One More Case of "bad press"

[Lady B]

I'm from Seattle. BIG SIGH and another big sigh. I'm not sure which story to believe at this point. Channel 13 presents it one way and the Seattle Times indicates that a small dog had been attacked and seriously injured. The paper also states that when a police officer arrived one of the Rotties lunged at him causing the officer to fall backwards. He then drew his pistol and fired -- apparently hitting the dog in the shoulder.

So much for the truth. And another truly BIG SIGH.As the story is copyrighted and I don't want to violate any laws you can access the story at www.seattletimes.com/news/local.

I just really hope that the dog who was shot is still not out in the park dying.

[German Vanegas]

Some IRRESPONSIBLE dog onwer(s) somehow let two Rotties loose to roam free around residential neighborhoods... what kind of reaction were you expecting? Bad dogs do bite and there are factual stats to prove it. How can people know if these dogs are friendly or otherwise?...

Irresposible human beings create these kind of sorry situations all the time... those two poor dogs are unjustifiably paying the price, along with all of us, Rottie owners getting all the bad rap. Legislation to penalize irresponsible dog ownership is absolutely needed, to prevent and reduced the number of similar incidents. However, the media focus on the dog breed... ignoring the actual facts behind the story. Sadly, it's quite common.

By the way, the current military conflict is going-on in Kosovo and Yugoslavia.

[LannaF]

HI all..

I don't know how many Pacific NorthWest residents are on this forum... I'm wondering if anyone else saw all the hype about the "2 dangerous rottweilers" loose in some neighborhood last night..and what you thought about it.
It was the TOP STORY on channel 13 at 10:00pm... The previews made the story sound like there were 2 dangerous rotts out attacking people.

The actual story was somewhat less sensationalized..but the news anchor was very "concerned" about the incident and took top billing over the war in Bosnia (imagin that.) It seems that 2 rotts got loose and were wandering the neighborhood - not attacking anything. A lady saw them and "fearing for her safety," She called the police and animal control to report these 2 dangerous dogs. The police then proceeded to chase these poor animals for several hours trying to corner/catch them. At one point one of the dogs ran towards one of the officers trying to get away from another officer - the officer shot the dog. The dog wasn't killed, he was wounded and managed to run off. The officer that was interviewed stated "The dogs are exhausted and very skittish - they run from any person that tries to get near them." They called off the search because in his opinion "the dogs pose no threat" because they were running from people - not attacking them... Now, if this is the case 1) why did the officer shoot the dog.. and 2) why on earth does the media think they need to report lies and sensationalize the story.. Just to get ratings?? Is it Sweeps week? This is why our breed is getting such a bad rep, (aside from irresponsible owners.) Why the media even had to report on this is unclear.. lots of dogs get loose and run around the neighborhood - I've had several dogs come over to visit my dog.. I didn't once see the tv station trucks there to cover the story.

I certainly intend to write the station and tell them exactly what I think of their reporting/handling of that story..

thanks for letting me vent..

Lanna

[LannaF]

OOPS!! My mistake.. wrong "conflict"... I've gotten to the point where I don't even watch the news much any more; seems like it's all bad news! The only reason I watched it the other night was because of all the hype about the dogs..

I aree, the dogs shouldn't have been loose but sometimes no matter how careful you are - things happen. I don't know why they were loose, the news didn't cover than.. However I had one incident when my dogs got out.. Seems there was a slight space between the fenceposts in the very back corner of our yard which my first dog (taz) never found. I had just started letting Tigger stay ouside during the day and he found it and taught Taz how to get out. Thankfully the lady up the street had seen them before on one of our walks and put them in her garage.. they were both VERY friendly so her only concern was for their safety.. Yes, I did fix the fence!!

My main concern was how it was reported.. The news anchor made it sound like that neighborhood was being "terrorized" by the 2 dogs and it was unsafe to go outside. I think if it was 2 dogs of another breed (except pit bulls) there wouldn't have been nearly as much coverage - certainly not enough to make it the top story.

Thanks LadyB for the URL to the Seattle Times version - I'll check it out.

[German Vanegas]

If the Media were not so sensasionalistic (yellowish), and wouldn't overblown out of proportion most of their reported incidents, the majority of news would be somewhat boring... the Media makes storms out of a few water droplets all the time... most people fall for it!

The thruth is, few are unbias, fair, real professional journalists. In the case of the Rottweiler, those so-called news reporters are using this breed as the "menace to society" current issue... but we, educated Rottie owners, know that that it's not true at all. Nevertheless, the Media is causing an uproar that many people is following with hysterical reactions, "thanks" to the Media's one side of the story reports... It doesn't help any that there are so many IRRESPONSIBLE, NEGLIGENT, and UNEDUCATED dog owners either... My dogs have never ever roamed free around my neighborhood, and never will... I don't allow those kind of "accidents" to happen... prevention is the best cure...

[Lady B]

Sensationalism and "newspaper mentality" seem to go hand-in-hand. The reports on the Rotties who went on a walk-about vary widely. The Seattle Times and TV stations make no mention of the Rotties turning on their owner. However, the Seattle PI (which has always had a reputation for exploring the sensational -- in this writer's opinion) writes they turned on their owner, a smaller dog and a police officer. The way in which the sentence is structured leads one to believe this all happened at about 2:30 PM Monday afternoon. Hmmmm. INDEED!!

We can not fight what the public chooses to believe from the media. Nor can we fight what the media prints or televises. What we can do is take care of our own, preserve and maintain the Rottweiler standard and strive to educate those who will listen with an open-mind. There will always be ignorant individuals who make a choice to remain so. And then there are the emotionally-reactive, unstable who could not bat their way out of a paper bag on a rainy day if their very lives depended upon it. Lastly, we must fight for equitable dog legislation which is non-breed specific. I am totally behind dangerous dog legislation and making the owner liable for the actions of their dog. It makes sense that if parents are legally responsible and liable
for their minor children's acts then dog owners should be held accountable in an equitable fashion. What I abhor is breed specific legislation.

Frankly, I'm tired of reading or seeing all the hype. I'm tired of hearing what people have to say about my Rotties -- which means they think that way toward all. It is as bigoted a mind-set as that which prevailed here in the States towards Native Americans and Blacks not so long ago. I guess, for some, it is easier to hate and fear than it is to take the time to educate oneself as to the true nature of a living being.

Addendum: The female Rottie who was shot is alive and well apparently having returned home by noon of Tuesday.

[This message has been edited by Lady B (edited April 21, 1999).]