Another pitbull kills, this time a little girl

[omnibus2]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.1735814

It's funny how every single time something like this happens, there are boats of people who rush in the defend the dog, saying ridiculous statements like "it wasn't the dogs fault", or "the dog shouldn't be put down", or better yet "it's the girl's fault".

Yet, when once in a blue moon you hear about a python attacking somebody, the snake is demonized, and everyone demands that it's a public safety hazard and that all snakes should be banned.
Your thoughts?

[bcr229]

While I'm no fan of the APBT breed, when a news report lists one as weighing 130# I'm going to doubt everything else stated in the article.

[cheaversg]

130 pound pitbull is a huge pitbull so idk if im buying that it was full bred pitbull.
Second I think not as many people own snakes so just like a story about pitbulls facts get skewed and theres not as many people to defend them. And when a pitbull attacks someone I always blame the owner hahahaha. I dont believe the owners when they say it was never aggressive and i certainly dont believe the news. 130 pound pit is severely overweight and was probably getting mistreated anyway. But its a sad story.

But just like other dogs that are complicated to raise and harder to train, Pitbulls arent for a first time owner or for someone who doesnt discipline there dogs. I was in petco the other day and this guy had a Siberian Husky and it was sitting there and I went over to pet it and he said dont he's not nice and he bites. (why you would bring an unfriendly dog to a public place is beyond me) Point is dogs need discipline any dog that is undisciplined is a wild animal and can attack. You see those dogs pullin your neighbor down the street mhm mhm theyll rip your hand right off. If you are not a disciplinarian with a pitbull, a doberman, a boxer for that matter they can all FSU.

[jclaiborne]

I'm not sure if you are calling out the breed here or just asking for an opinion, so please clarify. My opinion is that animals are just that animals. Is it sad that someone died, yes, however weather is a dog, cat, snake, horse whatever, it isn't the animals fault. An snake is a wild animal, they are not domesticated, so demonizing a snake for constricting something is a little rediculous. On that same note even though dogs are "domesticated" they are still dog and are a product of their owner. I have a pitbull that I rescued. She was a bait dog, she came to me with burns from cattle prods and bite scars, she was thrown in a yard to die, now she is the sweetest dog I have ever owned, I would never hesitate to let my son play with her. So yes in my opinion I don't even need to read the article it is the owners fault. I also have a Wolf Hybrid that was beaten and left in a dumpter in East LA, he came to me terrified. He chomped my arm once because he was scared and I overstepped my bounds. COMPLETELY MY FAULT. Its never the breed that is the problem! It's the owners.

[sorraia]

My thoughts on this and every other similar situation (be it dog, snake, etc), I want to know more details. There's a lot left out of that article, just as there's a lot left out of "snake attack" articles. What were the circumstances leading up to this attack? Has the dog ever shown any signs of any kind of aggression, no matter how small, including but not limited to food aggression or resource guarding? Was the child doing anything, no matter how seemingly innocent, to provoke the dog? Did something frighten the dog? Was there some other factor, such as a health problem? Same things with snake attacks: What were the circumstances leading to the attack, how was the animal handled before the attack, how was it housed, how well was it cared for, were there some other circumstance leading to the incident, etc?

Another thing to note about this particular incident: "pit bull" is not a specific breed of a dog, but a type of dog, much like "terrier" or "shepherd" or "mastiff". The "pit bull" type can include a number of breeds including but not limited to American Staffordshire terrier, American pit bull terrier, bull terrier, American bulldog, and others. As a "type" and not a breed, it is misleading to demonize entire populations of dogs due to the actions of just one. That'd be like saying all "shepherd" type dogs are aggressive and vicious because one single dog belonging to the group (i.e. an Australian shepherd, border collie, or German shepherd) attacked someone. Likewise it is misleading to demonize all constricting snakes because one constrictor injured a person (who may or may not have been properly housing, caring for, or handling that snake). It is likewise misleading and ignorant to demonize all snake keepers, or exotic animal keepers in general, because one individual did not properly care for or handle their animals.

Unfortunately the general public, and our lawmakers, don't think like this. They think in terms of generalities and knee jerk emotional reactions to incidents.

Additional thoughts:
Furthermore I'd like to know what circumstances lead up to the girl's death. Although the article indicates it was the injuries that caused her death, I want to know in what way? Was there damage to her brain that caused her death? Or did she bleed out from the injuries? What was the response time of emergency aid? I'm not going to blame any particular person in this circumstance, because I do not know the details and there is no point in playing the blame game any way, but I can't help but to wonder if a few details were different, could the results have been different. Did the mother panic (sounds like it in the article), could she have administered first aid that could have prevented some bleeding and saved the girl's life, or did she attempt to? (Answers aren't any of my business, and we'll never know, but I can't help but to ask them.) Were emergency responders some how delayed in arriving, and could that have saved the girl's life? How far away was the hospital? Etc etc etc. The incident may not be a simple "dog attack lead to death", but other details could have been what contributed to the ultimate demise of this unfortunate girl. It is truly a sad situation, regardless. As a mother of a 2 year old, I couldn't imagine being put in that situation.

