How awful! I can't imagine how helpless that woman must have felt seeing her horse attacked like that and not being able to do anything but stand there and scream. She's lucky the dogs didn't go after here though.

I understand not all pitt bulls do this sort of thing and that a lot of it is based on how they are trained and treated. But my neighbor has a pitt bull and her niece and nephew live with her. They are 8 and 10 and really great kids. My kids play with them all the time but I do not allow them to go over to their house. Not even just to ring the doorbell to see if the kids can come out to play. And they won't give us a phone number so we just have to wait for them to come over. I also tell my kids that if they see that dog outside, even on a leash, they are to come home immediately or go directly to another neighbor's house, whichever is closest. But this isn't just because it's a pitt bull but because this pitt bull is kept in a cage in their garage, RARELY is let out but for maybe a couple of hours a few times a week, and I have seen the woman walking the dog and getting angry and whacking at it. They had another pitt bull and had to get rid of it because it bit her husband on the leg while he was trying to prevent it from going after another dog. I am probably about to get yelled at by other people on this forum about pitt bulls but I can't help not liking those dogs in general. Again, it's not really about the neighbor's dog being a pitt bull but about the way it's treated as well as it's breed. It scares me to death that this dog lives in our neighborhood. The woman can barely control it when she's walking it and yet she lets her 10 year old nephew walk it. Scary scary scary. Can I file a complaint anonymously with anyone about this? Is there anything that can be done without the dog having bitten someone? There is a rumor that the dog did bite the girl in the face once but I'm not sure I believe it. I would think her injuries would have been a lot more severe than just the small cut under her eye she had at the time. And when asked, she denies the dog having bitten her...although once I noticed her brother elbow her about it as if there was more to the story that he didn't want us to know.

Oh, and by the way, I'm a mom and my daughter's name is Livi! Short for Olivia.

That is sad.My DD has a pit and DGD(not her DDD) has one of her pups that is a mix.They are both really sweet dogs,not at all aggressive but I still don't trust them.I guess I have a phobia about them as well as Dobermans,Rotweilers and German Shepards and there is really no reason I should!LOL.I don't blame you for being careful with your kids and the dog.I do agree that a lot of the reason they have problems is the way they are raised and sometimes it is bred into them.Especially if there is inbreeding involved.

As much as I love animals and believe in the humane treatment of them, I do have limits when it comes to viciousness in domestic animals that are allowed to intermingle with humans.

I'd have shot the dogs myself or at least bash them with a shovel. I'd risk my life for my horse. Same goes for people who torture animals. I'd shoot them too if I could. Society has no use for them, and they have no value.

I feel terrible for that horse owner. I'd never be able to enter that stable again either.

That's horrible. Poor horse, poor owner. It's very sad.

I had a recent experience with pit bulls while walking in my neighborhood. The neighbor's dog was loose and ran up to me barking, coming near me and backing up as he barked. I was just frozen in place and yelled for the neighbors to come get the dog. A young woman came out and called the dog, who ignored her, then the man came and grabbed the dog by the back of the neck. He was very angry and crude with me and told me the dog was not aggressive. "You could see his tail was wagging!" he said. I was not looking at his tail but at his big mouth. Then he said, "Woman, if this was an aggressive dog, you'd be down on the f-ing ground!!!" Lovely neighbors, huh? I know these dogs can be wonderful pets, but this experience really scared me.

This is why I support breed specific legislation. I know that is unpopular amongst dog owners but as you can see it doesn't take very many idiots to cause an accident.

Only problem with breed specific stuff is when all the Pitt Bulls are gone then the irresponsible owners will turn to another breed.

I don't blame you for not letting your daughter near that dog, no matter what the breed, from the description of how it's treated.

Poor horse. I aways wonder in those situations if the owner actually tries to fight the dogs off instead of standing there screaming. It was a barn. Had to be shovels, a pitchfork or even a whip or riding crop in there.

Lisa

I suppose people get pit bulls to feel macho??? I have no idea. But if the "macho" breeds become illegal then it will cut down drastically on injuries, deaths and dogfighting. It's not going to eliminate it but isn't it worth it just to save a few children each year?

