Rottweiler attacks, kills 5-year-old *sigh*

[Goose's Guardian]

I hate the fact that rottweilers, when not handled properly, are capable of these disgusting situations.

It is just very sad and disconcering.

[Oscars_dad]

Tenaj it actually had nothing to do with the breed of the pitbull, if it was a beagle I would have said " the beagle did it" I was trying to be oh I dont know sarcastic which was why I said

I was gonna say
"the pitbull did it, the pitbull did it"
but I didnt feel it would have been right.
the Kids death is no joking matter.

So thats where I was coming from, on a side note I've only met 3 pitbulls and everysingle one of them were the sweetest dogs I ever did see.

[alexav]

Sad, Sad, Sad......

Stupid people shouldn't be allowed to own a dog....Or Procreate!

[Lora Lee]

Nor will I judge the mother, her guilt and shame will be forever.

But I will pray that the boys journey to Heaven was fast, and hope that the childs eternal life there far exceeds anything earthly.

I have my small cousins at my home for a week. My dogs are no where near the beautiful 3 and 4 year olds. They are crated. It's the only responsible thing to do, even as well behaved as they are.

[Caleb'sMom]

Well, I don't mean to judge either, but I firmly believe that any dog who has been known to bite should get only one more chance.

What I mean is, I think that any bite of a certain gravity should be required to be reported to the animal licensing department of the town/county, and the owner should be required by law to prove, within a certain time period of the bite, by certification of a trainer qualified in this field, that the dog has passed training, CGC, temperament, and any other justifiable testing that the town or trainer feels necessary. If the dog can't do it, and the owner can't successfully continue what the trainer teaches, it should be put down or at least relocated to someone who can handle it. Then, if there is a second harmful bite, the dog goes down. That's it.

A lot of people may get angry at that, sorry. ;)

I also think that when someone registers a breed that has the physcial capability of killing someone (ie, non-boston terrier, etc.) they should be required by the town to train the dog, prove they complete training successfully (and more than just puppy kindergarten), and receive a packet on the laws, recommended restrictions, recommended reading, and risks of the breed.

Obviously none of this is a guarantee that no one will ever be harmed again, but I think the requirements would certainly dissuade a lot of the irresponsible people from getting Rottweilers, or keeping biters, and gives the dogs a chance for re-training.

[ June 13, 2001: Message edited by: Caleb'sMom ]

[godfreyc]

I know what everyone is saying about dogs and training. My feelings were based on everyone jumping on the mother for not having custody of her children and basicly saying that the family had no right to be grief stricken if the child was in foster care. You have to remember the childs parents didn't have a dangerous dog, a state sanctioned foster home did.

[Teena]

I can't understand this...for the life of me i can't...
Her child slipped out on her once..and they took all the kids away? It would seem like more would have to be going on than that.
What about the tons of child that are left daily with no food while the parents are off buying, selling doing drugs or whatever...
I don't know the facts in her case...but this sounds a little harsh for a child slipping out one time.
Now knowing the child (if the state told them) has a history of sneaking out..i would be very worried about having a known biter on the same property!!!
I can't imagine what these people are thinking...

My stepson is here for the summer, he is 17. I don't leave him alone with my dogs. Even tho they are both well behaved and love playing with my stepson. When my husband and i are gone & my stepson is home alone, i crate the dogs. Because my stepson didn't have a part in training & bringing up the dogs. I'm sure everything would be fine if i left them out, however i'd rather be safe than sorry. With the dogs crated nothing can happen while i am gone.

[frontierrots]

Ironcall enough this town has a very good non breed specific dangerous dog law on the book. However they rarely if ever enforce it. Had the town officials enforced this law when the dog bit a rollerblader last year this horrible tragedy would NEVER have occured!

[BevieG]

[quote]Originally posted by Teena:
[QB]I can't understand this...for the life of me i can't...
Her child slipped out on her once..and they took all the kids away? It would seem like more would have to be going on than that.
What about the tons of child that are left daily with no food while the parents are off buying, selling doing drugs or whatever...
I don't know the facts in her case...but this sounds a little harsh for a child slipping out one time.

