[jacksonsmom]

Hello All,

I just thought I would share a personal experience with you that happened today and see if you would of added anything. I told my Aunt a few weeks ago that we had a Rottweiler and she went crazy..."You shouldn't own a dog like that." "They are mean dogs" and so on. You know the regular stuff from uneducated people. Well I emailed her pictures of Jackson and Carson and she emailed me back today; her reply was:

"Enjoyed the pictures. You shouldn't have asked what I think...but you did so here goes. I know you were refering to the pictures, but when I see Jackson (whom is cute as he can be) with Carson it scares me TO DEATH!!! Last night,local news, 3year old little girl,21 stiches on face. Is it worth the risk? And there is a risk. You two think long and hard. I know that such can happen with any breed, but surely you must acknowledge that the risk is so much greater with his. Anyway, sorry to nagg, but love you guys and feel I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't.@#!"

so I kindly sent her the following reply back:

"On the subject of Jackson.....I understand your concern and I greatly appreciate it however you don't see Jackson with us and Carson. He is a wonderful dog and his temperament is awesome. We spent a great deal of time researching his breed and took special care with his purchase. The vet can not stop talking about how wonderful his temperament is. You are right those accidents can happen with any breed and does all the time that is why responsible ownership is key. A great example of this is my friend who has an 4 month old King Charles Spaniel. Sammy is the most horrible dog. He has bit her 4 year old daughter several times on the hands and legs as well as snapped at her face. Sammy (the spaniel) hates Jackson and attacks his legs and chest everytime he sees him....but Jackson is always the gentleman and just looks at him like "You dummy....my head is bigger than your whole body" Again, my friend is a very irresponsible owner and through her dog this shows. My point being that I love Jackson and even though to some that are not educated with the breed it may be hard to understand but I am fully comfortable with Jackson and Carson together if I felt otherwise I would not of purchased him. I trust our ownership, I trust our selctioon, I trust him, I trust us, and I trust our training. This breed is a strong breed and I know if biten his bite is stronger than a spaniel, but I also believe that when people who do not like the Rottweiler breed hear those stories they only hear part of the story and then there is one more bad mark on this wonderful breed. Do you hear if they were obedience trained? Do you hear if they were left alone with a child? (which should never happen with any breed...a dog will be a dog and a child will be a child) Do you hear whether or not the family took all the time and care involved with owning a dog not to mention this breed? Do you hear whether or not the owners researched the breed and bought from quality stock? Do you hear whether or not this dog had been an outside dog with little or no contact with people/children? Do you hear how much time the owner spent in socializing him/her? Do you hear whether the dog was injuried, sick, had weak nerves or was old? Do you hear whether or not the owner had knowledge of dog behavior and whether or not the dog was showing or had showed signs before the bite that the owner should of read and could of prevented with proper training before the horrible accident? Do you hear whether the dog had proper nutrition and vet care? The list goes on and on. You can't beleive everything you hear nor can you just look at the surface. It is a sad thing when owners aren't responsible and their own children pay for their mistakes and for that I am greatly saddened. I hope sometime you will have the privilege of meeting Jackson and see for yourself that he is a great dog. He is part of our family and if you look beyond his breed name you might find out that the news and media has portrayed a wrong picture of this breed. A well trained, well cared for, well bred, well socialized, well loved rottweiler is the most wonderful addition to any family. Please know that I am aware and responsible with Jackson and Carson as I would be with any dog and any child. They are both my babies and I watch and care for them in this manner."

I must say I am very upset that people can't understand how wonderful these guys are. Should I of added something or handled this differently? Thanks for your support and replies
:D

[ May 25, 2001: Message edited by: jacksonsmom ]