If a pitbull dog attacked your child in your own yard, how would you feel?

Question

If your child required emergency room treatment would you blame the dog? Would you blame the owner of the dog? Would you want the animal destroyed? What about the owner?

Answer 1

-scowls- Why are we specifically targetting pitbulls here? There's a VERY aggressive labrador retriever that's gotten loose in our neighborhood and killed people's pets. There's also four briards that are extremely aggressive. One got loose and tried to attack a lady, but her dog saved her. It survived but was really hurt bad.

Stop acting like it's always a pit bull, because, in reality, the majority of the time it's NOT.

As for the blame: I always would blame the owner. If they can't control their dog then they should reap the punishments of its actions.

edit: I'd like to respond to another's comments that "pitbulls probably have killed more people than any other breed". Oooh contrare! Several years back there was a study done, and pitbulls were NOT the dogs that attacked the most. Sadly (well there's no GOOD option, is there?) it was Rottweilers. Then wolf-mixed breeds. (one of those killed my cousin's greyhound) Then Canary dogs were tied with Pit bulls. The whole "pit bull devil dog" has been blown waaaay out of proportion. I've met more nippy chihuahuas than I have pit bulls; pit bulls just are much more powerful. 98% of the time ANY dog attacks, it's the owner's fault.

Answer 2

Of course I would be extremely upset. However, it depends. Before I jumped to any conclusions on condeming the animal to a death sentance, I would have to ask the owner, why wasn't the dog in an controlled environment (that definitly is the owners fault, but accidents happen)? How was the dog raised and how do they treat it? If it did in fact live in a loving home, does it have a medical problem? Was the attack provoked? Sometimes these things just happen...its horrible but it has nothing to do with the breed. Example, a very good friend of mine went out and bought a Siberian Husky puppy. She has had many dogs before so this wasn't her first but he was her first Husky. She took him to obedience classes, socialized him, exercised him, and raised him in a very loving home. He was the meanest dog I've ever met. As he got older, he started snapping at everyone. She called the vet to have him checked out to make sure he wasn't sick. He bit the vet. However, everything checked out. She took him back to obedience classes. He bit the handler. He even snapped at her. I stopped coming over cause he tried to take a chunk outta me...just for reaching for the remote. You couldn't even pet him anymore. Needless to say, in the end, he had to be put down for public safety. She had a fenced yard but what would have happened if he had gotten out? What if he had hurt a child? The point is, any dog can be mean, even if raised in a good environment. It didn't change her mind about the breed though. She now has a new husky and she's the sweetest thing ever. Don't blame the breed (not all Pits are mean, I have 2), blame the owner, and if the owner isn't at fault, it might just be a mean dog. Just like people.... any size, shape, and color can have a bad seed.

Answer 3

I would most definately blame the owners . The owners have full responsibility of any dogs actions towards people . Blaming a dog for attacking someone would be like blaming a child for shooting someone . The parents have full responsibility of there children and owners have full responsibility of there dogs . Its a pure waste to try and ban breeds also . Yes i would want the animal to be destroyed because its vicious and vicious dogs cant have homes .Once they've been trained to attack or trained to fight then you have to euthanize them . It is too risky to put a dog that has been fought or trained to attack back in to society . But like i said most definately would blame the owner . Theres no such thing as a bad dog just bad owners .

Answer 4

I would blame the owner of the dog. He never should have been letting it run loose, and should have had it properly socialized when it was younger. As far as having the dog destroyed goes, if it has already bit the child, then yes, because the socialization window is only open for so long, and I don't believe the dog could be trusted to not do it again. The owner should be thoroughly punished and not be allowed to own another dog again.

Answer 5

I don't have any children, but if I did I would be confident that I would blame the owner. However, although I love Pit Bulls and own 3 along with 1 Pit Bull cross, I would probably have the dog destroyed. I know that it's not the dogs fault, but if it just went around attacking people for [I'm assuming] no reason, it needs to be put to sleep. Unless of course you can train it out of the dog, which is rarely an option.

Answer 6

You didn't say where you live... and laws vary from country to town to city and from one locale to another.

Talk to your ASPCA / Humane Officer and report the attack. You need to give them ALL details, including if your child initiated contact with the dog, or what your child was doing when the dog entered your property. Sometimes children reach out to a dog that doesn't want any contact or attention, and that can trigger an attack. Sometimes children make rapid jerky movements that scare the dog and these can trigger an incident. I think you also need to report the attack to the police department. Hopefully you informed the ER that it was a dog attack on your own property.

If your community has leash laws you need to know what exactly is required of any dog owner. If dogs are required to be fenced and/or contained on the owners property, then the owner of the pit bull is financially as well as legally responsible for your child's injuries.

The biggest problem with pit bulls is the owner, rather than the dog. Some are trained to be fighting dogs.. Some owners don't establish themselves properly as Alpha Pack Leaders for the dogs. Some owners don't obedience train their pit bulls, and don't learn how to control them properly.

The ASPCA -and/or- the police need to go talk to the owner, NOT YOU! They need proof that this dog has a current rabies shot. If not, the dog needs to be taken into custody and put in lockup so it can be observed to ensure it doesn't have rabies. Destroying the animal without a police and/or ASPCA investigation would not be advisable.

If you live in a city like Houston, the owner can be put in jail for allowing the dog to harm a child.

Answer 7

I am a dog lover, and have three, but if any one of them attacked a child, without doubt I would put it down. If someone else's animal did it, I would demand that it also get put down. Pets are by definition exactly that. They are animal companions to humans and never should their value be greater than that of a human. The owner should be sued and barred from owning animals if it was a pit. If he willingly allowed a dog notorious for biting behavior loose, then the owner should be locked up, as this is negligent assault.

Answer 8

First if all I would blame myself for not supervising my child. I would blame the dogs owner because their dog was off leash and unsupervised. I would let animal control investigate what happened and follow thier lead on whether the animal needed to be destroyed or if it was an isolated incident.

Training and supervision are the keys...

Answer 9

I would need to know

a) how the damned dog got in MY yard ?
b) how the dog escaped IT'S yard ?
c) is it a mauling or a simple bite ?

I'm not likely to blame the dog, though if my child had suffered a mauling, I would expect the dog to be put down. In fact, 2 years ago a dog (black lab) got onto my brother's ranch and was terrifying the horses and had attacked a goat on night. I shot the dog then and there. I went to trial, and was aqquited. The DA who sought prosecution was voted out the next year... he got 30 votes out of a possible 250,000.

Was the owner negligent ? If so, yes I'd blame him / her.

Just FYI, my brother owns 2 Stratford terrier bitches, and a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix male. No dog had bitten, snapped, or growled at a human. We introduce the UPS, FedEx, & PG&E folks to the dogs, and the dogs recognize them as "pack-members".

Answer 10

The owner is responsible. Just like you would be responsible for something that your minor child did. As far as having the dog destroyed, I can't stand the thought of any animal being destroyed but if hurt my child then I would have to consider putting it down. If it attacked once then it will probably do it again.