[heather-mumofdaisy]

I don't know if any of you have heard, but a 5 year old girl has been killed by a pitbull here in the UK and her grandmother has been injured.
After all of the stories we have shared where people often mistake boxers for pitbulls, it worries to to think that now myself and Daisy will be avoided in the street even more than before! Not too long ago, a baby was mauled to death by two rottweilers, and after this incident shelters saw a vast increase in the amount of rotties abandoned and handed in, and people even argued that they should go onto the dangerous dogs list!
I was always under the impression that pitbulls were illegal to keep in the uk, but I must have been wrong with that one.

I just thought I'd share my concens with everyone.

Heather

 

[samsonsmom]

Heather, I was also under that impression too. I clearly remember talking about this with the local pet shop owner when I was living in Ireland. The subject came up cos when I was in there buying food, another guy was in there at the same time. When he left, the owner shook his head, and said that he was illegally breeding Pitts up at his house. Of course nobody wants to call the law on him for fear of reprisal, but not me, the "cheeky American". Course I couldn't give a lot of info as I didn't know exactly where he lived, but I felt it was better than nothing.

Funny thing tho, nobody while I was living there ever mistook my 2 for Pitts. Everyone clearly knew they were boxers & adored them..

 

[southerngirls]

I had not heard about this, and i feel for the family that lost the child. It is so sad that things like this happen in todays world. What is worse is that it is us humans that training these dogs to be so fierce and mean!! I understand the concern with Daisy, but keep in mind it is the ignorant that dont know the difference. You and the rest of your friend and family along with this forum know what a great dog she really is!

 

[holly]

when I read the article it said the dog was banned that was involved in the attack it is just a horrible thing.In the article it said the dog was aggressive before but her uncle kept it anyway I cant understand why anyone would have a child around any dog that has ever showed any signs of aggression.I live in New york and they are currently trying to ban pitbulls which I am very much against as you said everyone mixes up pitbulls and boxers .Whats next when they cant blame pitbulls for every fight our babys could be next.not only for that reason but why should responsible dog owners suffer and not be able to own a beautiful breed because of what people do to them.They need to start cracking down on stupid people than banning a whole breed of dog because of actions of irresponsible people and they should start with that uncle he should be charged with her death knowing that dog was dangerous and chancing it with a child and I find it hard to believe that grandmother didnt know anything about the previos attack the dog had.

 

[Highdrama]

This just gets me so fired up.  Basically this guy had been warned about his dog before and did nothing.  It had attacked another dog and been reported to the local council.  It's sad and wrong that dogs, or breeds, should be tarnished due to lack of responsibility of humans.  It is our responsibility to socialise our dogs and train them properly.  If our dog is aggressive for whatever reason, be it a previous attack making it dog aggressive or whatever, it is our responsibility never to leave it alone with a child or anyone else for that matter.  This is the owner's fault, not the dogs.  

Not getting off to a good start am I?  

 

[samsonsmom]

Nah, Gayle, I think you are expressing what all of us feel. All of us have at one time or another had our precious babies confused by someone thinking they are Pitt Bulls, or in Samson's case Bulldogs. I remember reading something a few years ago about an older boxer getting into an elderly neighbor's back yard, she called Animal Control saying there was a Pitt in her yard. Well Animal Control got outthere, they decided they couldn't subdue the dog, so they shot it! Found out afterwards that it wasn't a Pitt. Never heard what the repercussions of that were.

I totally agree that it is the owner's responsibility to take care of their pets, be it a dog, cat, whatever. It really upsets me how many still have pets & have no business owning one. Guess that would explain why so many end up on the street or in a shelter or worse.

I am always extremely careful with Samson be it at home, or out in public due to the misconception that he is a Pitt or Bulldog, but you cannot help but notice how some people will go out of the way to avoid you...We all know our babies well & know that they wouldn't hurt anyone, unless provoked of course!!!

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now...Touchy subject, huh?

 

[Highdrama]

Thanks hun.  I know that when Henri had sore paw and I was trying to see if there was anything there, I must've pressed the sore bit and he instinctively turned his head to snap.  The look on his face was priceless.  Poor wee soul was soooo sorry.  Now my Henri is theee biggest teddy bear and is no threat to anyone but I would never leave him alone with a child because who knows if they pulled his ears, grabbed his wee tail, whatever, it's an animals instinct and it is not the animals fault.  Shutting up now!  