Which "macho" breeds? German Shepherds? Dobermans? Rottweilers? These 3 were THE macho breeds of the 60's, 70's and 80's.

Chow? Kuvasz? Anatolian Shepherd? Cane Corso? Neopolitan mastiff? Akbash? American Bulldog? Beauceron?
Malinois? Boerboel? Bouvier? Ovtcharka? Fila Brasileiro?
Rhodesian Ridgeback? Tosa Inu? All are dominant breeds that can be quite territorial.

Pointer? Coonhound? Beagle? Weimaraner? Vizsla? Husky? Malamute? All have extreme prey drive and will certainly kill a cat or your pet rabbit .... or sheep.

Border Collie? Australian Cattle Dog? Herding dogs really don't like kids running around willy-nilly

Worst bite I ever received? Cocker Spaniel.

Where does it end? And who identifies the breed? I've gone to pull dogs from a shelter and the breed was completely mis-identified. As far as JQP .... My 120lb Anatolian was identified as a "pit bull". My Akbash was a "white lab" My pointer was a "Dalmatian" and "spotted lab" A friend calls her AKC Amstaffs "boxer mixes" so they won't suffer from pit prejudice. They're 10 and 12 now and have interacted with neighborhood kids forever and the parents look on indulgently while saying "See, a mutt is the best dog in the world" They'd run screaming and lock the doors if they knew those dogs were pit bulls .... I've heard them talk about how dangerous ALL pits are.

Pitbulls aren't a problem. People who refuse to confine, socialize and train their dogs ... ANY DOGS ... are a problem.

Pitbulls aren't a problem. People who refuse to confine, socialize and train their dogs ... ANY DOGS ... are a problem.

Tell that to the lady with the dead horse. From what I have seen, the problem is, they attack to kill. My friend's little maltese bit her 3 year old in the belly, but it was not trying to kill her. So maybe you did get a nasty bite from a Cocker Spaniel but you are still here, aren't you??

And again, if the (let's just take breed out completely) dogs had been properly confined by their owner, the incident would not have occurred.

Two labs were shot here yesterday for taking down a cow. The farmer lost valuable stock and made the 6 o'clock news, complete with sobbing shildren, for shooting "two wonderful family pets" Wonderful family pets are not permitted to cruise the neighborhood. Pit bulls and maltese and everything in between should not be left unsupervised with 3 year olds.

Dogs have incredible potential to get into trouble when they are not adequately supervised, controlled and contained. Common sense and a sense of responsibility would go far to reduce dog bites, attacks and fatalies.

Local story

Here is a link that might be useful: Pitt in the hood

We could start with pit bulls, evaluate the how effective the ban is and go from there.

Oh, I see. Kinda like

Ship the Jews to ghettos. See how effective that is and move on to camps and incinerators from there?

I own a Pit Bull and my last dog was a Pit Bull. Both were/are excellent pets- loyal, smart, loving, and neither were aggressive toward people. They were both under voice command and well behaved in public. We are kinda of Yuppies so it is often a surprise to people that we own a Pit Bull. In fact many people comment on what a beautiful, sweet dog she is and when they ask what she is are surprised to learn her breed.

Because I realize that people are afraid of the breed--when I walk Zoey I make her sit off the sidewalk when people pass including people with other dogs. Passing dogs may lunge or bark but she sits quietly waiting.

I had to stop going to dog parks because she was often harrassed by smaller dogs whose owners allow them to bite and nip---she never bit back...I would call Zoey back and she would sit beside me- I have also been bitten by little dogs trying to get to Zoey. One man even got mad at me saying that Pit Bulls should not be allowed at the park because they invoke aggressiveness...When I reminded him that it was his Jack Russell biting my dog and my leg he continued to rant about Pit Bulls.

Any dog- Pit Bull and little dogs included- that shows aggressiveness toward humans and/or other living things regardless of the amount of damage should be put down. It should not be breed specific.

As a child I was bitten several times by a neighbors dog (a black lab who was allowed to roam free). My parents complained to them and the police several times but nothing was done. When the dog came into our yard and bit my brother on the face drawing blood from his lip- my father shot it and brought it back to the owners.

