The umpteenth time pit bulls have seriously injured orkilled

[VEFF]

Sorry for the lack of spacing between the last two words in the title, but I
ran out of room.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/12/13/ ... index.html

I am not an expert on pit bulls, but it would seem they are dangerous enough that maybe they shouldn't qualify as household pets?

[aviationwiz]

Yeah, they deffinetly should not qualify for being a household pet, just way to dangerous.

[integspec]

Why would anyone need 7 of them in the first place?

[UALOneKPlus]

wow, sad sad

[Ian]

It's not the dogs' fault, its the people that own them. Pit bulls are great dogs. Unfortunately, every ghetto wannabe gangsta thinks he needs to own a pit bull. They train them for fighting or whatever and unfortunately let them run.

Sadly, these dogs will probably need to be put down. While they're at it, they should put down the owner as well.

[Ian]

After reading that article again I noticed that the friggin owner blames animal control. Why animal contro? They were his dogs! Not to mention animal control didn't tell him to have 8 of them! Way to pass off the blame. That guy needs to be charged and locked up for life.

[burninfool]

"been involved in at least two other biting incidents."

WTF! Why weren't the dogs seized and the owner charged?
I agree Pit Bulls have been involved in too many attacks and killings and should be classified a dangerous animal.

[cfitz]

After reading that article again I noticed that the friggin owner blames animal control. Why animal contro? They were his dogs! Not to mention animal control didn't tell him to have 8 of them! Way to pass off the blame.

He didn't blame animal control, the victim's daughter did. She blamed animal control because they didn't do anything about the dogs despite having been notified multiple times that the dogs were vicious and had bitten before.

"been involved in at least two other biting incidents."

WTF! Why weren't the dogs seized and the owner charged?

I agree. I am a dog lover, and have owned dogs in the past. Nevertheless, I strongly believe in a "one strike you're out" rule for dogs: if a dog attacks someone, that dog should be destroyed with no exceptions and no questions asked. This is particularly in the case of known vicious breeds.

Don't flame me saying I am overly harsh. I know my stand is not flexible and could unfairly catch dogs in its wide net. I would be heartbroken for the cocker spaniel that is put down because it nipped a child in reflexive reaction to being poked in the eye. But our legal system is so stupid and far removed from common sense that it seems we need laws that don't leave any room for "creative" interpretation by sleazy lawyers and activist judges. And, in the end, as much as I love dogs and value the wonderful companionship they provide, to me a human life must take precedence over a dog's life.

cfitz

[CowboySlim]

Ian has it right.

It's not the dogs' fault, its the people that own them. Pit bulls are great dogs. Unfortunately, every ghetto wannabe gangsta thinks he needs to own a pit bull. They train them for fighting or whatever and unfortunately let them run.

Sadly, these dogs will probably need to be put down. While they're at it, they should put down the owner as well.

I was at a dog show a while back and found myself walking right among a dozen American Staffordshire Terriers (correct name) shortly after their competition had concluded. There posed no threat to anybody whatsoever.

It is the ignorant owners who don't train their dogs properly and those owners who want gansta' dogs that should be the subjects of retroactive birth control.

Slim

[VEFF]

Ian:

I always assumed pit bulls could inherently be violent dogs without ever being trained to be that way.

Are you saying the owner trained them to be violent and/or kill?
If so, he should be prosecuted...

[dodecahedron]

It's not the dogs' fault, its the people that own them. Pit bulls are great dogs. Unfortunately, every ghetto wannabe gangsta thinks he needs to own a pit bull. They train them for fighting or whatever and unfortunately let them run.

Sadly, these dogs will probably need to be put down. While they're at it, they should put down the owner as well.

Ian has it right.
...
I was at a dog show a while back and found myself walking right among a dozen American Staffordshire Terriers (correct name) shortly after their competition had concluded. There posed no threat to anybody whatsoever.

i agree it's not the dogs' fault.
however the rest of what you said is not quite accurate.
these dogs are violent by nature, very ferocious. it's not just their training.
there have been many incidents when such dogs who weren't specially trained for violence (fights, protection, guarding) and yet have suddenly and unexplicably attacked people, even thier own masters!

people who own such dogs should be aware of this and act accordingly. these dogs should not be left without a harness on their mouth whenever they're out of the owners house/property.
IMO the owners of such dogs should be personally liable (at the criminal level) for any misdeeds of the dogs.
it's not the dogs' fault, it's their nature. it's the fault of the owners who don't take the necessary precautions to prevent any mishaps.

[Ian]

I always assumed pit bulls could inherently be violent dogs without ever being trained to be that way.

