40,000 want this pit bull to live? I don't get it?

[vanityofvanitys]

40,000 take the time to ask the authorities to not put the pit bull down. The dog that ripped the face off of a 4 year old neighbor boy for taking away his bone. The pictures of the boy are very sad.

So how much risk are children and people in general expected to assume with pit bulls? One attack is more than enough for me. I would be fine with city ordinances banning pit bulls. Yes, I know… it’s all about who trains them. Whatever. Do you distinguish DWI laws based on it all depends how responsible the party is who had the drinks?

This country is too much in love with animals at the expense of taking risks with children. How many kids being malled is an acceptable number to keep pit bulls in the community? How many times should a pit bull be allowed to attack before it is taken away? And, yes, I am all for the owner being put in jailed or sentenced somehow for what his dog did. I am liable for any minors in my home.

For as hyper sensitive our society is with risks of any other kind (such as toys, chemicals, etc.) they sure seem to look the other way when it comes to dangerous dogs.

------------------------------------------
In 2012, there were 38 attacks by dogs that resulted in death. Out of the 38 deadly attacks, 23 of them were by pit bulls.



Campaign to Save Dog in Arizona Mauling - ABC News

Dog That Mauled 4-Year-Old Gets Online Support

PHOENIX March 16, 2014 (AP)

A dog that mauled a 4-year-old Phoenix boy has received thousands of pleas for mercy through a Facebook campaign ahead of a court hearing to decide his fate.

A municipal court judge could rule at a March 25 hearing on whether Mickey, a pit bull that bit Kevin Vicente in the face, should be euthanized. Kevin received injuries that will require, according to doctors, months and possibly years of reconstructive surgeries.

Since the Feb. 20 attack, Mickey has become the object of a Facebook page that has gotten more than 40,000 likes and an online petition to spare his life.

Supporters say the campaign doesn't mean they value the dog's life above the child's.

"This is not Kevin versus Mickey," said attorney John Schill, who is representing the dog in the court petition. "Having Mickey killed is not going to take away Kevin's pain or injuries. The only thing this is going to do is kill a poor, innocent dog."

Pit bulls are viewed by some as a dangerous breed, a reputation their fans dispute.

Guadalupe Villa, who was at the scene of the attack, filed the vicious-animal petition to have the dog put down.

"I just looked at all this as this could have been my son, and I don't want it to be someone else," Villa said.

Schill said he is working pro bono at the request of The Lexus Project, a nonprofit that collects money to legally defend canines in danger of being euthanized. The organization has set up a trust for Mickey that has received more than $5,600, he said.

Schill said the person watching Kevin while his mother was at work should be held responsible.

"But for adults involved, this never would have happened," Schill said. "They're trying to put all the blame on Mickey."

Villa, whose boyfriend's mother was baby-sitting Kevin the day of the attack, said her friend is not to blame.

"She took amazing care of that little boy," said Villa, who claims in the petition that Mickey killed her dog last year.

According to Villa, Kevin picked up a bone lying on the ground near the dog, which was kept on a chain. That's when Mickey suddenly attacked Kevin, Villa said.

Villa said she can't understand the Facebook attention and doesn't see Mickey as a victim.

Kevin was hospitalized at Maricopa Medical Center with a broken eye socket, cheek bone and lower jaw bone, according to doctors.

Dr. Salvatore Lettieri, a Mayo Clinic physician and chief of cosmetic surgery at Maricopa Medical Center, said he was able to fix the broken bones and reattach the muscles that allow Kevin to open and close his eye.

"He still can't open his eye. We'll need to fix the tear duct drainage system — that is if he makes tears," Lettieri said.

Flor Medrano, a family friend, said Kevin continues to recover at a pediatric hospital in Phoenix but will return to Maricopa Medical Center later this week for more surgery on his eye.

Medrano also said a fundraising website has received about $6,000 in donations for the boy. The Maricopa Health Foundation also established a website that has received 50 donations.

The social media support for Mickey doesn't indicate that people care more about a dog than a child, Harold Herzog, a psychology professor at Western Carolina University who studies animal interaction.

