Posted on 01/02/2007 8:54:10 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
The United Kingdom's first amnesty for pit bull terriers has begun in County Antrim.
Owners of the illegal breed of dogs who live in the Ballymena area have been given the month of January to hand in animals without fear of prosecution.
On Monday, a five-year-old girl was mauled to death by a pit bull terrier type dog, on Merseyside.
Ballymena council dog warden Nigel Devine said 14 dogs had been checked and most turned out to be legal breeds.
"There was one gentleman whose girlfriend or wife was about to have a baby. They contacted us asking us to come and check the dogs," Mr Devine said.
"Out of their four dogs, two were confirmed pit bull and two weren't. Those two dogs are being brought in.
"The vast majority that we have checked are from a family background. They have children, it is reassuring for them that they don't have a dog that at any time could turn on them."
The idea for an amnesty followed a pit bull attack on a family in County Antrim in November.
Sean and Deirdre Doherty, their son Ben and a family friend escaped with only minor injuries after an horrific attack by a pitbull-type dog in Randalstown Forest Park.
Recalling the incident, Mrs Doherty said someone would have been killed if the family's pet labrador, Troy, had not fought the dog off.
Troy was killed in the attack.
"(The dog) turned me on my back and was quite literally going to rip my face off when my husband got it from behind and pulled it off me," Mrs Doherty said.
"The dog then broke free from my husband and went after the kids, it was just about to pull them down from behind when Ben's dog (Troy) dived into the side of the dog and pulled it away from Ben and down into the gully."
Commenting on the County Antrim move, David Wilson, of the Ulster Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the criminal trade in dangerous dogs must end.
"There is a serious problem out there. We have seen evidence of that in the last 24 hours," Mr Wilson said.
"We are not in the business of having family pets put down. But there is a significant hard core out there with these dogs that are using them for criminal activities."
It's a shame about these dogs, though. What next?
Well looky here...another self-appointed "expert".
And you have trained exactly how many?
Thought so.
Remember, whenever you open your mouth you run the risk of removing all doubt.
(cool dogs, BTW)
Aww..that's nice of you and here I was thinking you were a bit crusty.
You'll have to send me your recipe for breading dogs some time...I usually just dip mine in corn meal.
Education
Stiffer penalties
and rigorous enforcement of existing laws.
I don't drink.
The carnage resulting from drinking and driving
and drinking and domestic violence
far out surpasses that done by dogs.
If I had a nanny bone in my body,
it would be easy for me to call for the banning of alcohol.
There are many other types of drinks available that are just as enjoyable.
People can not be trusted to consume alcohol responsibly.
Those who do drink responsibly will just have to give it up for the greater good.
or...we could try...
Education
Stiffer penalties
and rigorous enforcement of existing laws.
"Well. First guns, then knives, now dogs are to be handed in. I wonder what will be next?"
I thinking they have a pt bull shoot but they don't have guns either.
"Well. First guns, then knives, now dogs are to be handed in. I wonder what will be next?"
Wait until they figure out that most rapes are comitted with penises...
I have a rottie who's about ten lbs lighter than your GSD, she's a lamb (although she's a bad ass when she thinks her "little sister" -- my 4 year old daughter-- is in danger.) I get nuts when I hear people malign the breed and ignore the owner's responsibility. Agreed, responsible dog owners shouldn't pay for the actions of idiots.
Granted getting mauled by a Yorkishire Terrier is usually not a life an death matter...
It's not a life and death matter, and the idea might even garner a few snickers and guffaws from some freepers, but when I was two years old, my mother owned a Yorkie who was the nastiest little sh*t ever. Very posessive of my mother, and aggressive. Bit me in the face once and nearly took my eye out. Funny how you never hear the knee-jerk dog-grabbers on the freep ever call for an all out Yorkie ban when I tell that story...
Is that Sam the Great Bearslayer! What a good lookin' couple of pups.
A fine pictorial of the proper breading of Pit Bulls. That's too damn funny. ILMAO
Wish I'd thought of first, though.
I don't get it. If you have a dog that is illegal and you want to get rid of it, why cant you just use a baseball bat, a plastic bag, and toss it in the "bin"?
Am I missing something here?
"Are you kidding? The dogs were bread to bite the noses of bulls and hold on until they brought the bull to his knees. As such they are brutally strong and stubborn as a mule. Their stubbornness makes them almost untrainable and their strength makes them deadly."
My vet says that pit bulls are the best behaved breed she sees. She believes she is less likely to be bitten or seriously injured by this breed than any other. BTW, I would expect a vet to know far more about different breeds and their characteristics than a layman.
Actually they are heading in that direction. There was recently a thread here about GB designating sexual intercourse as a 'rape' if the female is intoxicated. Won't be long 'till they snuff out all peni. Ouch. I suppose that would make them penis-grabbers, would it not?
awwwwwwwww so cute!!
Btw, Your sense of humor is wonderful.
One of the first acts of a newly elected liberal government in my area
was an attempt to ban fresh sushi.
They wanted all sushi to be pre-frozen before being served.
They were mocked into backing down.
They were more successful in banning dogs.
Inspite of spending lots of bucks on public hearings, it was all for show.
The AG had no intention of listening to the expert testimony
that spoke against breed specific legislation
and pleaded for a comprehensive approach to the problem of dog bites/attacks.
I wonder how he sleeps at night,
this week a tot just shy of 3 years old was attacked by a pair on non-banned dogs,
suffering severe injuries to his face and other parts of his body.
The AG's law/approach did nothing to prevent this attack.
Sadly this was not the first attack reported by these two dogs, a male and a female.
Were they spayed/neutered?
Look at these stats...
a survey of the sex of the dogs involved in the last 6 years (Jan. 2000 thru Dec. 2005) reveal that overwhelmingly the dogs involved in fatal attacks are males. In the fatal attacks during this six year period, over 91% of these cases a male dog was involved, (i.e. either a single male dog or a male dog accompanied by other males and/or female dogs).How many dog owners are aware of this?an examination of the dogs involved in fatal attacks from Jan. 2000 thru Dec. 2005, reveal that the overwhelming majority of dogs involved were unaltered.Of the fatalities during this 6 year period, 92% of the dogs involved were unaltered (not spayed or neutered).
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