CaféAuLait;9034615 said:
Mickey was
not on his own property but the
common area of the apartment complex on a 18 foot chain. That bone could have been 17 feet away from Mickey and he still could have mauled the boy, ripping off half of his face.
Judge spares controversial pit bull's life
The owners and the apartment complex which allowed a dog who had just mauled a puppy to death in a common area are at fault. The baby sitter as well is at fault, however the owner of the dog, whom she was visiting should have warned her the dog was vicious and had just mauled another dog to death. A vicious dog should have never been allowed on a 18 foot chain in a common area for children to wander by and get mauled.
A bunch of very, very stupid adults who were responsible for the dog and for the child. The owner should be prosecuted. The baby sitter should get some kind of punishment. The pitbull should be put down. Those people who are supporting the dog are idiots and miscreants. It's all about the sympathy and blind support all over the country that people give to pitbulls: it's insane. The whole breed needs to be wiped off the face of the Earth.
I'm not a fan of the pitbull-type breeds, either. Most dog breeds are "specialists", having been genetically selected and bred for some specific trait. For example: I have a Great Pyrenees that lives with my goats. The breed has for centuries been selected for their herd-bonding and gaurdian traits. It's interesting to watch what she does when a friend's malamute gets a bit too interested in the goat kids that come to the fence when he's around. Of course, malamutes have an entirely different world view when it comes to prey species, like goats. My dog places herself between the goats and the malamute, actually sends the goats away. When the malamute moves away from the fence, the Pyr will lie down and even let the little kid goats use her as a playground. So, taking advantage of inborne traits and with proper training, I have a splendid gaurdian for my goats.
Pits, on the other hand, have been bred for the purpose of fighting and protection (to some extent). The breed has been selected for their physical strength and aggression. Why are people even surprised when pits react the way the one in this story did? Yes, if properly socialized and trained, a pit may make it through life without exhibting the tendencies it has been genetically selected for, but it might not, either. There's a woman of my acquaintence who is dying to take a couple of my kids. Not on a bet. She's got a pretty nice blue-nose pit *****, but I could not be satisfied that the pit would not brutally attack and destroy any small animals this woman might bring into her home/yard.
People really do seem to think dog=dog. Not true.