Posted on 08/07/2013 6:37:18 PM PDT by RoosterRedux
I retired 10 years ago to take of elderly parents. Dad died peacefully last year and Mom is still kicking.
After spending the afternoon in the eye doc's office with Mom, came home and, after settling her down, went for the mail.
New neighbor has a Pit-Bull and today this dog was loose. As I went to the mail box, the dog ran over to the middle of the street (perhaps 15 feet away) and bared his teeth.
His owners were in the yard but did not call the dog. At the same time a UPS truck stop in front of their house, but the driver refused to get out of his truck.
Question is "what steps do I take as a good citizen?"
The next door neighbors inherited the house from the girl's grandmother. The girl's husband is a born again Christian...but he was previously in prison for drugs.
Pit Bull is young but large and aggressive.
Freeper opinions appreciated.
BTW, I have cats who lounge around in the front yard. If this dog kills my cats...I am apt to become upset. And an upset Freeper (armed to the teeth) is not a nice thing to behold.
Pitts are a very strong breed which were bred for fighting. They are intensely loyal and can be a good animal but they require an equally strong responsible owner.
The vast majority of pit owners treat them like a poodle while encouraging their aggressive nature and intimidating behaviors.
If a dog displays dangerous behavior it doesn’t really matter whether its due to the dogs fear or protective nature, or maybe its fighting instincts have been triggered.
A dangerous animal needs to be addressed, period.
“Inform your neighbor that their dog is asserting aggressive territorial behaviour well beyond their property line, and that that could lead to huge liability problems if the dog actually attacks someone. “
I took that tact and my wife almost paid the price. Dangerous dogs need to be addressed now, not after they kill someone.
>Watch this news anchor kiss this pit bull (disguised as some other fancy name ‘breed’) on Valentines Day!
different dog. understandable mistake though. someone should invent a tool that you could access from a computer to look up information. it would make things easier.
“Fear of anything is admission of weakness, be it physical or mental.”
BWAHHAHAAAAAAA
Thanks I needed a laugh.
I don’t care why the dog is acting aggressively, I only care that it is.
If its a threat I will address it before it hurts someone.
Oh, I agree, that could be a possibility—I just don’t think it should factor into the actions of either neighbor.
That approach isn’t working for our society at this time. One breed in particular is off the scale killing and maiming people. Breed Specific Laws and requirements that those who own damaging dogs carry liability insurance can help. But waiting for you to address it before it hurts someone isn’t working for the general public. Pit bulls are so often off their leash, out of the kennel, escaped the car, the house etc. I think that they should be licensed and limited like exotic animals and any escape warrants confiscation of the animal. It is pointless to have a dog breed prone to the kind of damage the stats reveal treated like other dogs - their effects on the human population aren’t comparable. I know chihuahua’s bite too - but does anyone mistake the amputation type attacks reported for pit bulls with attacks by chihuahuas? I recently was attacked by a chihuahua or so I thought - I couldn’t tell for sure because he wasn’t able to actually hurt me but he certainly put on a good show.
I support profiling of those likely to be Al Qaeda just as I support profiling on dogs most likely to kill and maim. I don’t believe every pit bull is a lethal risk, I believe there is no way to tell which pit bull is safe from which pit bull is a lethal risk. Photographs of doggies licking faces doen’t change the death toll or carnage.
Ironically, the research I was doing today on the issue of pits included amputations of hands and arms. Arm yourself...hehehehhehe. Especially the elderly retired man who had both arms amputated by the pits and died from his injuries, or the woman whose infections and injuries required limb amputation and lead to heart attack/stroke etc. Yeah. A dog biscuit. That’ll help those folks. Hey maybe we should put dog biscuits on their gravestones....
bacon grease.... frying pan... sponges....
problem solved...
A neighbor up the street has a pit bill that he puts out on a cable sometimes. The dog is massive and wears a spiked collar.
Its quite obvious the owner knows his dog is dangerous and likes it.
Option#2: Shun yer neighbor, an’ shoot the dog if’n it gits on yer property...
But if the dog attacks someone he will be described as a loveable teddy bear, a service dog, a nanny dog etc. People will post pictures of the dog licking their child’s face.
I had a young friend who found a pit bull dumped in the countryside. During the 3 weeks he had that dog it escaped every fence he tried, even chewed up wire fencing until a piece of wire stabbed up through the cheek of the dog. This did not deter the dog. The dog’s vet required $500 to treat the wounds - the 25 year old man had to beg and borrow the money to get the dog treated. After that, he gave up fencing the dog; he let the dog run free rather than fence it knowing it would hurt itself if need be to get out again.
I really worried that this unknown dog could harm visitors or pets - no one knew the animal and the breed has instincts that don’t make sense (chewing up metal fencing?) and lethal, unpredictable fight capabilities. I was relieved for my friend when the dog ran away. He was heartbroken but he was a good man and if “his” dog had hurt anyone, how could he at 25 years of age afford to pay for the damages and worse, how could he live with himself? He was a good guy who meant well but I didn’t want to see a young man saddled with liability and guilt based on what kind of day that dog was having. Yet - out there in the countryside a dog inclined to chew through metal fencing roams free.
When I was recently looking for a dog I went down to the local shelter numerous times.
Probably 50% of the dogs there were pits or pit mixes.
Lovely.
Goes to the boundary, stops, and barks is fine. Pursues, growls, or attempts to bite isn’t. Pretty reasonable line, IMO.
Why not? Aside from being the proper, neighborly thing to do, why wouldn’t you attempt to resolve the situation peacefully before using force?
Many pit bull owners use their animals to intimidate their neighbors.
I would carry a handgun to the mailbox the next time...and when it charges and growls, shoot it. Dogs should not be running loose, especially pit bulls.
I hope you understand that it is a two way street. If your cats come into my yard they will not be coming back. I don’t understand you wanting a neighbors dog on a leash but allow your cats out. Leash laws are for all species. My wife don’t care for it but she heels well. :D
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.