[omnibus2]

130 pound pitbull is a huge pitbull so idk if im buying that it was full bred pitbull.
Second I think not as many people own snakes so just like a story about pitbulls facts get skewed and theres not as many people to defend them. And when a pitbull attacks someone I always blame the owner hahahaha. I dont believe the owners when they say it was never aggressive and i certainly dont believe the news. 130 pound pit is severely overweight and was probably getting mistreated anyway. But its a sad story.

But just like other dogs that are complicated to raise and harder to train, Pitbulls arent for a first time owner or for someone who doesnt discipline there dogs. I was in petco the other day and this guy had a Siberian Husky and it was sitting there and I went over to pet it and he said dont he's not nice and he bites. (why you would bring an unfriendly dog to a public place is beyond me) Point is dogs need discipline any dog that is undisciplined is a wild animal and can attack. You see those dogs pullin your neighbor down the street mhm mhm theyll rip your hand right off. If you are not a disciplinarian with a pitbull, a doberman, a boxer for that matter they can all FSU.

It's just like when people say a "20 foot python" which probably was more like 11 feet. Maybe the pitbull was 130 lbs, maybe it wasn't. But that's irrelevant. The fact is that it killed an innocent girl unprovoked. I agree that there are too many irresponsible pit bull owners. There need to be laws and regulations. Why is it that harmless snakes face bans all over the US, but there are so few laws for dangerous breeds of dogs?

[Expensive hobby]

It's just like when people say a "20 foot python" which probably was more like 11 feet. Maybe the pitbull was 130 lbs, maybe it wasn't. But that's irrelevant. The fact is that it killed an innocent girl unprovoked. I agree that there are too many irresponsible pit bull owners. There need to be laws and regulations. Why is it that harmless snakes face bans all over the US, but there are so few laws for dangerous breeds of dogs?

Actually many cities, towns, counties have placed bans on "pit bulls."

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3

[sorraia]

It's just like when people say a "20 foot python" which probably was more like 11 feet. Maybe the pitbull was 130 lbs, maybe it wasn't. But that's irrelevant. The fact is that it killed an innocent girl unprovoked. I agree that there are too many irresponsible pit bull owners. There need to be laws and regulations. Why is it that harmless snakes face bans all over the US, but there are so few laws for dangerous breeds of dogs?

Just today I saw an article on Facebook about a 49 foot 780 pound reticulated python caught in Floride.


In terms of irresponsible pit bull owners and the need for legislation on "dangerous breeds", I personally believe there are too many irresponsible dog owners in general. In my personal experience, many of these "pit bull" issues come from ignorance. In my experience, any dog that shows the slightest bit of aggression is automatically labeled a "pit bull". Similarly, because of the few attacks you hear about involving a Burmese or reticulated python, people automatically think 20 foot giant when they hear the word "python" or "boa", even though many species aren't that big. The general population also doesn't know how to identify dog breeds, especially when it comes to mutts. Many dogs labeled "pit bull" are in fact mutts that include boxer, bulldog, mastiff breeds, or labradors. My dad's border collie/lab mix has been called a pit bull, while one of my dogs has been called almost everything under the sun!

And there is legislation against certain breeds of dog, it just isn't nationwide. Certain states, counties, and cities have ruled that certain breeds of dog are "dangerous" and have either put in place restrictions on how those animals can be kept or brought into public, or outright banned those breeds. Other states have ruled it is "unconstitutional" to place such bans on breeds of dog (California being one such state), but have allowed other forms of discrimination (i.e. requiring that certain breeds be spayed or neutered unless someone keeps a special kennel license). Yet other states are starting to remove their breed bans because they've found such legislation doesn't work, compared to vicious dog laws which work better. Also insurance companies tend to discriminate against certain breeds of dog, refusing to insure people who have those breeds. Not all insurance companies do this (mine doesn't, instead my insurance company discriminates against dogs who actually have a history of aggression, regardless of breed). In most cases, those breeds ending up on these types of lists include "pit bulls" (APBT, AST, and bull terriers), akitas, dobermans, German shepherds, rottweilers, and mastiffs. Sometimes chows, shar peis, huskies, and a few other breeds are also included.

[jclaiborne]

I'm sorry but to complain about legislation against snakes, but promote legislation against dog breeds is ignorant. The government shouldn't have the right to tell me what pet I can/cannot own as long as I can provide the proper requirements to take care of said animal. Outlawing dog breeds is just like outlawing Burms, you are punishing the animals because of the ignorance of owners.

[OhhWatALoser]

It's just like when people say a "20 foot python" which probably was more like 11 feet. Maybe the pitbull was 130 lbs, maybe it wasn't. But that's irrelevant. The fact is that it killed an innocent girl unprovoked. I agree that there are too many irresponsible pit bull owners. There need to be laws and regulations. Why is it that harmless snakes face bans all over the US, but there are so few laws for dangerous breeds of dogs?

I was going to comment on this, but I really don't have time to right now, so I'll just say the ignorance is amazing.