I feared rottweiler shot by police would kill me

[themaster]

A news article from the UK today I feared rottweiler shot by police would kill me | Kentonline.co.uk

A DOG owner who had to batter his frenzied rottweiler round the head with a lump of metal as it savaged his auntie said police were right to shoot his pet.

Roy Carr of Willington Green, Shepway, Maidstone, blames himself for the attack.

It left his auntie Janine Morris in East Grinstead hospital for five days, needing a three-hour operation to reconstruct her arm.

Mr Carr, 35, believes it was an argument between himself and his auntie that prompted four-year-old rottweiler Kaizer to go beserk and attack him, before turning on his auntie.

Victim Mrs Morris described the horrific moment the dog turned on her late at night on Friday, February 1..

“At first it was just growling,” she said, “I pulled him away but he kept on and on; it worked up to a crescendo until he went at Roy.

“I had to hit him with a stick; it was then that it attacked me.

“I just gave up and thought that’s me gone, I’m going to die. He was dragging me about for what seemed like about an hour.”

Mr Carr said he was forced to beat the dog harder and harder as his auntie lost consciousness inside his first-floor flat.

“Her eyes were rolling in the back of her head; there was so much blood” he said; “I was actually hitting him with a lump of metal.

“The dog wasn’t even yelping.”

Having eventually escaped the onslaught Mr Carr called an ambulance and the two went to hospital leaving the dog tethered on the landing.

Neighbours said it was not until some hours later that the dog was shot by police.

Although Mr Carr signed a note authorising police to have the dog put down, he said he had not been told that they were going to shoot it.

But he does not blame the officers for Kaizer’s gruesome end.

“It was probably the most humane way because without me there they wouldn’t have been able to calm him.”

He added: “I’m devastated, I loved the dog. If we hadn’t been arguing, the dog wouldn’t have got angry. It’s so sad because he was a lovely dog. I’ve had him since he was six weeks old, he’s always been placid, it was totally out of character.

“There’s a lot of bad publicity about the breed of animal and I wouldn’t want the whole species of rottweiler to be tarnished by this one incident.”

Mrs Morris added: “It was terrifying and hurtful.”

Police said they killed the dog humanely and that it had been “dangerously out of control” during the evening.

About 20 police officers attended the incident, which happened on the first floor of a two-storey block of flats owned by Maidstone Housing Trust.

They waited three hours while attempts were made to find a vet to put Kaizer down. When one could not be found, it took officers three shots to kill the dog.

One neighbour said: “I totally understand that the police had to put the

animal down if it attacked someone, but you would think there was a more humane way.

“It was barbaric. There was blood everywhere.”

Police spokeswoman Lesley Miller said that when the police responded to the call they found the dog was “dangerously out of control on the communal landing area of the flats.”

She said: “Patrols attended, including experienced police dog handlers, but were unable to bring the animal under safe control.

“The dog presented a serious and immediate risk to the public and, after extensive liaison with the RSPCA and local vets, it was decided there was no other option than for police to destroy the animal at the location.

Chief Superintendent John Molloy said: “The decision to destroy this animal was not one we took lightly. Our number one priority is the safety of the public.

"This dog had already seriously injured two people and was dangerously out of control so we had to take this action to prevent anyone else being hurt.”

* A man has been arrested on suspicion of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control and has been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

[moondog]

Of course, if the dog had just been taught "Leave It", "Out", "Down", and "Stay" the entire incident could have been avoided in the first place. Not to mention that if people can't keep their emotions under control, they likely need some training themselves.

[JBarry]

Originally Posted by moondog

Of course, if the dog had just been taught "Leave It", "Out", "Down", and "Stay" the entire incident could have been avoided in the first place. Not to mention that if people can't keep their emotions under control, they likely need some training themselves.

I have to agree that training (or lack of...) is probably the number one killer of this dog.

I have seen Rotties get very upset over people arguing, but only to the barking stage. This dog sounds as if he hit the 'red zone' and never calmed down. It's a sad story.

Peace.

[Ayoka]

Originally Posted by themaster

"...It’s so sad because he was a lovely dog. I’ve had him since he was six weeks old, he’s always been placid, it was totally out of character.

This stood out to me, and makes me wonder about the quality of the dog's "breeder". My synopsis: Another case where less than ideal breeders (to put it nicely) are ruining the breed....

[felicityjay]

I have just heard the same report...it is tragic. That poor dog he was obviously very sensitive and just needed some good training...

on a more selfish note my heart sinks with each new story...My own family has now suggested i should stop bringing my puppy on my visits (even though they acknowledge she is the best trained and softest dog they have ever met!) because she is a rottie and therefore a risk around my neices and nephews!!!!! she has never so much as jumped at one even as a very young pup!

i am fed up of hearing about attacks due to irresponsible owners...you can't drive a car without passing a test i think they should start to do something similar for dog owners!

[themaster]

Originally Posted by felicityjay

you can't drive a car without passing a test i think they should start to do something similar for dog owners!

I would agree with you on that, I would be only too willing to take such a test, and also a test to show you have trained your dog to a minumum standard.

but it wouldn't fix the whole problem as there are still people who will drive when they don't have a license etc.

