CNN Story- Woman gets mauled by dogs

[YellowLioness]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/15/pit....ap/index.html

[darkangelism]

Thats a very painful way to die. Dog owners need to be responsible.

[Star]

i think that dog owner should spend the rest of her life in prison for murder. the 13 years they're suggesting is not long enough for her being so iresponsible as to let her dogs run lose on the streets. This poor woman died in her fron yard! I feel so bad for the family.

[Duke]

I hope she does receive the maximum penalty for this, maybe it will make irresponsible pet owners think twice about getting a dog like that.

[Paul]

This discussion has been had many times, especially now that pit bulls are banned in our province. IMO it's not the dog, it's the owner and the way the dog is raised. I've played with pit bulls, boxers, dobermans, rottwielers and never had a problem, it just takes a couple idiots who want "attack/gaurd dogs" to create a very dangerous weapon like this.

[Duke]

Pitbulls are the problem Paul. I too have been around pit bulls and they are bread specifically as guard dogs. They are among the favorite dog chosen by drug dealers. There's one key distinction between rottwielers, dobermans and german shephards as opposed to pitbulls. The other three dogs make a terrible racket, growl and bear their teeth to not let you into an area. Pitbulls aren't like this, they watch you enter and wait until your committed, then the pounce on you and can't stop upon tasting blood. These dogs are a wall of muscle too which is the main reason that they can easily kill an adult.

Essentially dobermans, rotts and german shephards won't let you into an area, a pitbull won't let you out.

[Vautrin]

Ever since I have been bitten by a German shepherd I have been afraid of dogs. Dogs pick that up, and as a consequence I feel like a target for any dog. especially the guard dogs, or the bigger sized dogs.

Even though a lot of dogs seem to take a liking to me, at first I am highly afraid, even when they are jumping up to show me their attention and a healthy interest in me.

I would have many problems with dogs that punish for fear. Luckily in the Netherlands dogs have to be on a leash (spelling?), unless the dog is at home of course.

Of course the owner is the problem in most cases, but authorities can only do something, when something has gone wrong already. Now, the political question is, do we want to allow for the 20 deaths in the US and the numerous injuries because of these dogs? Or aren't we willing to do that, for whatever reason?

Dogs don't have breeding rights, as humans have (they can't choose their own partners, their owners do). So I am not certain, that the banning of that is such a strange rule.

[Duke]

It's amazing how sympathetic you can get toward an animal court case when you've experienced terror from an animal. I too was bit just over the eye (if you can believe that) by a German Shephard when I was a little kid.

Later in my pre-teenaged years, I remember waiting for the school bus one winter morning with my brother and a few other kids. There was what we knew to be a reasonaby friendly doberman and a terrir playfighting. They were playfighting until the doberman tasted blood (I'm guessing) because it started ripping the little black dog to bits. There was blood and dog parts everywhere and no small dog at the end of it all and also a few horrified onlookers who can't believe what they just witnessed.

I've seen the stories of some little kid needing facial re-constructive surgery because he/she was mauled by a pitbull. It makes me sick and should never happen.

[Vautrin]

I abhor violence. Be it animals or humans. Even when I watch TV I can't stand blood. I can't stand the fatal bullets, nothing. Even when I know it is not real. I find it horrific to see.

But if someone maltreats an animal (and that includes dogs!) I am all for heavy punishing. Especially if there are children around who think maltreating an animal is okay.

[Paul]

That doesn't change the fact that not all dogs are created equal, just like humans. That's like saying one race is smarter or more violent then another. Despite breeding, you still have to bring that out in a dog, encourage it in some manner, or it won't act like that.

I've had MANY pets including rabbits, hamsters, horses, cats, dogs, racoons, salamanders, birds, etc. and none of my animals was ever mean or violent, because we had a household of people who cared very much for whatever pets we had at the time.

We've had wild racoons, found the four of them and raised them from kits. One in particular was VICIOUS, we had to wear gloves anywhere near him because he'd attack your hands. But before we took him to the wildlife reserve a few months later, he was sleeping in my bed and drinking from a bottle, in particular he loved to play with cheerios and pick everything up to feel it with his padded paws. We ended up calling him Babes because he was such a big baby, wanted to be cuddled all the time.

If you treat any animal with loving kindness, they will act the same in return, it's a fact of life. The same goes for every dog I've ever owned. I've met bad dogs, dogs that should have been put down and thier owners along with them, there's a direct correlation there. I challenge you to show me any kind granny who's dog, be it any breed, goes on a murderous or mauling rampage. That's not to say good dogs don't go bad but I'm willing to bet a LOT of money that the statistic is somewhere close to one in a million.

[Vautrin]

The problem is of course that there is no guarantee that any owner will treat an animal well. We can only take measures after something has gone wrong, and statistically speaking the 4 races (pitbulls, mastino and 2 others which are banned in the Netherlands) are more of a risk than chihuahuas for instance.

We can't ban ownership of dogs, nor deprive idiots of their rights to keep a pet. That is only possible when idiocy of the owner is proved - after things have gone wrong. And even then, it might not have been the mistake of the owner.

The same problem does exist with human beings of course. Having a baby does not transform a person magically in a responsible and caring parent.

[Paul]

I just read this topic and Merkia's story, perhaps I was a little overzealous in my previous post. Animals can be unpredictable, it's incorrect for me to say what can/does or will happen.

[Merika]

We have a wonderful Boxer.....who I can't imagine hurting anyone when he's in happy mode. He loves everyone and is not aggressive in any way.
However, IF he felt there was a threat to 'his family'...I wouldn't want to be the person or child on the other side of that. Not because he's mean...but because he is big and has powerful jaws. Therefore, it's my responsibility to keep him properly fenced, always on a leash when not in that fenced area and not feed his aggressions with words like sic 'em. I've also told Sn00py and his friends not to encourage 'play fighting'.

We have people in the neighborhood who DO NOT do act responsibly....and some have bulldogs or breeds of more aggresive large dogs. It's a disaster waiting to happen. It totally pisses me off.

I'm with Star...I hate to see someone go to jail for an act their dog committed....but it's the only way to scare people enough to be responsible. Truth is...a large dog in a too small area...isn't a good idea. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have went there. (Sn00py isn't too fond of the daily poop scooping in the yard either! LOL!)

[Duke]

The thing that urks me here now is that due to the latest db screwup, I've now lost that cute post made by dwoing forever. That really frosts my glutes. :x