[A_perfect_lady]

"I tripped on a rock and fell, and I think I kicked his leg," Meg recalled the attack

Hmmmmmmm.... oh, my dear little girl, I am not entirely certain I believe this version of events.

[Blood of Tyrants]

This can’t be true since chet99 knows that ONLY pit bulls attack humans.

[RachelFaith]

This will piss off the Animal wackos, but NEVER, Never, never, never, never, adopt an adult dog.

Ever. You do not know what behaviors, triggers, emotional baggage the animal carries. Or if it will turn at something totally off the mark.

If you want a pet: get a baby animal. A puppy, kitten, chick, whatever. Raise it, train it, care for and nurture it. And do NOT have a pet BEFORE you have children.

Your doggy loves YOU and will see the new “pets” aka your children, and lessor animals in the “pack” and will attempt to dominate them, forcing them to submission. And human children have NO PACK instinct, they will do the human thing: RESIST.

You might as well TRAIN you dog to attack and kill your children as at least then you won’t be shocked when it happens. /s

[ozzymandus]

Why is every frigging dog bite story a newsworthy event on FR? Jeeze.

[EggsAckley]

Maybe the poor doggie is mortally ashamed of living in a place called “Humpty Doo.” I know I would be.

/s

[Mariner]

Some dogs are not suitable as family dogs, ESPECIALLY if the man in the hours is not viewed by the dog as ABSOLUTE MASTER IN ALL THINGS. Otherwise that dog will do his best to assume that role.

It's one thing is it a chihuahua or Jack Russel...though they can hurt a child, they cannot seriously maim or kill one.

[HereInTheHeartland]

These kind of stories normally don't involve labs or retrievers for some crazy reason.

[wardaddy]

Woof

[Crawdad]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_management

[HungarianGypsy]

I reread the article and made a note of a few things. One, the mastiff is old. Nine for a mastiff is considered old age. It also reminded me of a friend whose roommate was attacked by her mastiff. Of course roommate was stupid enough to try to take a bone from it. But, this was a normally gentle mastiff who had roommate do this before. In the end, it turned out that the mastiff had a brain tumor and was suffering. Which makes me wonder if something similar might be the case here.

[Do Be]

I know I am very late to this discussion but having read a number of posts on this thread, I think what it lacks is another authority.

If you want to get a dog, don't get a puppy. People get puppies because they think they're cute. But that's a little like marrying a girl just because you think she's cute. If you haven't taken the time to get to know her, you're in for trouble.

The only thing you're going to know about a puppy is that whatever it doesn't poop or pee on, it's going to chew up. When you look into its eyes you don't see it's character, you only see cute. Yeah, I know, you can't resist but marry a couple girls just because they're cute and you will learn.

Most people who have developed a sense of discrimination can discern the character of a grown dog pretty quickly. It's sort of like meeting your soul mate when you find the right dog. This is a the best way to insure your dog will not attack and eat you and your children at a later date, unless, of course, that's what you want from your soul mate.

So, I'm telling you, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER get a puppy. Anyone who tells you differently is lacking in experience and discernment.

Just thought I'd clear that up because I am an expert.