by Jack Lee
I was reading about this 57 year old man who was attacked by two pit bulls just outside his home. I recalled a story about a little girl who was killed by a neighbors pit bull in Corning about 3 years ago. Curious how often these dog attacks happen, I looked up the statistics.
In the last five years pit bulls and rottweilers accounted for 56% of all attacks, yet they represent only about 6% of the total dog population. From 2005 to 2009, pit bulls killed 103 people. 63% of these were children under the age of 12 and over half of these children were under the age 2, which in my mind says more about the parents than the animals.
Again, its just my observation, but it seems most people who own pitt bulls and rotts fall into one or more of the following categories, dog figthers, drug dealers, stoners or just ordinary scummers. Which makes me wonder if its the really the dogs and not the humans who are most in danger?
Does anyone know if the City of Chico requires special licensing of dangerous breeds? If they don’t, I think they should…if only for the sake of protecting the dogs from dangerous owners.
Jack the evidence that it is the owners who cause these animals to become unpredictable and dangerous is overwhelming in my opinion.
I don’t know if the city requires special licensing of dangerous breeds but I have heard that insurance premiums can be higher for homeowners who own them.
I don’t know that licensing laws would do much good since those who would treat an animal so cruely would likely not be responsible about licensing the animals. The consequences for not licensing a potentially dangerous animal might help a bit…probably not. Lets face it, these types are basically criminal with no sense of social responsibility.
Jack, you are correct about scummers and criminals being attracted to that breed of dog. But it is also the breed of dog itself, if you can even consider a pit bull a dog. It is the only breed of dog deliberately bred through many generations of selective breeding to attack and kill other dogs. Perhaps some can be tamed, but there is something inherently aggressive about that particular breed. You know I love all animals, and I have dedicated many years to rescuing Golden Retrievers, which are the gentlest dogs in the world. It is easy to find new homes for Goldens, because they love people so much. Most shelters will not even try to adopt out a pit bull — too great a liability. And, of course, the scummers who have them don’t care a bit about controlling the population through spay and neutering, which, by the way, is absolutely required for any dog adopted out through a rescue or a shelter.
Soaps, I’m glad you weighed in on this issue, because you’re our resident animal expert. I’m not kidding when I say Soaps knows dogs and he also knows people who behave like animals, but thats another story. My point is, I don’t want anyone reading this article to get the idea that dog attacks are common. They’re
not. Dog are not inclined to bite humans.
Most breeds are truly man’s best friend, but as Soaps has pointed pit bulls are an exception and they can be dangerous and attack without provocation. On the other extreme, the Golden Retriever is a big loveable and totally gentle dog. And its also a noble animal with protective instincts.
FYI: Soaps writes articles for a magazine that promotes adoption of Golden Retrievers. The folks behind the magazine run an adoption center and work with other Golden Retriever agencies to help relocate these amazing animals.
Soaps would you care to give us the address for donations? Oh, and one more thing, do you have an article we could publish about Goldens?
I have 3 Goldens of my own, in addition to the many that I rescue and re-home. I am an active member of 3 Golden Retriever rescues:
Rescue A Golden of Arizona (my primary)
http://www.golden-retriever.org
Arizona Golden Retriever Connection
info@azgrc.org
Arizona Golden Rescue
http://www.arizonagoldenrescue.org
They each have websites where you can see the dogs we have recently rescued, as well as Success Stories, showing the dogs now living happily with their new families. Notice the “org” suffix at the end of the website addresses. That is used for approved 501c(3) charitable organizations, which means any donations are tax-deductible.
There are also Golden Retriever rescues, as well as other specific breed rescues, in almost every state, including California.
Everyone needs to know there are other breeds out there that are very aggressive too.
I gave my husband a registered cocker spaniel years ago that turned out to be the, dog from hell. He was so mean and aggressive, even after neutering him, that I eventually had to have him put down. He had bitten my son, one of my sons friends and terrorized my mailwoman. He shattered a lamp trying to get to her through the plate glass window.
After seeing an animal expert on TV explain this tendency exist in cockers and living in fear he would turn on me or really hurt someone else, I know putting him down was my only option.
We raised this dog from a puppy, took him to obedience training and he was never mistreated. He was big and very strong too for his breed.
I now have the sweetest Maltese & Shitzu mix, who goes almost everywhere with me and loves everyone.
I suppose its not totally out of the question to think on rare occassions a dog can suffer from mental issues? I dunno…just a thought.