[felicityjay]

i too would be willing to take such a test...and do obviously take my dog to obedience training and do the kennel club awards...

it may solve the problem in someways though as at least if there was an incident it could be blamed by the media on illegal owners as opposed to any particular breed of dog...

it could also start to minimise BYBs and the number of stray dogs as there could be a way to monitor the sale of dogs and who they go to?

it really is an important issue to me - i know the old dog licence doesn't exist now but something should exist for the sake of the dogs as well as responsible owners.

rant over.... i'll get off my soap box!

[Obelix]

Seems to be again a dog out of controll .If you have to beat your dog with a stick to make it obey,something is absolutely wrong.I have seen it before that an untrained dog ,totally freaked up,turned towards his owner because of the build-up frustration.You must have a very well-trained dog to controll it in these circumstances.Obviously this was not the case and the dog payed with his life for just beeing what he was,or was made .

[graureiter]

Originally Posted by themaster

Snip, snip.
It’s so sad because he was a lovely dog. I’ve had him since he was six weeks old, he’s always been placid, it was totally out of character.
Snip, snip.

A six week old puppy is too young to be taken away from its dam. It still has to learn a lot of things about beeing a dog. Bite inhibition beeing one of these.

My experience is with Italian Greyhounds, they seem to do well if they can stay at least ten weeks.

[graureiter]

Originally Posted by Obelix

Snip, snip.
If you have to beat your dog with a stick to make it obey,something is absolutely wrong.
Snip, snip.

Something is absolutely wrong.
But not necessarily with the dog.

[TrinaJ]

on a more selfish note my heart sinks with each new story...My own family has now suggested i should stop bringing my puppy on my visits (even though they acknowledge she is the best trained and softest dog they have ever met!) because she is a rottie and therefore a risk around my neices and nephews!!!!! she has never so much as jumped at one even as a very young pup!

I am so sorry that you've been asked that question. It really does go to show you how bad a name these dogs get because of the media.

Fatal Dog Attacks, a book by author Karen Delise, states;

"Today’s media is filled with sensational headlines of dog attacks. Routinely quoted in these newspaper accounts are dated statistics from the Centers for Disease Control. The last CDC study released documented which breeds of dogs caused the most human fatalities from 1979 through 1998. While the CDC did an admirable job of studying fatal dog attacks, and went to great lengths to point out that irresponsible owners were the cause of most of these incidents, the media and lawmakers continue to use CDC statistics to substantiate claims that certain breeds of dogs are inherently more "vicious" than other breeds"

She also states: It is necessary to emphasize that a fatal dog attack is an exceptionally rare event, yet many communities and cities believe that the solution to prevent severe and fatal dog attacks is to label, restrict or ban certain breeds of dogs as potentially dangerous. If the breed of dog was the primary or sole determining factor in a fatal dog attack, it would necessarily stand to reason that since there are literally millions of Rottweilers, Pit Bulls and German Shepherd Dogs in the United States, there would have to be countless more than an approximate 20-25 human fatalities per year. Since only an infinitesimal number of any breed is implicated in a human fatality, it is not only unreasonable to characterize this as a specific breed behavior by which judge an entire population of dogs, it also does little to prevent fatal or severe dog attacks as the real causes and events that contribute to a fatal attack are masked by the issue of breed and not seriously addressed.

A study was conducted not to determine which breeds of dogs caused fatalities, but rather to examine the circumstances and events that precipitated an attack. Knowing how many Pit Bulls or Rottweilers caused a human fatality has little applicable value, only when examining each case individually can we hope to gain insight into the HUMAN and CANINE behaviors that contributed to these tragic events. Only when we become more knowledgeable, humane and responsible in our treatment of dogs can we hope to prevent future tragedies."

If people were educated correctly, without the media's sensationalism, this breed wouldn't get such a bad name.

[jlaack]

It sounds to me the owner was completely irresponsible. While I can understand his need to go with his aunt to the hospital and to be treated himself, leaving his dog "tethered on a landing" instead of secure in a room or in a crate in a two story block of flats more than likely containing other residents was completely ridiculous. As sad is this is it is fortunate that no one else was injured while the dog was simply tethered. I am sure the lack of training and the lack of attentiveness to his dog caused this incident.

[maddieandmason]

This really angers me!!!

People like this guy should not be able to have any animal as a pet, what so ever, I am sure that the poor dog, was probably disciplined for the slightest little thing, and was probably on edge, to begin with, so when the voices started to raise of course he is going to react...

Mason does it with us, obviously we do not rant and rage at each other, but we do have what i call heated discussions, nothing too loud, and Mason starts to bark, so i know then, it has gone too far, and I calm mason down, and we all chill out.. but to me this bloke has probably never really paid any attention to the way his dog reacts with certain things, and did not read the signs the body language, was it in a small room, whilst they where arguing, was there any violence?? you will never know.

Poor boy, has paid with his life, and this bloke has blackened the name of the breed once again!

[Kawakaze]

I read in a book that over 80% of fatal dog attacks come from a dog that has shown no previoud warning signs, and the majority of these are atacks towards the dogs family or other people it knows. It makes me wonder if thiss guy was much different me, i think ill get my rottie in a controlled environment and fake a blazing row with my missus, see if he trys to eat me.

[Scottyrm3s]

Originally Posted by graureiter

A six week old puppy is too young to be taken away from its dam. It still has to learn a lot of things about beeing a dog. Bite inhibition beeing one of these.

My experience is with Italian Greyhounds, they seem to do well if they can stay at least ten weeks.

I Got my woorking lines Rotty at 7 weeks. he has had no problems at all. This dog needed OB work and maybe some other training to redirect its evergy...