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[Asclepias]

Stupid people. A dog that mauls a 4 year old child should be put down. If the dog lives then it is another accident waiting to happen.

 

[Katzndogz]

It wasn't the dog's fault. The kid took his bone. The kid may have done it before. The dog shouldn't die because it was the victim of theft.

 

[Coyote]

I saw that and was a bit surprised. When a dog shows such a lack of inhibition in it's bite - that's a pretty dangerous dog. There's a gradation of dog bites: The Importance of Bite Inhibition | Some Thoughts About Dogs and this dog's bite puts it at the high end. In this particular situation it seems to me that the energy would be better spent on trying to help the thousands of pitbulls dying in shelters who have no temperment issues rather than a dog with what is now a dangerous bite history.

What a lot of people don't realize though - is dangerous dog bites, like this, are actually very rare when you take into account the number of dogs - including pitbulls we have. They just tend to get sensationalized in the media. The people who owned this dog should not have kept it out on a chain. The people who were watching this child should have been WATCHING him. Children need to learn how to behave around dogs and dogs should not be kept on a chain where they are more likely to become aggressive.

 

[Asclepias]

The dog should die because its dangerous. A 4 year old should not have been seen as a threat.

 

[Katzndogz]

The dog is not dangerous. When this kid grows up he'll be stealing cars not bones. That's dangerous. The dog did not bite without reason. It was protecting it's property. Teach children early to respect others.

 

[Asclepias]

The dog is not dangerous. When this kid grows up he'll be stealing cars not bones. That's dangerous. The dog did not bite without reason. It was protecting it's property. Teach children early to respect others.

You must not know much about dogs. Trust me. The dog is dangerous if it attacks a 4 year old. The dog has not been properly socialized or taught on who or what it can take out its aggression on.

 

[Katzndogz]

I have taken quite a few animal behavior courses. Don't try to school me with your ignorance. Dogs will bite if someone tries to take their food or something else that the dog considers theirs. The only one that can do that is the accepted pack leader. The child should have been taught not to try to take the dog's bone. In fact how about teaching a child not to take something that doesn't belong to them at all.

I have encountered many people who think taking away their dog's food or toys as a way of playing with them. That is the fast track to making a peaceful dog generally vicious.

 

[Asclepias]

I have taken quite a few animal behavior courses. Don't try to school me with your ignorance. Dogs will bite if someone tries to take their food or something else that the dog considers theirs. The only one that can do that is the accepted pack leader. The child should have been taught not to try to take the dog's bone. In fact how about teaching a child not to take something that doesn't belong to them at all.

I have encountered many people who think taking away their dog's food or toys as a way of playing with them. That is the fast track to making a peaceful dog generally vicious.

Instead of taking courses you should have actually worked with and trained dogs. I'm not trying to school you. Your ignorance of dogs is astounding. You can socialize your dog to exhibit any behavior you want to if its food is taken by anyone. You cant be that ignorant about this? The only thing you got halfway right was the pack concept. You do realize there are more positions in the pack than just leader right? There is a hierarchy and your dog should know and understand that it is at the bottom of it.

 

[Coyote]

The dog is not dangerous. When this kid grows up he'll be stealing cars not bones. That's dangerous. The dog did not bite without reason. It was protecting it's property. Teach children early to respect others.

I disagree Katz, and I also know a lot about dog behavior. The lack of bite inhibition is a sign that the dog is dangerous.

Every dog bites for a reason - few do it for jollies. Most dog's though know how hard is hard enough to bite and this one way over reacted. In the dog's defense - the asshole owner kept it out on a chain and the child should have been better supervised. The dog also had apparantly killed a dog before.

A dog should not feel the need to guard against a 4 yr old and if it does, the owners should have been aware enough to protect the dog from intrusions by keeping it inside or providing it a suitable fence. Behavior like that doesn't pop up out of the blue - there is usually a lot of prior warnings that get ignored.

If one of my own dogs had done that, I would humanely euthanize it. But then, I don't keep my dogs out on a chain, and I try to be very very aware of kids around any of my dogs. I would never ever put my dog in a position where children could come up without my knowledge.

