Pit bull coming at me, owner screaming "Vicious NO"

[jeraldjcook]

You consider that a great ordinance? Sounds like another move toward a totalitarian state to me. I agree that aggressive animals should be dealt with and euthanized if that is what is necessary. But the city having their own means to determine that without an incident is a little extreme to me.

I agree with you to a point, and there are numerous cities within 50 miles of me where this ordinance would not be a good idea. I'm originally from a suburb of Kansas City where pit bulls are banned and I could see how an ordinance like this could get out of hand. If the temperament test if fair, you have nothing to worry about. Lawrence, the city I live in, is EXTREMELY pit bull friendly. The city council is pro pit bull, so is the local humane society (it travels to city council meetings all over Kansas and Missouri speaking out against breed bans and explaining how successful their breed neutral policy is and its safety record), and you can't walk downtown without out seeing at least a handful of them. The ordinance was originally passed because there were a few individuals who were involved in dog fighting that the city had a hard time pinning charges on them. The city just about has to catch them fighting the dogs to get any charges to stick, but if you can take their dogs, it's at least something. As for the ordinance, the actual wording if very fair, breed neutral, and the testing is performed by the humane society, which again is pro pit bull. Someone must complain about your dog for it to be tested. If it fails the test you can appeal, and failing the test, except in extreme cases won't cause the dog to be euthanized. Lawrence is a college town, home of the KU Jayhawks, and is very liberal. These aren't the type of people who are going to run a totalitarian state.

 

[Geoff_H]

IMHO, I don't believe that there are any bad breeds .....

It is particularly distressing to me that governments can ban breeds based on the behavior of a few.

.....

Like someone previously said, sooner or later they may get around to banning one that is dear to you! Cute little Chinese Crested's in little aloha shirts or duck herding Aussie sheep dogs!

I couldn't agree more with you.

H2Andy and TSandM are spot on in this thread.

The sterotyping and generalisations by people on the other side of the discussion are terrible.

I hope I'm never a black man in their town if another black man commits a crime, as this type of behaviour is all in my gene pool rather than a product of the environment I was raised in.

 

[MeiLing]

I couldn't agree more with you.

Wow! We agree on something! Just kidding! Seriously though, if we all agreed on everything the world would be a boring place!

In this case, I hate to see animals take the hit because of idiot owners. I've spent the better portion of my younger years around the bigger breeds and prefer them to the ankle biters, for the most part. I think the ankle biters took something of a bad rap earlier on though just because they were more likely spoiled thus the bad behavior. Now they're all not handled as dogs!

I like the bigger breeds myself because they're more of a real dog than just a toy. If I want a toy type animal, I'll keep a cat and I do because they are much lower maintenance! Any dog though is more of a commitment that must be met though. Not that I don't think of my cats as my kids. I have them for life as I would approach a dog. However, with a cat, the 7-8 hours they spend sleeping with you at night is quality time. Not so for a dog. They require active, quality time, especially the larger breeds.

I seriously subscribe to Cesar Milan and think that there is more to learn from what he teaches than just what is applicable to dogs. I've used some of his methods in ensuring that my two very territorial cats have complete detente with each other and I think some of the thought process works with people too!

 

[Cacia]

It is amazing to me that people can deny that centuries of breeding an animal for fighting would not tend to make them have certain...tendencies.

Why do you people think my herder (Australian Shepard) constantly herds us all over the house? He doesn't have any cows or sheep! Because he was bred to do that.

A Pit Bull can be a friendly dog, but it is less likely. I don't care if they pass laws or not, I am for less government regulation, but I stay away from them.
Guess that makes me a dog racist

... and I love the influence of the quarter horse mind, lol.

Oh, and some dog breeds are just boneheads (stupid). It is a fact. There are smart breeds and not so smart breeds.

I prefer smart dogs myself, they tend to intuitively know if they eat my babies I'll kill them on the spot. My dog won't touch the hair on our bunnies head, because he knows they belong to us, and he respects and fears us because we are alpha in his world.

Cats and cat people?...well that is a whole nother deal. I wish they had a cat leash law and my neighbor's cat would keep the hell of my cars. Why do cats get a pass, anyway?

 

[MeiLing]

Cats and cat people?...well that is a whole nother deal. I wish they had a cat leash law and my neighbor's cat would keep the hell of my cars. Why do cats get a pass, anyway?

I agree with you there! My cats are indoor only cats and I can't stand irresponsible pet owners of any sort! My neighbors cat also craps in my yard and the odds that he will walk across my car with his muddy feet and sleep on his hood with his greasy body are greater depending on how much time I've spent waxing it or paying someone to do so.

I got him good one time though. I had come home and pulled into the carport while I was having a conversation with someone on the cell thru the hands-free kit that I had at the time. It was dark and he didn't see me. He jumped on the hood and I waited until he was right in the middle and then leaned on the horn! I think he hit the ceiling of the carport! Didn't get on my car for a long time after that!

 

[trucker girl]

whew - i feel better now

Well... maybe this will put the fear of dog in you:


Cody doing laundry!


Cody doing front-porch sitting!



Cody being seductive!



Just look at those "come hither" eyes!

Incidentally (and in a really lame attempt to make this post on-topic), I won't let Cody see pit bulls. Every one he has ever "met" has snapped and tried to kill him. Jeff (The Dive Guy) rehabilitates dogs on a small scale- and he does have a pit bull mix that weighs maybe 20 lbs. After very careful observation, I'll let Cody play with that one. But never a stranger's pit bull and never a full-size one.

That kitten is adorable (from the pit/kitten pic)- did she taste good?

 

[Cacia]

Cody is smart too, you can tell.

 

[trucker girl]

Cody is smart too, you can tell.

By smart, do you mean spoiled?

 

[scubabeachboy]

I spent a year in Phillipines.
They did not havre out of control animals over there.
In fact they used dogs as a food source.
I ate many a "dog-taco" back then.
They were good, a little in the greasy side, but still very good.
Perhaps we should export all the pit bulls (and thier owners) to Phillipines.
I would imagine a big mean slobbering dangerous pit bull would make 400+ after dive snacks !
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm???
Just an idea!

 

[trucker girl]

My gawd- you're onto something there! You could package and market "bad owner cracklin's" or something along those lines- LOL!