“Too bad the owners think it’s acceptable to keep an aggressive dog chained up outside.”
Because running around the neighborhood is a more acceptable option?
Keeping a dog chained tends to make a dog that is inclined to bite even more inclined to bite. The owner is clearly at fault here, and is an idiot to boot. He’s an irresponsible pet owner. He knew the dog had a tendency to bite and yet he put the dog in a situation in which he could bite someone. I suspect he will be sued and I suspect he will lose.
BTW people don’t realize that labs are not the same as golden retrievers and are somewhat more prone to bite.
A lot of dogs don’t like someone getting right in their faces but it sounds like the owner needed to keep the dog someplace where a child wasn’t likely to do it.
My Jack Russell is the same way with strangers but he’s in a fenced yard. He’s very friendly otherwise. I have made sure that he knows my neighbor’s grandkids and is friendly but they still know better than to get in his face unless he wants to lick them.
I hope his homeowners’ insurance refuses to cover this, and he has to pay for his stupidity out of his own pocket.
I got bitten by a dog a few years ago. Luckily, it didn’t require any stitches. But it was very painful nontheless and got infected. And I am a grown man. I can’t imagine the pain that 12 year old girl must be going through with over 100 stitches. A mauling indeed. I think that dog should be put down.
BS! he should have been more vigilant and pulled the dog away.
So I leave him chained in the yard, where's he's an easy target!
What a tool.
The owner was aware of past aggressive behavior of the dog.
The dog should have been secured in a locked enclosure that prevented any contact with the child.
Chaining a dog makes it hyper-territorial, they get more aggressive because they literally cannot get away. Kids throwing rocks at a dog that apparently has been abused in the past didn’t help matters at all.
If the girl entered the man’s property and went within the radius of the chain, she’s not exactly an innocent victim, but the law is such that if the property wasn’t posted, the property owner may well be held liable.
Why anyone concerned about animal abuse would chain a dog, a form of abuse itself in my opinion, is another question.
Parents who do not teach their children *never* to stick their faces right up to an unknown dog are irresponsible. Staring at the dog is perceived as aggression by the dog, too.
So many things went wrong here. They’ll probably end up putting the dog down, but of all the parties to this, he was least in control and did what dogs sometimes do when challenged, especially abused dogs.
It’s a pity.
Hey, who was that guy saying that only pit bulls and rotties maul people? We should ping him.
Not to be pointed, but if the dog was chained in *his* back yard, how did the girl get mauled if she was not walking within the radius of the chain?
Did the dog have a very long chain which extended off its property and out into the street or something?
alright Chet!
even I am surprised at this one
Kill the dog, send the owner to jail for a year.