If it weren't for Maya ...
The cops had to fire so many shots to stop the lunging pit bull, the gunpowder set off an overhead smoke detector.The rest of the article is here.
Still, the dog didn't die.
But she wasn't the toughest dog on the block. That title belongs to Maya, a 74-pound black Lab who took on India, the 120-pound pit bull who was mauling a sixth-grader on the Northwest Side.
posted by doyle at 5:22 PM
5 Comments:
I know peeps will defend pit bulls and say they're really wonderful, etc. and only bad when owners make them bad, but I dunno. What do you think? IMO they should be outlawed.
Pit bull is a descriptive covering several breeds. I think the specific one you may be thinking of is the American Pit Bull Terrier.
I, too, know people who will defend the APBT. (Disclaimers: My son (Da Vet Tech) does. We also had Doberman Pinschers and the same thing was said about them back in the 70s.)
We only hear about the horror stories and an animal should be judged as an individual, not because of the bad press its breed receives.
Yes, bad owners can make any dog bad.
All that said, there are additional problems specific to pit bulls. They are naturally very agressive and "game," meaning tenacious. Add to that some who've bred them over the years to increase that agressiveness (dog fighting, guard dogs for drug pushers, gang activity and such) until it's pure unstable viciousness.
Should pit bulls be outlawed? No. How do you outlaw a breed when no one knows what the actual breed is, or tell what dog may be a "pit bull" cross of some sort. You can't.
An example? The attacking dog in the article I linked to weighed 120 pounds. An APBT isn't that big, maybe 50 ... 60 pounds full grown.
I'd almost bet that because of its size and similar appearance, it was another one of the "pit bull" types: A Presa Canario. A Mastiff (another type) would be probably have been called a Mastiff.
See what I mean?
Me? I don't like and wouldn't have any of the "pit bull" breeds. Too agressive.
aggressive
a g g r e s s i v e
aggressive
That makes sense. (I don't know much about doggies.) You can't exactly enforce a law that goes, "Uh, don't like breed two kinds of dogs for the purpose of getting mean puppies."
So then I guess there should be stricter penalties. Forex, one aggressive unprovoked attack against a human and the dog is history. Two, and the owner isn't allowed to have another dog. It seems in many of these cases where someone was killed by a dog, there had been previous instances of non-fatal aggression.
Paula: That makes sense.
There I go again being all sensible and such. But to be completely honest, there is no easy answer.
Paula: ... stricter penalties. Forex, one aggressive unprovoked attack against a human and the dog is history.
Define agGressive. Unprovoked? A Lab retriever chomped down pretty badly on the family's toddler. (True story, btw.) The parents had the vicious beast put down.
I don't disagree necessarily. I wouldn't trust the dog again nor would I put it into rescue and possibly pass along to someone else a dangerous dog.
Except during the necropsy (animal autopsy) the vet found the cap of the pen their brat had been screwing into the dog's ear.
Paula: Two, and the owner isn't allowed to have another dog.
Enforcement? Peeps move 'round and I don't think those with purposefully vicious dogs stay in one place -- like suburban neighborhoods -- for too long.
Paula: It seems in many of these cases where someone was killed by a dog, there had been previous instances of non-fatal aggression.
MMV, but if one of my dogs ever hurt someone that badly unless it was defending me or mine, I'd either pay Doc to put it down or put a bullet through its skull myself.
My only disagreement is actually with your use of the word agGression.
Your "aggression" could be what I think of as an attack. Or completely different, assertive.
FWIW, the only breed Da Kid dreads having to deal with and absolutely hates is the Presa Carnario.
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