You can count on the fact that there was A LOT more to why the child was removed. Biological Parents are given huge consideration before their kids are removed. And there have been many cases of biological children being mauled by family pets. I feel for all the foster parents in the state that have big dogs for they are going to be held accountable for the actions of this one family. I have a rottie and live about an hour away from where this tragedy took place. Today I took the rottie for a walk and people crossed the street to avoid him. They did not do the same thing when Iwalked my yellow lab, and the lab is the one that has bitten (another dog). Another strike against this great breed.
A LOt


[ June 13, 2001: Message edited by: Bev ]

[German Vanegas]

Originally posted by Bev:
<STRONG>...Today I took the rottie for a walk and people crossed the street to avoid him. They did not do the same thing when Iwalked my yellow lab, and the lab is the one that has bitten (another dog). Another strike against this great breed.
A LOt


</STRONG>

Unfortunately, that prejudicial biased image about the Rottweiler is nothing new at all. It is been happening for several years.

Sadly enough, with so many irresponsible people breeding and owning Rottweilers, the breed has been ruined probably for good, or, at the very least, for many years to come.

For the many ignorant people that wrongly label the Rottweiler as a "vicious dog", they will hardly never change their opinion, because, even though they know "dog-$h^t", they "think" they know. So that's the price we all pay for the high popularity this breed once had for an entire decade... Nowadays, Rottweilers registrations are going down in decline, but for all the wrong reasons :(

[ June 13, 2001: Message edited by: German Vanegas ]

[BevieG]

Yes, you are right. I guess I am most concerned about seeing responsible foster parents forced to choose between their family pets and the children they are caring for. As an adoptive parent, and one who hopes to adopt again in the near future I would not be able to make that choice.

[Roscoe's dad]

Calebs Mom,
Every dog I have owned I had a 1 general rule 1 bite out of meanness and you go to sleep, no excuses Ill see you at the bridge. It may seem harsh but I dont need the lawsuits the grief and the guilt and getting dropped by my insurance carrier. I spend a lot of money buying the dog(s) training them feeding them and taking them to the vet, that is not much to ask for. Now if the bite was provoked that mightbe a different story all depending on the circumstance. Other than maybe Mcviegh a human life is more valuable than any animals. Now don't get me wrong I love my dog like I would a child but there are some things I can't tolerate

[ June 13, 2001: Message edited by: Roscoe's dad ]

[K9-man]

06/13/2001 6:21 PM CDT

Originally posted by Roscoe's dad:
<STRONG> Other than maybe Mcviegh a human life is more valuable than any animals. </STRONG>

You may want to re-evaluate. There are countless humans on this planet that aren’t worth a s#%t!

[Dei]

Wow. I finally got round to reading the story and I can't help but comment on the discrepancy between the article and the commentary.

First, I have nothing but sympathy for the child's mother, who lost her son twice -- first to the DSS and then to a dog. Poor woman. It may be a fact that in the DSS's eyes at least, she was not the most competent parent but is it not true that she also loved him?

Second, people do burn themselves for a great many reasons. And most people do try to set their lives straight when they realise that they're not helping themselves. It does take a long time, years sometimes to achieve that. Why she doesn't deserve consideration and the benefit of the doubt?

Third, I am amazed at just how little criticism there is of the people whose dog actually did the killing -- the foster parents who had been trusted to take better care of the child than his own mother. They really should have known better.

After the fact, it's easy for us to be shocked at their having kept a dog that bit a neighbor, but having noticed how many people excuse aggression on the basis of the dog being 'protective' I don't wonder at it. :(

I hope that the DSS can use this tragedy to learn to look harder at other potential dangers around the house. As far as dogs go, it'd be good for them to put emphasis on foster parents having dogs that are well-trained...and given that a lot of foster kids can be more troublesome than usual, make it imperative for a dog to have a secure, childproof area to be in when it can't be watched. And never, ever on a chain.

I cannot say whether the dog was deliberately maltreated, or whether it started out with nerve problems that were compounded by inexpert ownership, but I agree with its being put down -- this is not a dog I'd care to see rehabilitated.

On the related fact that way too many Rottweilers do not have stable temperaments, while I don't see outright legislation working as far as getting dogs with better temperaments go, public education (and a bit of spine from breed clubs) would work wonders for teaching the public what proper dog behavior is. Because it's not just a Rottweiler problem.

All in all, I feel sorry for the poor boy who had his life cut short so brutally. I feel sorry for his mother who has suffered a parent's worst nightmare and pray that she can get the strength and support she needs to right her life and regain her children. And while I am very disappointed in the foster parents, I do hope that they can learn from this, search their souls and resolve either to cease to promise children a better life that they cannot give or to do much, much better.

[Lora Lee]

AWESOME POST DEI :) :)

Everyone lost, it's all terrible. I'm with ya in prayer!!!