 

[shell16]

hi there,just in repsonse to you guys wondering whether it was illegal to have pitt bulls here...IT MOST DEFINATLY IS!!!!!!!! when i woke up that morning and saw on the front of the news paper about that lovely little girl i was sooooooooo angry and upset...i must say no body has ever mistaken rossi for a pitt bull or my friend who had one for 7 years...everyone knew megan my friends boxer to be a boxer..it is a very upsetting story...i do feel for the animals aswell...why do they do it? do they even know themselves? do they set out to harm or kill a little one purposely?? know one can say for definate..even with the story back last year about the rotweilers which someone reffered to in this thread....one of my friends had a rotty called dolly..the first time i saw her i froze with fear as she was growling opening and shutting her mouth...i almost wet myself!!! when i mentioned it to my friend she simply replied "dont worry she is just speaking to you!! " and as i got to know dolly amazingly it was true!! she was the softest dog i had ever met!! i loved her to pieces..it was a stigma that was attached to rotty's that made me feel that way about her in the beginning......ive have recently been told that boxers are often mistaken to be fierce ,nasty dogs too!!! how comical is that?? apparently other dogs find them a threat just because of the way they look and act...the act is meaning excited!! it apparently comes across the wrong way to another dog!!..in theory every dog has a shut off point...its just where that shut off point is..rossi as most boxers is very laid back,my 2 and a half year old pulls him around..lays on him..puts his hands in his mouth..everything you can think of..rossi just seems to love it!!! its like he has a playmate!! if joey is too rough with him rossi tends to look at me as if to say "please get him off now mum" but with every living thing you dont know where the line will be drawn...i trust my boxer with my life..especially with joey..which makes me love him more!! michelle x x x

 

[MoreliaMatt]

as in all dog attacks i beleive it to be the owners fault!!    they always brand pittbulls as agressive dogs! why? because its the lower class degenerates that are attracted to them because they have a bad rep and when they dont train them and neglect them etc of course things like this happen!!!

my brother has 2 staffys, and he always get people crossing the road when he is out walking! and he has had several times old women yelling at him because they are not muzzled!  they are the most gentle dogs i know!
its a stigma that is attached to the name because of a few bad seeds.

if you ask me pittbulls, rotties, shepards etc are all fantastic dogs! and i have no qualms in saying i know people with jack russels and poodles that are more savage, but they dont have a bad reputation because they are not bought by people that want a "tough guard dog" to not train and torment to make them have a savage mean streak!

thats my 2 cents!

Matt

 

[shell16]

i agree with you totally matt....it is soo unfair that all these dogs get tarred with the same brush!!!..my friend also have a staffy and she is lovely..brought up around babies and children...all dogs start off the same when they come into this world...its just who loves and care for them..teaching them right and wrong..like a child..these dogs do get bought by the beef heads who want a bad looking dog to scare people with and that makes me angry...ive seen documentries on it and seen dogs in rescue centres that will be destroyed all because their owners were not repsonsible for them in any way shape or form....man has made these poor animals like it...its not their fault...they were just taught to be aggressive...since knowing dolly the rotty im not scared of any dogs like her...staffys,dobamans,bulldogs,alsations....the list goes on..they will never be relinqished for what there breed has done in the past and never will...i just hope man doesnt create another enemy in the dog world by their sheer incompitance.. michelle x x

 

[MoreliaMatt]

well said michelle and you are right!  look at all the bad people out there? the ones that go and break into peoples homes, steal things, kill people.....

its the same situation, its all how they are brought up or who they socialise with!

same with dogs, its the owners fault 100%

 

[mom2scoutandgunner]

I go along with Matt, too.  I believe that the owners either knowingly train them to be that way or they buy them knowing that there could be that tendency.  They should be able to spend enough time with them before they bring them home to know that they have those tendencies.

My husband and I had ours registered through the napdr so that if we were questioned, we would have something on file that stated they were full breed boxers and not pitbulls.

The thought of someone taking them away from me scares me to death!

 

[elwood]

its to bad irresponsible people are allowed to have dogs especially bully breeds. My favorite type of dog by far, i am so attracted to them it almost brings a tear to my eye when i hear stories of irresposible owners. And that is what the headlines should say  "irresponsible owner does not take responsibility for his animal and he killed somebody"  No name of the breed, just the name of the owner and how many years he will serve in prison. Its too bad that two casualties come from this horrible accident, a beautiful child and a wonderful companion that was not taken care of.