Your Dog Bit Me Today

[AngelBunny]

Your dog bit me today.

But you had no idea he bit me because you probably had no idea where he was.

Your dog bit me because he was possessive and aggressive over a high value food item--a piece of rawhide.

Your dog bit me because you didn't train him.

An animal control officer brought your dog to the shelter because he was wandering the streets. Your un-neutered 2 yo +/- male had on a collar, but no tags, no identification, no way for anyone to contact you. I was in the shelter to evaluate Rotties for Rottie rescue. Your dog failed the food portion of the evaluation. He bit me because you didn't train him.

Because your dog bit me, your dog is now in quarantine. He's in a small run in a windowless room. The floor of his run is concrete, the walls are cinderblock, and he's behind a high gate of cyclone fencing and metal pipe.

At the end of the 10 day quarantine period, your dog will be taken from his run to another windowless room with a cement floor and cinderblock walls and your dog will be put to death for biting me because you didn't train him.

Your dog will never again feel the sun on his fur, feel the grass under his feet, nor the wind in his face. Your dog will never again know that anyone loves him. All because your dog bit me because you didn't train him.

When the gash in the palm of my left hand heals, I'll be left with a scar for the rest of my life. Everytime I look at it I'll think of your poor dog, the dog that bit me because you didn't train him.

[Homerhomer]

and this happens thousands of times every day.

[KatMc]

Every vet should hand this out to their client's when they first walk in the door, every pet shop should put this in the bags when the people are buying toys for the cute puppy that will eventually grow up into not a cute puppy anymore.

Angel Bunny, did you write this? If you did can I have your permission to make copies?

Thanks,
Kathy

[K-9Girl]

Wow! This hits home. I work at a vet clinic, and with your permission, AngelBunny, I would like to print it out and hang it on a bulletin board that is in our clinic.

Hopefully, those owners out there that are clueless, will read this and become a little more aware of the reality of dog bites.

Thank you for posting.

[AngelBunny]

Yes, I wrote this. What I wrote happened to me the other day when I was at the shelter.

Anyone can do with it as they wish if they feel it will help prevent a dog getting put down needlessly for owner stupidity.

[ksyankfan]

AngelBunny,

I'm going to submit this to the pet section of our local paper. Should be great timing for all those who are thinking of Christmas present puppies.

ksyankfan

[calebmyboy]

How sad to read this post & to know that it could have been prevented with proper training. This forum is the best place on the internet to find out how to train & deal with all problems re the Rottweiler (althought this applies to other breeds as well). How is your hand AngelBunny? Is it healing ok?

[AngelBunny]

calebmyboy:

Yes, my hand is healing. The back of my hand looks fine, but when I turn my hand over, Lord! what a gash. I'm gonna have one heck of a scar.

That poor poor dog got put down today. Every day when I woke up since the incident, I've thought of that poor dog with regret and saddness. Such a waste, such a terrible, stupid waste of an otherwise nice dog.

All because that poor dog's owner didn't take the time to train him.

If I met that dog's owner, what would I say? Where would I begin? I hardly know.

Poor poor dog. I'm so sorry your life ended because you bit me.

[winniecnm]

He is in a better place now. No one will neglect him or let him wander alone and hungry.

Poor guy.:( Now he is playing with our loved companions over at the bridge.

[thoradopter]

Dear AngelBunny,

Your piece is so powereful and so sad but true. Were you on this mission for NERR? In any case, IMHO you do us all a necesssary but personally for you) difficult service.

I hope your physical wound heals soon, and that your memories from you positive rescues help outweigh this negative one. Linda

[rottix2]

What powerful words. Hopefully they will cause people who read them to pay more attention to the obligation they take on when they get an animal.

Hope that your hand heals.

[AngelBunny]

thoradopter:

Yes, I was in the shelter doing evals for NERR.

That dog would have bitten someone, sooner or later--it was simply a matter of time. It's much better he bit me than someone in the general population because I *know* the dog bit me due to lack of training. If the dog had been placed and he bitten someone in his new family, there's a chance his family wouldn't have understood why he bit. They may have concluded, "He's a bad, vicious dog." I shudder to think what might have happened if a child had tried to take a high value item away from him.

Much better that he bit me than someone else.

[Judi W]

I knew this was a true story when I first read it. It happens all too often and frequently in the adoptive home as NERR doesn't exist everywhere. Yes, it happens with other breeds as well. It happens not just because the owners did not train the dog, but also because after raising it to be the dog it is, they refuse to accept the responsibility and pawn it off on the shelter or someone else who must then make the decision to end that dog's life. This is what disturbs me often as well. "looking for a home. It's a fine dog. No children" and so forth, hoping that someone else will come along and fix everything that they, the people who raised the dog, can't or won't. Everytime someone rehomes and unstable dog, they kill the rescue movement a bit. NERR courage is one of the things that distinguishes them from so many others.