I do admit that there are a lot of strange people who get Pit Bulls for fighting or bragging rights-animal welfare groups are trying to weed these people out before they adopt. My heart goes out to people injured by any dog due to poor socialization and/or irresponsible owners.

In the end it is the owners responsibility to supervise the pet...as wonderful as Zoey is I would never leave her alone with a child of any age that she does not know or play unsupervised with another dog and I would put her down if she ever showed aggression toward a human.

I have never been one to support govt. intrusion but there comes a time for everything I guess.

The 2nd amendment gaurantees Americans the individual right to keep and bear arms, also the right to free speech and so on. All of these rights come with reasonable restrictions such as no automatic weapons, and other restrictions; it is illegal to yell fire in a theater. So, it might be reasonable to expect, upon the numerous events attributed to certain breeds, that there be restrictions and out right bans on breeds proven to be dangerous; ie: pit bulls, Rottweilers. Even machine guns are legally bought and owned by those with permits, that principle could be workable with these breeds of dogs too.

How do you propose to enforce such a proposal?

Guns and threats are much more easily policed----dog breeding/sales/ownership is impossible to supervise.

Breed ban is even laughable---pits are outlawed in my county. I can show anyone many homes with pits/pit mixes/etc. I even wound up with a pit mix---the females owner told me the sire was a Border Collie---the mom was a Lab. There were two Borders and the Lab on his property---and two dogs from a previous litter---obviously Border/Lab mixes. The pup I got was six weeks old.

By the time he was six months, it was obvioius his sire was not a Border---but a Pit/Pit mix. So----without meaning to break the law, I did so.

How do you stop that kind of thing? I see no reason to make another unenforceable law.

Why would people expect that the owner of the horse should have gone after the dogs with a shovel or a crop? If the dogs are killing a full grown horse then a human doesnt have much chance. And I'm sure the horse wasn't just mildly standing there it was probably kicking wildly at the dogs which could have been a more swift death for the owner.

I am not a huge supporter of breed bans.... yet, I may be changing my mind.

My elderly uncle was recently mauled by two pit bulls. He was taking out his trash, when the neighbor's pits, knocked him down and nearly mauled him to death.

They went for his jugular, but he was able to get away, but not without help from his wife and the neighbors slamming the dogs with a shovel and using the garbage can lids as shields. He required extensive surgery and at his age, that is no cake walk.

The whole ordeal has traumatized him and my aunt so much that they are afraid to leave their home until the neighbor gets rid of the animals.

I am sure the lawsuits are pending...

IMO all the nasty dangerous pit bulls shouldn't be killed rather they should be darted, sadated fixed so they can't have babies if intact and then awaken to a huge grassy exibits simalar to gray wolf enclosures at zoos and rescue centers, they could have a title for "dangerous dogs, or horrors of mankind" explaining why these breeds are not good dogs for people who can't handle their savage instincts, or breed aggrestive natures. Once a week they put in a big cow or horse thats lame or going to be slaugtered for pet food anyway for the public to watch. the pits work together like a pack to tackle down and kill them like gray wolves, then they eat like gray wolves, which IMO is how all dogs reguardless of breed should eat,( there's only at most a 2% difference between gray wolves and all domestic dogs- and it aint the food using parts either its appearence and behavior, wolves in zoos have been fed science diet dog food before- a crappy brand BTW) in these controlled suitations they pose no danger to the public and help push out bad owners or warn people of how dangerous they can be.

being eaten alive by animal is actually painless after an extent. Mother Nature has compassion in her creatures the shock nums them out after it gets icky and they just go to sleep. I read a book about someone who got mauled by a lion but lived to tell about it, he reported a feeling of being druged sim to being PTS to be Operated on.

Years ago, when my children were toddlers we were chased by a pit bull. We were playing in the park just down the street from our house when all of a sudden from the distance I saw a dog barking and running toward us. It was a white pit bull. Minutes seemed to freeze as I panicked as to what I am going to do to protect myself and my children. I gathered them up quickly and up the slide I went. There were 5 metal stairs between the dog and I. Knowing that the dog could easily climb up to us I screamed as I huddled with the children. The owner of the dog came running and laughed as he said "Oh he wont hurt you". The dog was barking and looked very angry. I'll never forget that frightening experience!