 

[vanityofvanitys]

I have taken quite a few animal behavior courses. Don't try to school me with your ignorance. Dogs will bite if someone tries to take their food or something else that the dog considers theirs. The only one that can do that is the accepted pack leader. The child should have been taught not to try to take the dog's bone. In fact how about teaching a child not to take something that doesn't belong to them at all.

I have encountered many people who think taking away their dog's food or toys as a way of playing with them. That is the fast track to making a peaceful dog generally vicious.

In a perfect world, perhaps, but such a thing does not exist.

Meanwhile, children are attacked by certain breeds of dogs far more so than others. Pit bulls are the worst because of how much maiming they can cause and surely death as well. We all know there are thousands of dangerous pit bulls in neighborhoods because they are not trained right, fine. But they will always be there. One false move by them and you get rid of it from ever being around strangers. That should be the law.

Of course, I would grandfather in all current pit bulls and make a law none are allowed into the community after that. No parent should have to have their child die because the child did not know better and became a victim. No dog is worth that.

 

[skye]

even a chihuahua would bite if his bone was taken away.

parents are should be more responsible with their children, specially around certain breeds that they know are more dangerous.

My two cents.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

I have taken quite a few animal behavior courses. Don't try to school me with your ignorance. Dogs will bite if someone tries to take their food or something else that the dog considers theirs. The only one that can do that is the accepted pack leader. The child should have been taught not to try to take the dog's bone. In fact how about teaching a child not to take something that doesn't belong to them at all.

I have encountered many people who think taking away their dog's food or toys as a way of playing with them. That is the fast track to making a peaceful dog generally vicious.

How many dogs have you raised around children?

I've had dogs my entire life and raised five kids around dogs. My children could take any bone from any one of my dogs and the dog wouldn't so much as growl. The dogs I owned at the time included a Lab and a Rhodesian Ridgeback.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

even a chihuahua would bite if his bone was taken away.

parents are should be more responsible with their children, specially around certain breeds that they know are more dangerous.

My two cents.

Depends on how the dog was raised.

 

[skye]

I blame the parents, not the dog.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Not the dog's fault. Was simply reacting on instinct. Could have just as easily been any other larger-breed dog resulting in the exact same result. Singling out pits because the public's ignorant about dogs and behaviour (especially their own) isn't fair.

I owe my life to a dog, a collie who when as a mobile-toddler fell into my grandparent's fish pond with no adults around. Evidently (I'm told) I would have drowned if not for the out-of-character alert-barking of the collie. I've since made it a point to learn about dogs and other animals. And I can tell ya, there's no such thing as a evil dog.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

I blame the parents, not the dog.

The parents can't be "put down".

 

[Asclepias]

even a chihuahua would bite if his bone was taken away.

parents are should be more responsible with their children, specially around certain breeds that they know are more dangerous.

My two cents.

Not picking on you but this is why a lot of people should never take on the responsibility of having a dog. I cringe everytime i see people let their "toy" dogs get away with biting. The dog does not understand its place. That is the only reason a dog will bite if its bone/food is taken away. The dog thinks that it is higher in the pack hierarchy than you are if it will bite you. Pretty simple to understand if you just watch a pack of wolves and how they interact.

 

[depotoo]

I have taken quite a few animal behavior courses. Don't try to school me with your ignorance. Dogs will bite if someone tries to take their food or something else that the dog considers theirs. The only one that can do that is the accepted pack leader. The child should have been taught not to try to take the dog's bone. In fact how about teaching a child not to take something that doesn't belong to them at all.

I have encountered many people who think taking away their dog's food or toys as a way of playing with them. That is the fast track to making a peaceful dog generally vicious.

I totally disagree, only aggresive dogs bite to maim. And a singular dog does not a pack make, unless that " human pack leader" doesn't teach the dog proper social behavior and pecking order. And I have owned 6 dogs at once for 8 years. I know all about their desire, until taught properly, to become a pack. I guarantee you that owner allowed that singular dog to believe he was the pack leader over all those around him, including his owner. He owned the owner, rather than the owner owning him..

 

[skye]

I blame the parents, not the dog.

The parents can't be "put down".

no, but they can be send to jail...or punish any other way.