Pitbulls. hated for no reason.

[Enkil]

A dog's life is important to. They are a member of the family and loved like a child. Any dog can maim or kill. You may not think so looking at them, but they can. How easy would it be for that little lap dog to take an eye or ear? Or maim a child's face? The family lap dog is good and allowed around the baby, What happens if the little dog decides the baby isn't friendly and the baby dies? Labs are just as likely. Any dog can do it. You just don't hear about it like you do a bully breed.

[FishyFishy89]

The only dogs that have ever bit me are a boxer (I was a child and was being in his face too much) and a yippy yorkie. So I guess these dogs are DANGEROUS as well. Might as well ban them from certain places too.

Took Emma to the doggie park today. A couple with 2 mutts (mixed breed dogs) walked in before me. Immediately I noticed the male was aggressive with the female. I made sure Emma was far from them. Later on that same dog attacked a husky who was chasing his own toy. Took me and 3 other people to pull the dog off.
Everyone supports and protects this park and politely (some rudely) told them to leave. The guy didn't even take responsibility for his dog's actions. He said "that dog bit mine 1st" 1. the husky never showed aggression. Even when your dog had a death grip on the husky he just balled up and cried. 2. it is your dog accept responsibility for your dog's actions. 3. Wither you like it or not, it is park rules and the law that aggressive dogs are NOT allowed off leash.

[FishyFishy89]

Originally Posted by Sena Hansler

Or is it just PEOPLE who won't take a chance with a strong breed?

that and there are just not enough people to help train all the aggressive dogs. some are just afraid as well.

[Granberry]

Oy. This thread is making me feel old.

The idea of outlawing puppy mills and pet shops, requiring background checks before dog purchases, requiring spay and neuter or surrender your dog...these are obviously great ideas that would do a world of good. It would take someone young and passionate for their cause to fight the home breeders and pet store lobbies and to identify funding for enforcement of spay/neuter or breeder licensing, because cops (like my hubby of 25 years) don't have the skills to confiscate dogs and animal control doesn't have funding...

But I say hey, a lot of change for good was made by idealistic and energetic and committed young people, so I will support you in any legislation you propose. If it doesn't make it to the ballot though...well, you know. :)

[revolutionrocknroll]

Bleh... capitalism. Only companies with money get to have a say in politics nowadays.

I'm an animal science major, and I plan to work in animal welfare when I graduate from college, so I'll see what I can do.

[Aluyasha]

If only animal welfare laws were stronger...then if a person wants their pitbull to be the mean devil alot of people think it is then the owner can get into trouble if the dog attacks someone, not the dog getting in trouble for it.
People should be held responsible for their animals and not have the dogs pay the price.

[Bombalurina]

I am fully in support of advocating higher fences, better leash laws, dog park laws, etc, and dog licensing. I don't think it should be limited to dogs, though.

My thing is cats. Don't get me wrong, I adore cats. There is one neighbourhood cat that loves to approach me for a face scratch. BUT I hate that it is roaming the streets in the first place. People ought to keep their cats indoors, or at least in their gardens. When they leave their gardens, they go into the local wildlife sanctuary and kill native lizards, or into my garden and try and get at my fish, and terrify my rats when I am playing with them on the grass. I should be able to enjoy my garden with my animals without a neighbour's animal jumping in and attacking them.
I wish cats were not allowed to free-roam. Buy them a cat run, or a cat aviary, or keep them indoors. Not out trying to eat my pets.

[MollyJean]

Sadie was at the vet last week for knee surgery. The vet fell in love with her and put a pic of her on his facebook. The picture? His hands in her mouth making her smile. She let a stranger manhandle her and her tail was wagging the whole time.



I really do believe it's the owners that make a dog good or bad... Training and socialization. Those are the most important things! Without those, any dog can be mean. Sadie has been trained to not react negatively when her face is touched. It was really pretty easy to do, and now I can let kids play with her without worrying about them grabbing her face.

Regulating breeds is a good idea.. if it's done right. In some states, people need permits to own turtles, racoons, iguanas, snails... this should be applied to breeds of dogs. I would be happy if a person had to have a permit to own a pitbull, a rotty, a doberman, a few other powerful breeds.. and this is not limited to breeds that have been deamed "dangerous" by the media.. this is any dog that is powerful enough to do serious damage. Which means.. most dogs. Sadly this is never going to happen, so rather then the people who own these dogs taking the blame, the poor dog is the scape goat. Banning any breed outright, though, seems ridiculous.

Either way, I'm proud of my Sadie Bell, she's a good girl, no matter how many people think she was "born bad".


Best friends Sadie and Tyrael

[Aluyasha]

All my cats are totally indoor. When I was younger I had cats that went outside...they never lived very long. So now that I have my own house my cats stay inside, and they have microchips just in case. :)

[Olympia]

^ +1 to the cat thing 100%.
It is becoming illegal in some towns near me.
We have this calico cat that always comes to our garden. It digs in our garden, it scares our wild birds (we are wild bird lovers.. we usually have several bird nests in view that we have to look over to be sure the cat doesn't get to the babies..) I tried scaring it out of my yard one day (my dog was beside me and probably caused the following) It jumped onto a fence, hissed and almost jumped on my dog. I had to -lightly- hit it with the blunt end of the shovel I had (I assure you that cat was not hurt and this really was a last second response, I mean what was I supposed to do?) This summer if we see it, I want to borrow the neighbors raccoon trap, catch it and take it to the humane society >__>

Cats. Lol. So off topic.