Posted on 08/08/2005 9:32:46 PM PDT by ConservativeStatement
SANDWICH - A 145-pound South African mastiff that attacked its owner, her mother, and police yesterday morning was still on the loose last night despite daylong efforts to capture or kill the animal. Police suspect the dog may have been wounded when they shot at it - first as it attacked them after breaking through the gates of a stockade fence and later as it ran into woods on the north side of Tupper Road.
(Excerpt) Read more at capecodonline.com ...
Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, partial to Goldens myself.
But some breeds just don't fit in urban environments.
From what I read on the web, the Boerboel was bred for the wilds of South Africa. That's fine. Leave it there.
Some people can't handle the city, some dogs can't either.
Boerboel is a large, mastiff type dog breed from South Africa. The word boerboel is Afrikaans for "farmer's dog".
"They are obedient, intelligent, self-assured and bred to have an extremely strong guard-dog instinct. Perhaps surprisingly, this does not make the dog a vicious unsociable animal, because the Boerboel was in constant proximity to the farmers and their children, a badly behaved or aggressive dog was unacceptable and would, perhaps rather harshly, have been put down. This very selective and practical breeding ethic has created a loving pet with an even temperament that is happiest in a family environment for which he can put his protective instincts into action when required."¹
What strikes me as odd is that the owners of this dog have only had it since June; the dog is 145lbs, indicating that it is fully grown. Not to excuse the behaviour of the animal, but I would speculate that perhaps the dog perhaps became defensive against these new owners, having spent most of its life with someone else. Just as some adopted children have problems adjusting to a new life with new parents, this dog may have felt threatened. Any thoughts?
My lone dealings with a Mastiff, an English Mastiff specifically, was one a cousin had while living in Florida. The dog was more than 145 but very mellow. I do know it is supposed to be a tempermental breed. I found this posted story odd from the start.
"I found this posted story odd from the start."
Indeed. I strange that neither the animal control officers nor the police officers managed to (at least) subdue the dog. Isn't animal control usually trained to handle such a situation?
I would gather but perhaps because Sandwich, MA is not a huge community plays into the situation.
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