Is this a case of canine profiling?
Posted on 05/03/2012 1:22:20 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
A new ruling makes it easier for anyone attacked by a pit bull or pit bull mix in Maryland to take legal action against the dog's owner. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruling declares pit bulls as a breed are "inherently dangerous," and the owner of a pit bull or a cross-bred pit that attacks is strictly liable for damages, as is any landlord who rents to a pit bull owner.
The Maryland SPCA, which arranges adoptions for dogs that need homes, currently has three pit bulls under its care: a five-month-old Brutus is scheduled to be adopted this week, Ayoki is available and Valentina will be put up for adoption soon. But the SPCA is concerned that it may be harder to find adoptive homes and families may abandon pit bulls after the recent ruling.
"We believe that an animal's behavior should be the determining factor in whether or not the animal is considered dangerous," said Cheryl Bernard Smith, of SPCA. "We don't believe that a particular breed should be pinpointed for that." "All dogs, if you don't train them and show them love, can turn out to be mean animals," said Rodney Taylor, of Prince George's County Animal Management. "It has a lot to do with the owner and how you raise the pet."
The Maryland Court of Appeals decision dealt with the case of a young boy who suffered life-threatening injuries when he was attacked by a pit bull.
(Excerpt) Read more at kwqc.com ...
We rescued a female pit bull last year and she is the biggest baby and cuddlebug you ever met. It’s my third pit in 30 years and never any problem - except for the guy who tried to break into my car one evening. Those who call for extermination of the breed are just ignorant fools with big mouths.
I heard they would only tear your arm off if you didn't let them finish humping your leg ;)
Why they taste “delicious”, don’t you know? At least, according to USA’s number one dog flesh connoisseur/cannibal.
You’re right, look at the imminent danger these babies are in because of pit bulls:
The babies’ parents need to be hauled off to jail right now for severe child endangerment. Of course, placing a gun in a baby’s crib is also severe child neglect-how can you possibly expect the baby to be able to figure out how to use it without it accidentally going off.
Actually, pit bulls have been found to be the least likely to bite people in tests of dog breeds-at least when they’re raised the same way as other breeds. I am not quite sure what kind of studies showed them to be more dangerous. In one test of dog breeds, ranking most to least likely to bite people, pit bulls ranked fourth from the bottom. Poodles and Golden Retrievers and I think even Labradors all ranked higher.
The problem with this statement is that it implies that ALL Golden Retriever Owners and All Irish Setter Owners, all train their dogs properly.
Yes Virginia, there is such a thing has an unstable Breed of K9.
We've had our dog for a little over a year now and she has been attacked 4 times. All Pit-bulls. And every Pit owner looked at me and declared that their dog has never done that before.
Well perhaps they didn't, but they have now.
Go look in the nearest SPCA Kennel. They are filled mostly with Pit-bulls who's previous owners didn't understand what they were getting into. I feel pitty for those dogs having to live that way.
All due to the Vanity of Humanity. Me and my walking set of "Power Jaws". Be Afraid. Be very Afraid.
I had that same thought... Kudos!
Not sure I agree with the premise, but I have known some nasty poodles in my time... if they put a poodle’s brain into a pit bulls body it would be a monster to be sure...
Might be a grade b horror movie in that somewhere...
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I didn't make a statement, I asked a question. You provided links and wrote stuff.. but no answer! |
This is saying the breed is tantamount to being a separate species. They might as well "rule" 2 plus 2 = 4, "except when it equals five.
There really is a thin line between the courts working cases of "first impression" and magical thinking.
That is absolutely not true. Some dogs are mean biters from the time they are puppies. Mine were always treated well. I have had at least 2 that fit this category. One was a West Highland White Terrier and the other was a Jack Russel. The Westie ran off and was killed by a cow that he attacked in the pasture and the Jack lived to be 14 when his biting got so bad I put him down. (Can't imagine how I put up with him so long). They were both small dogs so I could control them most of the time. If either had been pitt bulls someone would be dead.
Well ok then, although when you said “case closed” I presumed you were implicitly making a statement. If you were asking a question, well a pit bull raised by responsible owner, just like any other dog should be, would clearly be preferable to leaving a gun in a baby’s crib. An abused, badly raised pitbull trained to fight-well that would be worse than a gun but both would likely lead to a sort of negligent homicide.
I would add that mom’s live-in boyfriend is just as dangerous.
Complete. Total. Unequivocal. Bullshit. Lies.
I have a shelter pet dog we adopted. I have absolutely no idea what she is in terms of the breed mix. My best guess is German Shepherd and some type of bull terrier. But everywhere I take her people keep asking me “is she part Pit Bull?”
I guess she has some physical resemblances to a Pit, but I honestly don’t know. She is such a sweetie it is really hard to imagine that she is. I would have no idea whether this law applies to me or not.
You can have your dog DNA tested to find out what the breeds are.
Every year Pit Bulls account for anywhere 50% to 70% of all dog bite fatalities. Rotties generally account for most of the rest.
Dog bites and serious injuries and fatalities from dog attacks are totally different issues. A Yorkie might be more likely to bite than a Pit Bull, but I’d rather suffer or have my children suffer through 100 Yorkie “attacks” than 1 Pit Bull attack.
I am not aware of the study you mention. I know there is a commonly cited temprament test, where Pit Bulls did favorably, but those results have no statistical significance as the samples are anything but random. The problem is that all the dogs are brought in voluntarily for testing. Most people with dogs they know to have problem tempraments are not going to have their dogs tested, so the results by breed are meaningless.
The fact that most shelters have more Pit Bulls than all other dogs combined is another indication of how problematic they are.
I realize there are good Pit Bulls and this ruling in now way punishes them or their owners. If you are the owner of a well bred, well trained, well socialized, well supervised Pit Bull, the chances of an attack are very small, so liability won’t be an issue.
Unfortunatley, only a very small percentage of Pit Bulls are well bred, socialiazed, trained and cared for. Only a small percentage of dog owners have the experience, skill, assertiveness and responsbility to safely own Pit Bulls. They are extraordiary dogs that require extraordinary owners.
The responsibility of owning a Pit Bull is closer to that of owning an a wild animal, capable of killing, than it is to that of owning a Beagle or a Golden Retriever.
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