My sister's 4 month old puppy gets attacked by pitbull. Is it right to go to court?

[feelingshorter]

Originally posted by: RGUN

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.

I have some doubts as well. It seems like a stretch to say that she punched the pitbull in the face and it didnt attack her, which apparently it didnt. If the pitbull attacked her dog, it was probably trained that way or neglected which means that it would have not only attacked the little dog, but it should have attacked her as well if she in fact did punch it.

What makes you think that? I know of two pitbull attacks and both times the owner kicked and stomped the pitbull and it didnt even slow it down from attacking the dog. Never went for the owner...

Pitbull attacks arent uncommon and many stories i;ve herd involved the owner of the dog being attacked attacking the pitbull. Not shens despite the fact that the 14 year old girl might of had some balls hitting a dog in the face. Perhaps she went for the eyes?

 

[Iron Woode]

found an article:

Woman charged over pit bull attack
Tue, August 1, 2006
By DANIELA SIMUNAC, FREE PRESS REPORTER


A woman who was supervising two pit bulls that viciously attacked her London neighbour and his dog last week has been charged under a bylaw.

Janet Ball, 55, was charged with two counts of allowing a pit bull dog to run at large.

With the city bylaw charges against her, Ball could face fines up to $5,000, said London police Staff Sgt. Rick Harriss.

Bill Pargeter, whose golden retriever, Tasha, is recovering from surgery at the University of Guelph, said the charges are appropriate. "These dogs almost destroyed my life.

"They would have killed me and my dog if the police didn't show up."

He said his neighbour -- she was supervising the unmuzzled, unleashed pit bulls when they slipped under the fence and attacked -- should bear responsibility for the damage the dogs caused.

"This was a terrible thing."

The attack ended only after police shot the two pit bulls, killing one and wounding the other, which was put down.

Ball wasn't available for comment yesterday.

Pargeter, a 42-year-old factory worker who's been off work since last Wednesday's attack, said he hasn't decided whether to pursue a lawsuit.

"Right now, my main concern is to make sure my dog gets better and to get better myself," he said.

Ball is expected to appear in court on the bylaw charges at a later date.

"This is a pretty serious thing that happened," said Harriss.

Jay Stanford, the city's manager of environmental services, said he wasn't surprised to hear charges had been laid.

"There have been biting incidents in London before," he said. "(But) this is very unfortunate. The owner did not ensure the pit bulls couldn't get out of the yard."

The message to all pit bull owners is that they need to be familiar with the law, he said.

"They should understand all of the requirements of a responsible pet owner. Hopefully, this particular dog and its owner will recover," said Stanford.

pics on this page: http://lfpress.ca/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=148329&x=articles&s=pets_nature

 

[Rumpltzer]

My older sister's cat was killed a few months ago by a couple of pit bulls. The cat was an inside at night, outside during the day cat in the outskirts of Charlotte, NC. She'd been letting the cats out for about seven years this way and leaving food and water for them in case they got hungry/thirsty during the day. They'd come home every night to be let in.

One Saturday she let them out and got a call from a neighbor fifteen minutes later. Two pit bulls roaming the neighborhood attacked her cat, and the cat was in pretty bad shape. She took it to the emergency vet who stabilized the cat, but the cat later died.

My sister's neighbors found the owner of the dogs and called the cops. It turns out that dogs attacking or killing one time isn't punishable in her city. The dogs need to establish a pattern (attack or kill twice). My sister points out that if she had killed a neighbors cat, she'd be going to jail. The dogs, however, have more rights.

The owner of the dog refused to pay the vet bill, but my sister kept at him. Others in the neighborhood were so angry about the incident that they called up the Charlotte paper and a front page story in the local section was written (my sister didn't contribute to the story). The dog owner paid the entire vet bill and cremation costs about a month after the incident.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: notfred
Was the pitbull in the backyard of a large suburban house with a lexus out front, or a run down apartment complex in the ghetto? Your chances of actually collecting any money will be affected by this.

QFT.

Pitbulls are banned here in Denver city limits.

 

[DrPizza]

I have a little faith in my fellow human beings with whom I share this planet. I can't imagine that they wouldn't immediately offer to pay the vet bills. However, in the face that they refuse, it's a simple open and shut case in court. Make it quite clear to them that if you have to go to court, you're going to attempt to recover more than simple vet costs, including time off from work, etc. And, make it clear that the law is on your side; show a couple examples of court cases that have been in the news and that the current climate in courts is to rule against that breed.

