Buck seemed to have never even glanced at my hubby--he was just intent on getting our 12 year arthrtic  boy.
 
My dogs are never allowed out of the fenced in back yard/house without being on a leash.  I do not worry at all about them attacking another dog or person--just to darn scared they would get hit by a car...since that pit moved, the ones catty corner to your back yard have moved--the ones we suspect were being trained for fights--and the pit/boxer mix that attacked the little girl 2 houses down was killed.  For some reason i have never worried about that golden chow because i have seen her surrounded by kids and those two little dogs that run free all over the neighborhood.
 
A couple of times i have  seen a "pack" running free (not in our neighborhood)), but I do think it was male dogs following a female in heat.  Many, many yards in this little town are not fenced, most the older homes.
 
But at any rate, the size town/city you live in, the neighborhood, determines if dogs are allowed to roam around or not.We do have leash law but many do not obey it at all.  No, I have never been attacked by a pit, but I do remember how pale my hubby was, and shaking when he brought Buck in that morning at the one tried to get him.  I rememer the stitches, the scares the surgeries Val had to go thru on her face after the pit/boxer mix got her, and i remember how terrifed linda was that those dogs would get back in her yrad when she wasn't there to get her dogs/fosters into safelty.  She had a cememt sidewalk poured along that fence to try to prevent it from happening again. Yes, they make me very nervous and I hope none ever move back into this neighborhood again.  As proven by the one that got out of the fenced yard and came afer Buck, they can get out  And they can dig under fences.  And in either of these cases, if they are dog agressive, your dog is in danger.
 
 

in Leon county if you complain the ACO hops to it. and if your dog gets caught in the trap you get a ticket.. depending on the severity of the problem your fine is anywhere from $200 to $500.... and if its a repeat... you can bank on it being $500 and pay the court fees which totals $700..... there are leash laws but you have to actually report them.
if your town is slipping in that department then there needs to be something done by the citizens.

I have a question for you, should we let the dogs bite a kid first and then do something about it, or try to stop it from happening. 

 
Well, since any dog can bite, let's muzzle or ban them all. Forget any good behavior, a dog still has jaws and can bite. Should we let person A get in a car accident with person B, or just prevent it from happening? Ok, let's ban all driving. Should we let doctor A make a mistake on person B, or prevent it from happening by banning doctors?

I'm sorry, losinsusan, but both the 'mean aggressive pit bull' and 'mean little ankle biters' are BOTH stereotypes that perpetuate because of individual dogs not being properly contained and trained and socialized.

I highly doubt that anyone here got a pit bull for it to look mean, if that's what you're insinuating or that they 'like the drama'.  I certiantly didn't get a papillon so it could be called an ankle biter all the time.  Sure some people get pits for the image, but not everyone, maybe not even most.  When a breed gets popular, it goes downhill.  That's just the way it works.  Sporting dogs are not immune to this either.

More to say, but I gotta run to class. 

ORIGINAL: whtsthfrequency

I have a question for you, should we let the dogs bite a kid first and then do something about it, or try to stop it from happening. 

 
Well, since any dog can bite, let's muzzle or ban them all. Forget any good behavior, a dog still has jaws and can bite. Should we let person A get in a car accident with person B, or just prevent it from happening? Ok, let's ban all driving. Should we let doctor A make a mistake on person B, or prevent it from happening by banning doctors?

What would be your explanation to this mother, about what happened that almost cost her baby it's life?  
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/09/06/bloom.pit.bull.attack.kron

I don't even think it is city animal control, but county run.  I know they would not even attempt to get those pits out of Linda's yard...were to scared of them.  I know the boxer/pit mix that attacked Val was killed on the spot but i think that was by cops.  As far as i know there are only 2 guys working AC and they can't work 24/7, so no way are most roaming dogs going to get picked up.
 
Heck, our city is so broke they didnt even up up the lighted decorations on the poles thru town last Christmas because they didn't want to pay the added electric nor the man power to put them up--had a "city manager" that spent money the city didn't have and now the town is struggling to replensh the few hundred thousand dollars he spent.....before he was caught and fired.

What would be your explanation to this mother, about what happened that almost cost her baby it's life?

 
O, you mean the one where the city knew that the dog had bitten before and apparently didn't do anything about it.
 
By the way what do you think about the statement I posted from the person that says that breed bans don't work!!!
 

ORIGINAL: noblewoman

Wow! This topic is like 10 pages long! Unbelievable. If you know how he feels why don't all of you who disagree with Bob just ignore the topic? He's entitled to feel any way he wants! You can disagree with him- that's your right. But to go on and on like this is ridiculous. You aren't going to change Bob's mind and he isn't going to change yours.

