Letters to the Editor
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@ mysteryb
Thanks for that update. It is indeed a horrifying attack because people want to be safe in their homes. It is still unclear what the little dog Romeo was doing with this group. Did he pack with the pits and they turned on him? Or did he enter the victim's house to get away from them.
What is confirms for me by reading this is that the pit bulls were dog aggressive. It appears that the woman became a target when she tried to save Romeo (which is not her service dog).
When I am out by myself or with people and I see pits, I never worry. When I am with my dog, I always worry.
I would bet anything that most attacks by pit-type dogs involve the following:
1. Dogs loose that are usually chained. (Chaining makes dogs aggressive.)
2. More than one "pit" or a pack attack involving another type and a "pit."
3. An unneutered male.
4. That the whole thing usually begins as a "spree" in which they are actually looking for another dog to attack.
Strangely enough, I have some thoughts about what to do about these problems, but I would include many bully breeds and not just pits and none of my ideas involve euthanasia.
1. Male bully breeds of the more assertive types who live within the city limits proper must be neutered. All of them. No exceptions. Neutering to be done by age six months.
2. Make it against the law to own more than one within the city limits.
3. Bully breeds not from show lines and intended for show purposes cannot have their ears cropped or their tails docked. The purpose of this is two-fold. First, to make them less attractive to people who want them mainly because of their tough reputations. Fighting dogs always have their tails docked. Make it against the law to give them this fighting "look" and they will be less attractive to gangsters and idiot macho types. Second, a dog signals much of his intention with his tail. I can tell is a dog is feeling aggressive or fearful but looking at his tail. If people know aggression is likely they can steer clear.
4. Require that people who keep bully breeds in their backyard actually have a 6 foot brick or stone fence surrounding the entire dog enclosure with a secure gate and a metal grate sunk into the ground below the gate so that it is impossible for them to dig out.
5. Make it illegal to chain them (or any other dog) routinely for more than an hour a day.
6. Require registration of all dogs (most cities already do) but make it have teeth. Initial registration should be affordable. However, levy a really stiff fine against all unregistered dogs. Registration should not be designed to punish people for having dogs or even making personal choices about their dogs (neutering vs. not neutering); rather its purpose should be to make certain all dogs are vaccinated, have ID, and can be identified by an expert as to actual breed. This will allow a city to keep better statistics concerning dog bites/aggression.
7. In conjunction with trainers subsidized by the city offer introductory training classes for all pups from 6 to 9 months. Dogs cannot be good dogs if they are not socialized around other dogs and people. Trainers would probably be willing to do this at less cost because, once people start training their dogs and see how much fun it can be, they are more likely to spring for more training.
8. Make cities dog friendly instead of dog adverse. The advantage of this is you build a community or dog owners watching out for each other and watching out for each others dogs and participating in making regulations that are positive for everyone. Socially responsible people have socially responsible animals and bring pressure to bear upon those who are irresponsible.
9. People could keep an existing couple of bully breeds. They just could not acquire more (of any breed). One should be the limit thereafter. Therefore, there should be no need to euthanize dogs and the pack problems with bully breeds would diminish.
I think the above -- if strictly enforced -- would cut down on bully breed attacks on both humans and dogs. In fact, I think it would cut down on dog bites altogether.
I realize that neither side is likely to agree with me, but the above would allow RESPONSIBLE OWNERS to have the breed they love. They just cannot have a whole pack of them.
As for dog breeding, it has no place in a densely populated city in any case.