Are you saying the owner trained them to be violent and/or kill?
If so, he should be prosecuted...

These dogs were bred for fighting, but are not by default violent. They're a product of their environment. The guy had 8 of these things.. he was obviously using them for illegal fights. Not to mention when you have 8 dogs running wild, the pack instinct takes over.

There are a lot of dogs with bad raps. German shepherds, dobermans, etc. Most of them are very good dogs. Just a few bad eggs. I'm more afraid of little dogs like poodles than a pit bull.

[ruderacer]

It is sad to see that these things still happen. There are too many who own dogs that should not!

I agree that these dogs could be dangerous, but the owner is ultimately responsible for the dogs. I remember when only a few had this breed and from one day to the next everybody wanted one. I have been breeding Rottweilers for over twenty years and I have come across a few that I would not have around kids or people in general. So, at this time, the owner is solely responsible for the actions of the dog.

You also have people breeding Pitbulls that do not care for the breed, they only care for the money they will make on the sale. The meaner the dog the more it appeals to those that fight them and the more money they get.

When dealing with this kind of breed (or any breed), though I have seen too many to count that have made great pets (even around children), one has to take proper precautions to safeguard the welfare of kids, family, friends, and strangers alike.

[JamieW]

Both Rotties and Pit Bulls get bad raps. They are both inherently good at biting people and fighting. Because they are good at this, people that want dogs that will bite people and fight get these dogs and train them for such. Granted, every dog has its own individual personality, the breed itself isn't inherently violent. If poodles were good at biting people, you'd be hearing about all the dangerous poodles. But poodles don't have that short jaw and enormous soft ball sized muscle that rotties have.

People need to stop blaming the tool for how the owner uses it. That just breeds (pun intended) a society of the irresponsible since no one is to blame for anything.

[VEFF]

Here we go again!
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/02/16/dog.attack.ap/index.html

[Ian]

Oh yay! Another case of some wanna be ghetto thug raising a dog to fight. When they go to euthanize the dog, they should do the owner as well.

Why don't they ever make a big deal with little yip dogs like poodles bite someone? Those damn things seem to bite everyone.

[JamieW]

Grandmothers should be classified as Class III weapons and taxed under the 1934 National Fire Arms act and their import and production for civilian use stopped as per the '86 ban. That pit bull was only doing its civic duty.

[VEFF]

Oh yay! Another case of some wanna be ghetto thug raising a dog to fight. When they go to euthanize the dog, they should do the owner as well.

Why don't they ever make a big deal with little yip dogs like poodles bite someone? Those damn things seem to bite everyone.

I agree that other dogs don't get cited enough for biting.

The only thing is that when a pit bull attacks, it isn't just a nasty, painful, scarring bite; it can be deadly, or, as is the case here, result in amputation.

[jase]

All terriers can be unpredictable. It is in their breeding to kill, we can't then blame the poor animal for acting on instincts we've refined in it.

The problem is, while most terriers are small yappy things (and as Ian says these dogs are always biting people) that can mostly just be ignored or laughed at (and Britain is a nation of lovers of these small yappy b*stards; in my opinion if you want a dog get a real dog; if you want a small animal get a cat. I've got both and they're both great), dogs like Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Pit Bulls (is American Staffordshire the correct name? Staffordshire is a county in England and Staffies are a different breed altogether, and to be honest a lot calmer than most of this type of dog) and English Bull Terriers are larger with big mouths and they can do a lot of damage in addition to their lack of predictability.

I've seen Bull Terriers who have been very well treated family pets turn on people, mostly the elderly or young children, on more than one occasion. I don't think they should be banned per se but muzzling them would be a step in the right direction.

(Incidentally, American Pit Bull Terriers are illegal in the UK).

-- jase, self-confessed Terrier hater (grrrrrr).

I mean, who the hell would own one of these runts, eh?



Jack Russell. Particularly nasty little tyke these can be



F****** Yorkshire Terrier. AAARRRGGGHH!!!!

[JamieW]

I would not own one of those. I would hate to be walking my dog, have a dog come up and beat my dogs' butts, then bite me. I think the German Connection I have going on over here can handle most business. A Weimaranar at about 85 pounds and German Shepherd pushing about 65-70 pounds. I am currently training them to eat Chocolate Labs.

[Ian]

I am currently training them to eat Chocolate Labs.

I heard that your dogs are Nazis.

[JamieW]

They are not Nazis! They are red-blooded, capitalism loving, democracy making fine canines! Heck, I had to build a fence to keep them from going over to Iraq.

[VEFF]

...Heck, I had to build a fence to keep them from going over to Iraq.

LMAO!!!!!