Posted on 05/25/2010 8:05:15 PM PDT by solosmoke
n Sunday around 7 p.m., Jana Juhasz was watching roping practice at the Fallen Badge Arena in the small town of Christine. Juhasz had been to the property before, but this time, she watched her two-year-old son nearly get killed in front of her.
Juhasz says her toddler, Brock, was playing with some of the Australian Cattle dogs, or Blue Heelers. But then Brock tripped over one of the dogs, and the dog turned on him.
Juhasz says the dog, "wasn't just mad. It wasn't just intending to hurt him. It was out to kill him." She ran toward her son, and started kicking the dog until he got off the toddler.
It took a 6 hour surgery to save Brock's life. He needed more than 300 stitches to his face, and screws to wire his fractured jaw. He also lost a great deal of blood, and may still need a metal plate in his head. He will have to be fed by a syringe for the next 6-8 weeks, and there is concern he may lose too much weight during that time. Juhasz says she wants an apology, but the owner says she has nothing to apologize for. She says, "We have a beware of dog sign. It was an accident. It wasn't our fault. Of course, you feel bad, but we did all we could." Juhasz also wants the dog put down, but the owners say they see no reason for it.
(Excerpt) Read more at kens5.com ...
The dog was not at fault but I totally agree that it must be put down immediately.
>>>”Good thing that Klingon is my first or native tongue.”<<<
In that case:
SoH ‘oH Hutlh quv! jIH ta’ ghobe’ rur SoH. SoH ghaj qab legh!
Before you condemn the breed I have owned three ACD/heelers they are great with families and kids they are not by nature a mean or malicious breed of dog... my question is where was the childs parent... what did the child do to the dog besides trip over it... these dogs are not attack dogs they are cattle herders by nature.. there is a lot missing in this story..
Before you condemn the breed I have owned three ACD/heelers they are great with families and kids they are not by nature a mean or malicious breed of dog... my question is where was the childs parent... what did the child do to the dog besides trip over it... these dogs are not attack dogs they are cattle herders by nature.. there is a lot missing in this story..
so if a kid is beating on the dog and the dog turns on the kid you still advocate shooting it???
Not blaming or excusing anybody/any dog, just positing an explanation:
1. There was “roping practice” going on.
2. It was working cattle dog.
3. Presumably, the dog was in a “working” mode.
4. The dogs are MUCH smaller than cattle. In order to herd the cattle, they MUST intimidate them.
5. This intimidation is accomplished by barking, and BITING!
6. if a cow “disrespects” the dog (by kicking or just walking into it) the dog MUST re-establish intimidation by an immediate, fierce attack. It must be instantaneous, and harsh — cattle are tough.
7. The baby tripped over the dog, and the dog (being in “working” mode) reacted as if the child were a disrespectful cow, with horrendous results.
DG
Dogs are dogs. (just say’n)
My folks are in their mid 80s, and thank the Lord, still able to care for themselves.
We got them a Blue Heeler to watch over and protect them.
I know that if anyone is aggresive toward the folks, the 30 kg dog will do it damnest to rip thier throat out. They are a superior guard dogs (IMO).
Think Heeler are cupcakes?
SO a search with this set of keywords
Blue Heeler attack.
You just might be surprised.
We (the crew) had looked first at Border Collies, but went with the Blue Heeler.
Final note - try the keyword search with your favorite breed - again, you may be surprised.
I am sorry the child in this story has such a dunce for a mother.....
1) The mother is an idiot. (It would be a cold day indeed before I’d let my toddlers roam around a bunch of dogs alone unless I knew those dogs myself extremely well and knew for certain they would be patient with a two year old.)
2) The people who own the dog are reprehensible. That dog is not safe around humans, period, and should be put down ASAP. Why hasn’t the law been brought into this?
That being said I believe the owner of the dog should be footing the medical bills for this child.. The owner of the dog was also not paying attention to the dog...
Thank you. I cringe sometimes. :)
Putting a dog down is hard, but I agree, I couldn’t look at the dog after that without seeing the poor childs condition..
I had a retired police dog, God rest his soul, who came to live in my house quite suddenly. He was a big oh boy and my young son who may have been 2 or 3 at the time immediately took to rolling all over the dog and pulling on it. The dog really didn't like this and once took my son's arm in his mouth, but he did not bite down. The dog eventually got used to my boy and became quite the protector of my kids until the day he died.
These dogs should be checked by a vet for hearts of Arctic ice ;-)
“Before you condemn the breed I have owned three ACD/heelers they are great with families and kids they are not by nature a mean or malicious breed of dog... my question is where was the childs parent... what did the child do to the dog besides trip over it... these dogs are not attack dogs they are cattle herders by nature.. there is a lot missing in this story..”<<<<<<
Why would I condemn the breed? I own pit bulls. You are preaching to the choir. I am merely trying to illustrate what some here seem to be unable to grasp: Irresponsible parenting/dog ownership are the main reasons for dog attacks, regardless of the breed of dog. Vicious breeds do not exist; only the belief in them does.
Sometimes it doesn’t have to take a lot for a dog to attack. Sometimes it seems the attack is completely unprovoked (animal behaviorists disagree, stating that there are lots of subtle signs we as humans tend to completely miss, or don’t know to look for), but the bottom line is that if the dog owners know their dogs will be around children, they better be sure the dogs can handle kids. Some can’t, and that should not mean get rid of the dog necessarily, but take precautions so these things don’t happen.
“The owners, if they gave permission to be there, have to be partially responsible as it was their dog. But I believe the biggest party to blame for this is the mother and her overwhelming bad judgment. She never sat down beforehand and considered the serious negatives that couldeasily happen to her child while in there.”<<<<<
I absolutely agree with this...I only wish this kind of logic could be used for every attack on a baby. Perhaps a little pressure on parents and dog owners could turn things around.
No dogs (as a breed) are vicious. This is why I posted the article. Any dog can attack, and the same situation this poor child was in (with a strange dog and little direction) is what we see on the news all the time. The only difference is the breed of dog this time isn’t what people expect, making them second-guess it as if this must be some special circumstance. It isn’t, and the sooner we all see what the real problem is, the sooner we can have less attacks by all dogs.
I absolutely agree. I have a breed that is considered “difficult” (no, not a pitt). I did a rescue with a dog that was supposed to be disposed of, he turned out to be the sweetest dog on earth.
Mother of the child made huge mistakes here- she could read the “beware of dog” sign, but even if she couldn’t children should never ever be allowed to mess with dogs that belong to other people. When I was growing up that was a strict rule to not mess with strange- meaning not our dogs. Dog was on his own turf, and the child may have hurt the dog unintentionally. Many things can happen but parents need to be aware that children playing with dogs can be hazardous no matter the breed. Small children and dogs should never be trusted together. Recipe for disaster.
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