We had a pretty good scare this week. In our neighborhood, there are a number of pet owners that chose to allow their dogs to run free. With some dogs, this is not really an issue other that the fuss caused when they come near our fence. Then you have a certain owner, who not only allows their dogs to run free, but makes no effort to properly train and socialize them. The worst part is the breed they chose to keep, Pit Bull’s.
We are not one of those that think Pit Bull’s should be outlawed or anything like that. On the contrary, we have seen some beautifully mannered Pit Bull’s. They are a very sweet loving breed if properly raised. The issue comes when a person fails to socialize and train their animal especially if its a breed know for instinctual aggressiveness.
What happened was Our immediate neighbor has a family of feral cats that has made their home under his house. He has been trying to coax them out, and has been feeding them in hopes of domesticating them. Well The Pit bull in question jumped the neighbors fence, and started chasing one of the cats. Fully intent on capturing and killing it. The deed was well accomplished before we could intervene, and right on their back porch.
The fear for us comes as we realize our fence is lower than the neighbors, and several of our dogs are even smaller that the poor cat. I can assure you, that I will do anything necessary to protect our Chi’s. What infuriates me is that we shouldn’t have to worry about things like this. If people would just understand the responsibilities involved with owning an instinctively aggressive dog.
We did call the Sheriff's Office, and the dog owners were cited. This does nothing to help the poor cat, but perhaps it will lead to the dogs owner being more responsible in the future. I fervently hope so, but have serious doubts.
15 comments:
The problem is that our society sees pet ownership as a right and not a privilege. But it should be a privilage. It's a life, a feeling and thinking and loving creature. If we can get to work on legislation that screens gun owners more thourghly, why can't we do the same for owning a living, breathing creature? Not to mention that it would perfectly solve the pit bull problem. As someone with an adopted pit bull, I can't tell how frustrating owners like the ones you describe are. They don't just hurt themselves and the individual dog, but they hurt anyone who owns a pit bull, even if they are responsible.
The last sentence wasn't perfectly clear: I didn't mean they hurt us even if they are responsible, I mean that by being irresponsible they hurt responsible pit bull owners.
HI Walter, I know what you mean my friend. Your statement made perfect sense to me. It is aggravating to all pet owners when there are those out there that do not take the responsibility serious. More so for high profile animals such as the Pit Bulls. They, the dog, get such a bad rep because of these circumstances.
I do hope that the pitbull owner will take heed and be a more responsible pet owner this time. It was a really good thing that the dog didn't get to your dear Chis.
Tasha
HI Tasha, I would have truly lost if that had happened. The scare was enough. I hope they take caution, but have found out the reason they moved out here was problems with their dogs.
I am so sorry to read this story as I know what a worry you have on your hands. When you are an owner of small dogs things are different, with different challenges etc.
I also believe that pit bulls get a bad rap, yet I also suspect with your obvious love for dogs I think you would have posted this same story if the dog were a labrador (or whatever).Meaning it just so happened to be a pit bull.
My concern for you and the owners of the pit, is this dog has now (the pit) has the taste of blood in him. I have seen all sorts of different breeds of dogs that succeeded in killing a cat or another dog, and in my experiance (and mine only) it never stops there. They are never the same and will continue with the "hunt"
I hope your dogs all stay safe, and I hope the pits owners take this VERY seriously. Next time it may not be a cat or a dog.
By the way I would like to point out I too happen to have a half breed Pit bull/Labrador. So I am NOT saying anything negative against pits, Just some Pit owners.
Hi Moon Writer, Your right, if it had been a Lab or Golden Retriever, I would have still posted this. It's not the dogs that are the root cause, but how they are raised and trained. The ever present human element, that is capable of throwing anything into a spin.
I am always worried for the dogs I see running free. Not just for situations such as this, but for their general safety.
That was pretty irresponsible of them Eric. I hope they could place their feet in your shoes.
Hi Jena, I'm not sure these pet owners are the type that care about anyone else. They moved out here because of problems with their dogs in the city.
As the mom of a pit I get crazy over irresponsible owners. An owner of any animal needs to take care and be aware of what their pets can do. But as the owner of a pit you have an even greater responsibility. Not only are these dogs generally larger and more powerful then most other dogs, they can do more damage with a bite no matter how sweet. My pit is my baby. I know she would never harm anyone but I keep a close eye on her when strangers are around because if the stranger does something stupid and my pit reacts she can cause a lot of damage without meaning to. It's people like your neighbors that make breed specific legislation sound like a good idea. It's not the dog, it's the irresponsible owners. I agree with Walter, owning a pet should be a licensed thing, that may help a lot.
Hi Flo, your right, and it's sad that you have to take the extra responsibility but these days you do. The whole reason is because of Pit owners who have been irresponsible. That is an interesting idea though, a licensing requirement for red flag animals.
Lots of lazy owners out there who should not be dog owners. Too often I think people fail to realize how much work is needed to raise a well rounded dog. It makes me sad when I hear owners talk about how naughty their dogs and then I ask, "How many times a week do you walk them?" I get a blank stare and a quick change in subject.
It's not a difficult concept but it does take constant effort.
We had a similar situation a few weeks ago. We do not have our backyard fenced in, so my wife was walking our chihuahua in the back. All of a sudden a huge dog came running into our yard and scared the 'you-know-what' out of our dog.
It was a neighbor's dog that always gets loose somehow. We have spoked to these people so many times about their dog, we finally called the association on them. They got a fine, we are getting a fance.
Poor cat, that is really sad, just be careful with your Chihuahua.
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