IF it's a slummy place with a welfare tenant, go after the landlord who created this problem in the area. Landlords need to be concerned with the type of people they rent to. I rent a house out. I have no problem allowing pets. There's no way I would allow a tenant to have what I consider to be risky breeds on my property, i.e. pitbulls. Why? Because I don't want to get sued over something my tenant or their dog does.

 

[dalearyous]

i updated post, read first post

 

[PunDogg]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Hell yes you shuold pursue the owner to cover the costs. And if they dont comply, sue their a$$es.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: soydios

Originally posted by: Linflas
If your dog was leashed then you have every right to ask for the vet bills. As someone earlier said you should ask them for them before taking them to court. If your dog was unleashed then don't bother, pay your vet bills and learn to never walk your dog unleashed.

Why does it matter if the sister's dog was leashed? She was obviously walking it. A leash often just weighs down the victim dog, preventing it from running.

Because if the law in your area says you have to have your dog leashed and don't and it gets in a fight with another unleashed dog both parties are 50% resposible in the eyes of the law. If your unleashed dog gets in a fight with a leashed dog then you are 100% responsible even if the leashed dogs starts it.

 

[Thorny]

Sorry about your dog, seriously. With that said, not only do the police NOT have the authority to put down the pit bull for this, if your dog wasn't on a leash, you don't have much ground to stand on for medical bills either. I don't know the situation with the other dog, but it will not automatically get put down, especially if your sis beat on it without it attacking her.

 

[LumbergTech]

feel bad for the pitbulls in these type of situations as well, same thing happened to my girlfriends father and her dog..everyone was so mad at the dog , but the real problem is the idiot owners who allow a dangerous animal to be on the loose....these dogs were bred to be this way and i think criminal charges should be pressed against those who own them and then let them out to attack

 

[j00fek]

Originally posted by: Linflas
If your dog was leashed then you have every right to ask for the vet bills. As someone earlier said you should ask them for them before taking them to court. If your dog was unleashed then don't bother, pay your vet bills and learn to never walk your dog unleashed.

ditto

 

[amicold]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.

I have some doubts as well. It seems like a stretch to say that she punched the pitbull in the face and it didnt attack her, which apparently it didnt. If the pitbull attacked her dog, it was probably trained that way or neglected which means that it would have not only attacked the little dog, but it should have attacked her as well if she in fact did punch it.

Yeah I call some shens on your sister's story. It's a dog's nature to be respectful of smaller breeds, I think they view them as puppies, from what it sounds like the dog may have just picked up the pup the way it would have if it were her pup. I'm sure it got pissed with your sister freaking out though.

 

[Trikat]

Eh, I don't like pit bulls simply, because they can go insane in an instant and attack anything. I just heard too many horrer stories regarding pit bulls.

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: Trikat
Eh, I don't like pit bulls simply, because they can go insane in an instant and attack anything. I just heard too many horrer stories regarding pit bulls.

And you are buying into the media BULLSH*T.

Also another issue I saw mentioned, saying that all dogs that attack other animals should be put down.

That is total crap also. Pitbulls are one of the LEAST likely breeds to attack a human. They were breed for dog fighting. The old dogmen that breed them would instantly put down any dog that showed ANY amount of human aggression. In the old days, the dogmen would actually stand in the ring while the dogs would fight. Human aggression was NEVER allowed. That is why pitbulls, staffies, and most bulldogs are so good with adults AND kids. They have undying love for their human owners and tend to think they are humans.

However, pitbulls and all bull breeds were breed to have a HIGH prey drive. That being the case means, they are likely to be animal aggressive. Most pitbulls are not good with other dogs and cats. It takes extra work to make them get a long with other animals. However, a pitbull that is aggressive towards animals does not mean they are human aggressive.

If a pitbull is human aggressive it is caused by one of two things. Horrible horrible breeding or animal cruelty.

The pitbull shouldn't be put down for attacking another dog but it should be removed from the owner because the owner is irresponsible.

It is honestly amazing the ignorance when it comes to pitbulls.

If I thought I could handle the high drive and energy requirements, I would own a pitbull in a second but I know I don't have the time or patience.

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: amicold

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.

I have some doubts as well. It seems like a stretch to say that she punched the pitbull in the face and it didnt attack her, which apparently it didnt. If the pitbull attacked her dog, it was probably trained that way or neglected which means that it would have not only attacked the little dog, but it should have attacked her as well if she in fact did punch it.

Yeah I call some shens on your sister's story. It's a dog's nature to be respectful of smaller breeds, I think they view them as puppies, from what it sounds like the dog may have just picked up the pup the way it would have if it were her pup. I'm sure it got pissed with your sister freaking out though.

