Talkin' bout Pitbulls : Should this dog have been put down?

[SinistrV6]

The author of the article summed up my stance very clearly in their closing paragraph...

"We have lost our moral perspective when we don't recognize that the rights, safety, and welfare of children take precedence over even our most beloved pets. If any of my dogs ever bit a child and caused serious injury, I would seek a different, safer environment for the dog or, more likely, put him or her down, unwilling to ever take the chance that it might happen again. It wouldn't matter whose fault it was, if anyone's. "

And, no, it wouldn't matter if the dog was some other breed. If you own a dog large enough and strong enough to inflict serious damage on a human being, you run the risk of losing that dog if/when it attacks someone. Doesn't matter whose fault it is, the human must take priority over the dog.

 

[Nasty Wendy]

FYI not all humans are angels.

I read a story about a 10 year old kid poking a dog through a chain link fence with a piece of re-bar. He aggravated and aggitated the dog until the dog naturally wanted a piece of his azz. The kid continued to play his new found game accidently hit the gate latch with the re-bar and let the dog out. Guess what happened? The dog was put down because he bit the kid in the face. This happened in the dog's (owner's) yard. The dog's owner was sued as well. My opinion is the kid got what he deserved. I guess the decision to put the dog down was made by folks who think that dogs that bite kids should be put down regardless of circumstance. I disagree with that.

 

[V8Assassin]

FYI not all humans are angels.

I read a story about a 10 year old kid poking a dog through a chain link fence with a piece of re-bar. He aggravated and aggitated the dog until the dog naturally wanted a piece of his azz. The kid continued to play his new found game accidently hit the gate latch with the re-bar and let the dog out. Guess what happened? The dog was put down because he bit the kid in the face. This happened in the dog's (owner's) yard. The dog's owner was sued as well. My opinion is the kid got what he deserved. I guess the decision to put the dog down was made by folks who think that dogs that bite kids should be put down regardless of circumstance. I disagree with that.

Reminds of the kid a few years ago who got attacked by a shark while wading waist deep in the Gulf of Mexico with a net bag full of chum hanging from him. All anyone heard was the poor kid who got attacked and the "summer of the shark" for the rest of the summer.

Almost all incidents of human injury by animals can be traced back to stupid humans.

I have a German Shepard who is as sweet as pie, but at night behind the gate he can be very intimidating. He knows the difference between when the gate is open and it is closed, it's like he is a different dog. Also, he seems to sense the ones who are "up to no good". There have been a few times I have had to tell people not to stick their hands through the gate to mess with him. I just don't get it, I see a dog behind a gate and the last thing I think is let's go play.

BTW Spice should have been set free in the country on a farm or something, and all the people involved should have been put down for being stupid. The owner for having that type of dog there, the other people for being stupid enough to run up to a dog who just killed another one freaking out.

 

[SinistrV6]

FYI not all humans are angels.

I read a story about a 10 year old kid poking a dog through a chain link fence with a piece of re-bar. He aggravated and aggitated the dog until the dog naturally wanted a piece of his azz. The kid continued to play his new found game accidently hit the gate latch with the re-bar and let the dog out. Guess what happened? The dog was put down because he bit the kid in the face. This happened in the dog's (owner's) yard. The dog's owner was sued as well. My opinion is the kid got what he deserved. I guess the decision to put the dog down was made by folks who think that dogs that bite kids should be put down regardless of circumstance. I disagree with that.

The kid deserved it but the law will say that the dog wasn't properly secured. Same reason I'm required to have a locked fence around my pool.

 

[Nasty Wendy]

Reminds of the kid a few years ago who got attacked by a shark while wading waist deep in the Gulf of Mexico with a net bag full of chum hanging from him.

Brilliant.

The kid deserved it but the law will say that the dog wasn't properly secured. Same reason I'm required to have a locked fence around my pool.

Hmmm....I wonder what the law would say about having one of those electronic fences with the buried wire. I'd like to put in two of those. The second one would outline the first about 8ft away. Now let someone's badassed kids come try and tease my dog. I think not having a physical fence would be enough to deter that behavior and if not they'd have to guess where it is safe to stand.

 

[unstable bob]

I voted "no." But here is my personal 2 pennies about the 2 pugs I own: I refuse to take my dogs to dog parks or other areas where I'm not 100 % familiar with the other dogs or people that are going to be around. My guys are about as gentle and harmless as dogs can get, but they are still animals. I couldn't live with myself if one of 'em bit some kid outa surprise, or ended up as cannon fodder for some aggressive, ill mannered dog.