All of you owners of pit bulls, let me tell you- my dog (beagle mix about 35 pounds) and I were attacked one night (about 18 months ago) by a Pit Bull who was out alone roaming the street. We were doing nothing but simply out for a quick walk minding out own business.
I was terrified, and I do mean terrified. The PB was not provoked in any way and just suddenly attacked my dog. He was going to kill my poor dog and I couldn't stop him! I was screaming for help and literally trying to pry the PB's mouth off my dog in hopes he would let go. My dog was screaming in a way that I don't ever want to hear again, it was awful. I had one hand on my dog to keep him from being dragged away and the other hand in the pit bulls mouth trying to get him to let go. Someone finally heard me screaming and came out and tried to hit the PB with a shovel to make him let go. It didn't work. Finally the man grabbed him by the collar and pulled him off. The police were called and an ambulance. My son came and took our dog to the emergency vets and the ambulance took me to the hospital. My hand was pretty messed up as you can imagine and I needed stitches. Was it my fault that I was injured? Yes. Would I do it again to save my dog? Yes. I would've gladly lost my fingers or hand to save him. Was it my dogs fault that he was injured? Hell no! It was the owner of that stupid dog. But at the same time I have to tell you quite honestly that I don't like the breed anymore. And I feel I have every right to feel this way and am justified in feeling this way. Unless you have been involved personally in an attack, you don't know what it's like!! It is terrifying. Without a doubt the worst experience I've ever been through, with the exception of my mother passing away.
Luckily both of us survived the ordeal and recovered. My dog hates other dogs now- especially large ones. He's afraid of them. He will go out of his way to avoid other dogs. As for me, do I hate PB? Yes. I have personally experienced what they are capable of and I will not let anyone 'guilt' me into feeling differently. If a Rottie had attacked us I would probably hate Rotties. Or a poodle for that matter.

Do I think they should be outlawed? That's up to the residents of each city. Add it to the ballot on election day.

Do I think Pitbulls should all be euthanized? No, of course not. If someone can be responsible with them and keep them controlled, fine. I just don't want them near me or my dog.
Yes, the owners are ultimately responsible. But I do feel that PB can be very efficient at killing things and unless people can be responsible, then maybe there should be a special license to own them. Or perhaps they need to take a course first on dog care and safety before they can own one. And if you have a police record- you can't own them. I don't know. I'm just tossing things out here.

I now carry pepper spray, a cell phone and a pocket knife with us on our walks. It makes me feel safer, but I'll tell you, I get really pissed when I see a dog running loose.

The reason that they have to keep attacking anyone that posts incidents involving Pit Bulls,. is that they don't want this information brought to light.  They usually try to demonize the poster ( don't like the message, shoot the messenger), or try and blame it on the victim, the media, the phase of the moon, animal control, or some other repetitive argument that always get's brought up.  They have no solution to the problem, only blame placing on the owner of the dog(s).  My question which they never answer, is , what good  is placing the blame for an attack on the owner, after the victim is attacked, and  possibly maimed or killed by one of these out of control dogs?  This question always get's ignored. You will also notice a very common tone to the posts in these threads.  A very tiny percentage of the posts will mention anything at all about the victim of the attack and what they went though.  Almost all the posts will be trying to place blame on everything but the attacking dog. If you doubt what I am saying, read the posts.......

Bob, is it safe to assume that you are a Micheal Vick supporter? 
 
He did kill some pit bulls, & you seem to support the death of pit bulls.
 
You just keep breed bashing without truly knowing the breed.
[sm=blah2.gif][sm=blah2.gif][sm=blah2.gif]  (You know, I bet an awesome jazz pianist could set some music to go along with this icon....)

bobsk8,

you have previously stated that you volunteer for a rescue that places pit bulls. this seems to be in direct contrast to what you seem to be promoting, and that is that all pit bulls are mean and vicious human aggressive animals.

how can you in good conscience help place such animals?

ORIGINAL: BEVOLASVEGAS

Bob, is it safe to assume that you are a Micheal Vick supporter? 

He did kill some pit bulls, & you seem to support the death of pit bulls.

You just keep breed bashing without truly knowing the breed.
[sm=blah2.gif][sm=blah2.gif][sm=blah2.gif]  (You know, I bet an awesome jazz pianist could set some music to go along with this icon....)

I was at the Demostration against Vick at the Falcons practice field a coule of weeks ago.  What did you do regarding the problem.?  Probably nothing......

ORIGINAL: cyclefiend2000

bobsk8,

you have previously stated that you volunteer for a rescue that places pit bulls. this seems to be in direct contrast to what you seem to be promoting, and that is that all pit bulls are mean and vicious human aggressive animals.

how can you in good conscience help place such animals?

Where did I say that all Pit Bulls are mean and human aggressive, or is this something else that you are accusing me of saying that isn't true?   Don't you get tired of making up stuff and posting that I said it, with no backup to your wild claims?  It's really a shame that you can't discuss something without trying to slander someone else. [&:]

ORIGINAL: Bobsk8

Where did I say that all Pit Bulls are mean and human aggressive,

 
So then you are against BSL for this breed.  I would like to understand what you want. 

I was at the Demostration against Vick at the Falcons practice field a coule of weeks ago. What did you do regarding the problem.? Probably nothing......

 
Like that made any difference.
 
Why aren't you out there posting Jonathan Babineaux or is it ok to club a pitbull to death?