No, obviously you don't understand pitbulls. They were breed for YEARS for their high prey drive AND animal aggressiveness. It was essentially breed into them to be aggressive with other animals. However, on the flip side they were breed to be especially good with humans.

A pitbull will most likely go after any animal smaller than itself because it sees the animal as prey.

My dogs live peacefully with my cats but I can tell you right now that they will go after any other cat in the neighborhood if they were allowed.

You are trying to apply human psychology to a dog and it doesn't work.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

maybe they should have licences to own pitbulls. I dont know...maybe have some training with similar breeds. Thats the best way I can see it. And, the owners of any dog that attacks another animal should be put on a list and repeated offences should result in never being able to legally own anoter pet.

 

[Kelemvor]

Originally posted by: Savij
Before you take them to court would it make sense to just go over there and ask them to pay the vet bills?

That's what I was going to say but when he said they wouldn't give up the dog and they were punks, I figured it probably wouldn't work.

I'd walk over there, hand them a letter with a copy of the bill and say that you will require payment of this by the end of the week. Then if they don't, take them to court.

 

[Codewiz]

"And, the owners of any dog that attacks another animal should be put on a list and repeated offences should result in never being able to legally own anoter pet."

I think the first offense should result in the loss of owning the dog. It isn't the dogs fault. EVERY SINGLE dog owner should be in control of their dogs at ALL times.

I get pissed every time I see some owner with their dog off leash running around. My dogs are trained and would stay by my side if off leash but all it takes is another dog running up to cause a problem and I don't have a leash on the dog then I am not in control.

As for licenses for pitbulls. Rottweilers and Doberman pincher breeds went through the same crap in the 70's. All the wannabe tough guys wanted dogs that look tough. It used to be dobermans and rottweilers. There were hardly ANY cases of pitbull attacks prior to the 80's because the only people that owned them were people that knew what they had. They knew they had an EXTREMELY affectionate dog that was animal aggressive.

I don't think having a license will solve the problem because the people who are the problem WILL NOT register them or get a license. If we ban pitbulls outright, these same worthless people will get another type of dog and the cycle will continue. Another breed would get banned.

Realizing this is a HUMAN problem is the first step. Make penalties for dogs running loose and causing a problem a STIFF penalty. If your dog gets loose and attacks another dog or person then the owner should be punished severely.

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.

Hmm sounds a bit fishy to me.
1. If a pitbull broke loose and bit down on a little dog like that, it would have killed it.
2. If a pitbull is that viscous no way a 14 year old girl punching the dog in the face would control a pitbull, if anything it would make the dog attack her.
3. No warrant would be needed to take the dog in an incident like this, so I know thats bull pucky.

Truthfully I think this is a bull jive story.

 

[DaShen]

Make the owner pay for it. If the dog has past occurrances of attacking people and pets, that means the owner is a bad owner and needs to be responsible.

 

[JonTheBaller]

Originally posted by: classy

Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.

Hmm sounds a bit fishy to me.
1. If a pitbull broke loose and bit down on a little dog like that, it would have killed it.
2. If a pitbull is that viscous no way a 14 year old girl punching the dog in the face would control a pitbull, if anything it would make the dog attack her.
3. No warrant would be needed to take the dog in an incident like this, so I know thats bull pucky.

Truthfully I think this is a bull jive story.

It's probably not even pit bull. People just use the term loosely because they don't know sh*t about dogs. It's like the gun control retards throwing around the term "assault rifle."

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: JonTheBaller

Originally posted by: classy

Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.

Hmm sounds a bit fishy to me.
1. If a pitbull broke loose and bit down on a little dog like that, it would have killed it.
2. If a pitbull is that viscous no way a 14 year old girl punching the dog in the face would control a pitbull, if anything it would make the dog attack her.
3. No warrant would be needed to take the dog in an incident like this, so I know thats bull pucky.

Truthfully I think this is a bull jive story.

It's probably not even pit bull. People just use the term loosely because they don't know sh*t about dogs. It's like the gun control retards throwing around the term "assault rifle."

You are probably right but that is a whole different conversation.

All the anti-pitbull people should take this test.

http://www.nokillnow.com/PitbullFindIT.html

 

[electrosoccertux]

I would. Chances are if this happened now, it has happened before. People do not need to own dogs that attack other animals (one day it could be you). I understand not wanting to sue left and right, but I would consider this more a measure to provide external, legal motivation for the owner of the dog to a). put the dog down or b). lock him up. Press for the vet bill, but also include a clause requiring the dog to be locked up at all times or put down. You do not want some other dog to be hurt because of this. IMO it is entirely possible this dog could attack a child. You should do something.


edit: this is assuming everything you told us is correct. If you were lying about any of this then the above does not apply.