maryland state wants to ban pitbulls

[Kri]

After seeing that Bird is a retierd police chief I kinda put him on the same page as RonL. Not in a bad manner at all because I admire them. Police officers are put into dangerous situations every day, they also see and handle things most of us could never deal with. I can only imagine that every time Bird thinks of a pitbull he remembers the horrible things he's seen, and it's apparent that Bird has never had a good interaction with these dogs. In his line of work I don't think you can expect much else. What I don't appreciate is his impling that I would finally learn when my dog maules one of my children or another child. There are other ways of making your point without saying such things. I also think it's not fair to put all pitbulls and thier owners into one tiny box and close the lid. It's like saying mustard is the same as ketchup without ever trying mustard.
-Kri

[Pat]

Egon, I had a lady tell me last week that the main difference between her and a pit bull was the lipstick by the bite wounds.

A very small but increasing % of dog owners seem to have no manners at all and think they have a right to endanger others or create a "mess".

The funniest thing I ever saw a dog owner do was nearly get his arm yanked out of socket when his dog on a leash was about to "do his business" in my front yard when the IR motion detector turned the sprinkler on. OF course the BOZO thought it was on a timer and he just had bad luck. Funy how that bad luck spread around till no one seemed to assume my yard was a canine comfort station.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Kri:

If you had followed " Birds " post's over the past few years you would find he is an Icon of wisdom, has a knowledge base that is envied and a tolerance level that few can ever reach.

Egon

[kokopelli]

egon
i thought that too. until i read his broad sweeping judgements written here.

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
What I don't appreciate is his impling that I would finally learn when my dog maules one of my children or another child.

[/ QUOTE ]

Kristi, maybe you should go back and read my post again. Yes, I'll bet you learn and change your mind some day, and I said that I hope it isn't after a child is mauled, which is the way I've seen so many people in your situation learn.

And you think that was a "sick" bet. Well, you are betting your children's lives that it won't ever happen. And I can guarantee you that we all hope you win that bet, but I sure wouldn't bet on that.

And believe me, I've become very attached to some dogs in my life, too, and know how hard it is to let one go. When our daughters were very small (4 and 7 years old), my wife got a German Shepard puppy (over my objections). She grew up with the kids, was a great dog, especially with kids. They could do anything to her and she never objected, but she also thought all kids belonged to her. Even my wife was afraid to discipline one of the kids in the dog's presence. And at that time, lots of neighborhood kids came to play in our yard with our daughters and the dog. We wouldn't leave them alone, not so much because we were afraid the dog might hurt a kid as because we knew that if one of the parents came in the yard after their kid, the dog would not have allowed that at all.

And when our neighbors on either side of our place came home, if the dog was in the backyard she'd bark, and I knew which neighbor it was by the sound of the bark. She would be trying to get the attention of the neighbor on the south side because he'd come over and pet her over the fence, but if it was the neighbor on the north side, it was a different sound. He hated her and she hated him (he came in drunk and cussing at her one night when she was just a puppy). I'd go out there and she'd look at me, just begging permission to jump that 4' fence to get a piece of him.

I also know that when German Shepards get old, they sometimes get grouchy and cantakerous (kinda like some of us) and can be dangerous. So I eventually gave her away; one of the hardest things I ever had to do.

And until a year and a half ago we were living on 10 acres 20 miles from town and had a rat terrier. He loved everyone and everything, but when we moved back to town into an apartment temporarily, I gave him to a fellow that I thought he'd be happier with than living in town, and this old man had to choke back the tears when he left.

So I guess you could say I'm jealous of those who have a dog they love, but a pit bull; never would I take that risk with what I've seen! And yes, I honestly very much believe the day will come when you'll change your mind. And we hope it isn't after a tragedy.

[Harv]

<font color="blue"> I also know that when German Shepards get old, they sometimes get grouchy and cantakerous </font color>

I'm a real dog lover, but I've seen exactly what Bird is talking about. For a couple of years I lived with a good friend of mine and his mother during my college days. They had a German Shepherd and a cat who were closer than any two living critters I'd ever seen. The refrigerator was adorned with snapshots of this odd couple cuddled up together as they slept, or both with their heads in the same food bowl, etc.

This relationship had gone on for nearly 10 years, at which point the dog was definitely showing signs of slowing down, but still a fine pooch. Then one day my friend and I came into the house and found his mother obviously distressed about something. Turns out that right in the middle of an otherwise quiet afternoon, a great commotion came from the laundry room where the animals ate and slept. My friend's mom ran to discover the dog all out of breath, and pieces of the cat all over the room.

Nobody will ever know for sure what happened, of course, but we all thanked God it wasn't one of the neighbor children who knew and played with both animals. They buried the cat and kept the dog, under a much more watchful eye.

The point is, all dogs have the potential to flare up. Some breeds more than others. Pit bulls have a higher incidence of such behavior, from what I've read, and even though I've known some nice ones, I keep my own children clear of them.

Just another man's viewpoint.

[fivestring]

Watch the national news tonight (4/16/4).
In west Charlotte, an 8 year old boy was mauled and killed by his own 4 pit bulls in his own fenced-in back yard.

One of the news stations is reporting it as another pit bull attack. Here's their take" www.wnbc.com
An 8-year-old boy died at the hospital after police say he was attacked by four Pit Bulls in west Charlotte Friday afternoon. A mail carrier pulled the dogs off the child, police said.
The attack happened around noon at 2529 Brentwood Place.
The child was transported emergency traffic to Carolinas Medical Center where he later died.
One dog was taken into custody after an Animal Control officer used a stun gun and was carried off in a stretcher. The other dogs were captured by collar.

This will definitely add fuel to the ban fires.

[RonL]

Gary

Not to belabor a point. I wanted to just let this thread die but this weeks episode just tore at me. No one should die like that, being torn apart by a pack of pitbulls. Particularly, a child should not die being torn apart by a pack of his father's pitbulls while the father is in the house with his girlfriend. Hopefully, the poor boy was not cognizant when the father ordered the mail carrier that tried to save the boy's life from his property. This is just awful, just awful.

RonL

[fivestring]

Here's Charlotte's latest pit bull attack (5/20/4 @ 1800 hours):

"Landlord was at an address working on a house when a pit bull came up and attempted to bite him. The man shot the dog which died at the scene. Animal Control responded to the scene and ended up confiscating several other dogs from the address that the first dog came from".

[fivestring]

This past weekend (Memorial Day), we had another little child attacked by a pit bull.
The little girl was bitten in the face, on the neck, arms, and shoulders.
She is in serious, but stable condition at the hospital.