Stupid People = Agressive Pet

murphda2

Super Moderator and KD Blade Show Boss
For the record, I'm a dog lover. I think dogs are the greatest companions for man (I like most dogs more than most people). I am the first to defend any breed when people talk trash about them and the first to condemn owners for thier dog's actions.

Just about every night my mother-in-law takes a long walk for exercise and she always takes her Jack Russell Terrier, "Piper" along with her. On Saturday evening she and Piper went out for thier nightly walk and as they walked through the neighborhood a lady opened her door and allowed her daughter's pit bull out of the house just as they were walking past. The pit made a straight line at my mother-in-law and Piper and attacked them.

The owner of the pit came home in the middle of the attack and heard my mother-in-law screaming. She ran out to help (as her mom stood in the doorway and watched) and realized it was her dog who was visciously attacking them. With no other course of action, she began kicking the dog to get it to break free from my mother-in-law.

Mom had to rush Piper to the nearest after hours clinic (in Austin, over an hour away) for treatment where she received numerous stitches and a couple of drain tubes. She was more worried about Piper than herself and by the time she went to the Doc the next day they told her she had waited too long to receive stitches for her wounds. They patched her up and sent her home. She has several lacerations and numerous bumps and bruises.

The owner of the pit swears (as if this would be surprising) "it's normally such a sweet dog".

Note To Dog Owners

If you own a dog of a possibly aggressive breed, train and SOCIALIZE your pet! It is the only way to prevent your dog from being aggressive.

EDIT:

Please understand that I am in no way condemning the "Pit Bull" breed for this attack. I happen to love pits and think they are great dogs. My main point here is to ecourage those who own a dogs to train and socialize thier pets. I have seen pit bulls who were as kind and gentle as bunnies and I've seen chihuahuas who were as aggressive as rabid rats on acid. An unsocialized dog is a potentailly dangerous animal. Please train your pets to obey your commands and take them out in public a puppies and as they mature so they they become familiar with other people and animals. "Socializing" lessens the risk of your pet becoming aggressive towards others and makes them much more enjoyable members of our society.
 
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Murph,
Spot on IMHO.
I think the dog owner should be "allowed" to pay for the all bills incurred.
Just my opinion.
Sorry that happened too. My best to Mom in law and Piper.
Dozier
 
My Mom is a breeder and I've grown up with dogs, was going to dogs shows and showing dogs when I was very young. That said any breed of dog has the potential to be aggressive if they feel threatened but there are certain breeds that will for no reason one day just snap, just as some people have a short temper and will snap for no reason under stress. I learned at a very young age which of those breeds to make wide circles around when taking my dog to the ring. Yes it does take responsibility of the owner with any breed but way more with others. Just saying from experience.

The woman was wrong to just turn the dog out with someone walking nearby regardless of what breed the dog is. Any dog may run out and try to protect it's yard but that is the last breed I would trust, that is what they were bred to do and the instinct is in the animal, it can't help it. People that don't realize this should do a little more research before getting a breed and except the fact and responsibility that they are choosing an aggressive breed.

My Labs are always picking things up and carrying things, I shouldn't be surprised when I come home to find a log laying on my front porch (or a tire chewed off of one of the dump trucks:2:), the breed was developed to carry things and they love to have things in there mouth. They normally don't mess with the chickens and were taught to leave them alone but one day the temptation was more than one of them could stand, my wife no longer trust to turn her chickens out with the dogs loose. Just as I told her the day it finally happened, they are Labs, they like to fetch birds, it was just more temptation than it could take and I was surprised it didn't happen sooner.

Hope everyone recovers quickly.
 
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I'd present them with the bill and if they refused to pay I'd see a lawyer. Also a police report is in order if it already hasn't been filed. When I worked at a medical clinic in Virginia we were required by law to send a report to Animal Control on any bite, even an eguana believe it or not.

Doug Lester
 
Mom and I had a long talk at lunch today and I advised her of what she needed to do. The owner of the dog had said she would pay the expenses, but this is often the case until the bills come in. I have advised her to obtain a copy of the police report as well as all medical and veterinary bills and documentation from the hospital where she works stating her hourly wage and the number of hours she has lost due to injuries. I have a feeling she is going to run into issues with this and have to hire an attorney and file a civil suit. According to her, all that the police were concerned about was rather or not the dog was current on its rabies shots.

In doing a calculation of current expenses, the total has already exceeded $2,000.
 
This is a tough subject and Mr. Fendley is right. I have been nailed twice on the job, once by a Great Dane and the other a Blue Heeler. The Dane backed off with a good shot to the end of the nose the Blue bites I needed stitches, he got brained by a shovel. My point is any dog will protect their property regardless of breed. My Golden Retriever is an exception, folks come to the gate and I tell them to watch out, he can't hold his licker.
Dog bites get infected easily too, like a nasty burn and painful. Hope everyone heals up okay.
 
That's as good a reason as any to CCW if you are legally able to.

That's the first thing I thought when I read the original post and likely what I would have done if I was on public property and being attacked. Provided I could have pulled it off without shooting myself or my own dog. Never leave home without it.

Hopefully the dog owner will come through and pay the bills and everyone recovers well.
 
The dog probably attacked Piper and caught Mom when she interceded. It takes a lot of meanness, neglect, or training to get Pit Bulls to attack people. They were breed to be non-aggressive towards humans. Otherwise their handlers could not separate them at the dog fights. This is 100% the owners fault. As they say though, you can't fix stupid. $2,000 might be enough education.

The AKC has a Canine Good Citizen test and title. They will allow non-purebreed dogs to take the test and earn the title too. Great idea.
 
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I agree Rock. Arashi and I worked with a trainer in Little Rock as an assitant training team and we helped to administer the exam. The CGC is a great program. Not only is it good to have your dog receive thier CGC to prove they are good members of society, but it also helps in some areas of the country in obtaining leases on rental properties.
 
I certainly don't mean to put down anybody's dog if you've got a good one but facts are facts. Pit Bull terrior count for as many dog attacks as every other breed put together. There should probably be a special license requirement to own one, there are certainly more stupid laws out there.

A couple links, google for many more http://www.dogbitelaw.com/Dog Attacks 1982 to 2006 Clifton.pdf

ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Publications/mmwr/wk/mm4621.pdf

The Clifton report excludes any attacks where the breed could not be clearly identified and also excludes dogs that are police, guard dogs, or dogs that were specifically trained to fight.
 
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My personal opinion is that too many idiots want to own a "bad@$$" dog. This idea is what spurred the over breeding of the breed in the late 70s thru mid 90s. Anytime you have over breeding by inexperienced and uneducated breeders with no standard, you end up with undesireable dogs. To multiply this problem, you end up with many more generations of persons who are doing the same thing chasing the profits of being a breeder. This results in multiple generations of linebred dogs or dogs with undesireable traits (ie. Over aggression). Then to top it off owners who don't train and socialize thier pets. The end result = dangerous weapon in the form of a "family pet". Then the only question remaining is, "Who is the dog going to attack, the family or a stranger?".
 
Yep that's the problem and many of those people that just want the bad dog because it's cool are not the responsible type. Makes it tough for everyone else.
 
I am so sorry that that happened!! Poor Piper and your MIL!! I hope and pray that the Pitbull owners pay for everything!!
 
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