Should this dog die?

Question

http://ca.360.yahoo.com/sistermariepigtailedpirate

Should a dog die who was tied up briefly to do her business, only unsupervised for a few moments, and then approached by a trespassing child who was unsupervised by her parents? Please express your opinions here, and express your support to a Yahoo! user if you feel she, her family, and her dog Maya are being treated with horrifying injustice. Here is her site and a more complete explanation of the story:

http://ca.360.yahoo.com/wardsha2002

Again, if you agree this is a horrifying injustice, please express your support to her, her dog and her family. Any pet lover can imagine what she's going through. While I do understand how the child's parents must feel, nothing is being done to address the trespassing or their child's lack of respect for rules.

Maya isn't my dog. The second link in the question is for Maya's family's page.

Please visit Sharlene's page to show support if you feel this child behaved unacceptably and her dog should not be put to death! It's the second link on the question details.

Answer 1

First it is the responsibility of the parents to keep track of their child and since the dog was not only tied up but on private property I dont see how it is the owner OR the dogs fault. If the child was young and didnt know better its even worse that the parents were unaware of the childs whereabouts. People should be able to tie up their dog on their own property. You didnt say if anything happened to the child,if so that awful and I hope he/she is recovering well, however when you make bad choices there are bad consequences and if the child wasnt old enough to make that choice then the parents SHOULD have been there tresspassing is illegal tying your dog up to go to the bathroom is not. It would be awful for a dog to die when the owner actually used proper restraint in her own property.

Answer 2

Sadly, if a dog attacks a kid that is doing nothing but riding a bike - it should be euthanized. Especially if the owners of the dog failed to even use a little caution. Anyone that owns a dog has to accept the responsibility to prevent it from harming children. This owner did not.

Yes, it was in the dogs own yard but it wasn't even a fenced in yard and the dog was let out without any control (i.e. a leash held by someone that can control the dog). The dog attacked a kid on a bike severely enough to send the kid to the hospital. Kids are killed, permanently disfigured, or injured way too often in the US by owners that fail to be safe.

While I am sorry the dog will pay the price, the owner is still at fault. Dog owners need to be more careful than that.

I also agree that the child should not have been trespassing - but a child trespassing by riding a bike through an open yard is a very minor offense and doesn't change the fact that the dog is aggressive enough to hurt children and the owner is not careful enough to prevent it from doing so.

Answer 3

I'm so sorry for you and Maya. When you harbor an animal that you know is likely to bite, there is a concept called strict liability that applies.

Different localities treat this situation differently. Please take a look at this website to see how your state treats this situation
http://www.animallaw.info/articles/qvusdogbiteslstatutes.htm

Unfortunately for you, there are special rules regarding trespassing as it applies to children, and by not keeping Maya in a fenced area, you are not making every effort the law requires you to make to protect a child from a potentially dangerous animal.

If you have a law school nearby, try calling to see if there is a clinic that would be willing to take on Maya's case. Your local animal rights groups might also be able to give you advice.

Good luck, and God bless Maya

Answer 4

It doesn't matter what the circumstances are, ANY dog that attacks ANY child for ANY reason should be destroyed.

Bottom line, humans are more important than any animal.

But on the other hand the parents should also be charged with child neglect. In this case the child was attacked by a dog, but said child could easily have been hit by a car, kidnapped by a pedophile, drowned in someone's pool, etc. etc.

Answer 5

F-that, the parents of the child should have thewir rights revoked. If the dog was tied up, then the dog owner was in full obeyence of the law. The dog should not die. Kids have a bad habit of approaching animals and antagonizing them (of course usually not knowing it). mosty animals when approached by younger people who handle them roughly will bitge them. Its not the dogs fault.

Answer 6

No, it's not his fault, the parents should be punished for not watching their child, I have a 9 year old daughter, and I NEVER let her pet anyones dog without permission from the owner, and she knows better than to just walk up and pet a dog. That's called endangering the welfare of a child.

Answer 7

if this was in her private property then she can file trespassing....she needs to see a lawyer NOW!!! if this kid has been going into her property and was aware and warned of the dog....she can easily build a defense case. The animal will unfortunately not be saved but at least she can avoid further charges. Good luck!

Answer 8

She's an innocent dog. The dog must have some problems before in her life. DON'T LET THIS DOG DIE. SHE IS INNOCENT!!!!! They can let the dog get trained by a professional dog trainer like what they do with the other bad attitude dogs!

Answer 9

If a dog attacks a child, it is a shame that this is even up for discussion. I grant you though that the parents should have taken better repsonsibility of the wherabouts of their child. It still doesn't discount that the dog is violent, and needs to be put down.

Answer 10

in a sense its tresspassing but ya i know alotta people will retort that its a kid. the parents of the child are the ones that should get in trouble the dog was tied up on personal property