Ugh - sad news from neighbor about her dog

My sweet neighbor knocked on my door yesterday with a petition for removing a vicious dog in the neighborhood. A few days ago, a pit, on a leash, attacked her little dog (I don't know the breed, but a fluffy little one). Her dog's injuries were so bad that it had to be put down, and she had bandages covering stitches on both hands, as she attempted to get her dog out of the other dog's jaws. She said that the other dog's owner tried to control the dog but was totally unable to do so. When I see this dog, and I've got my child in the stroller or am holding him by the hand, I always get out of its way, and the owner looks at me and seem amused that I would do this (that is, if I have the right pit/owner in mind).

So awful. I'm very sorry for this sweet lady.

That's terrible. I'm so sorry to hear it.

oh, orzabelle how distressing, and I am so sorry for your neighbor. Housing a dog who attacks a small dog without provocation,inflicting such grave injuries that the dog had to be destroyed,should not be tolerated. But dog on dog aggression does not always mean that the dog will be aggressive to humans, still you are wise to give this dog wide berth,

If your neighbor reported this to the police (or the doctor or hospital did,since they are mandatory reporters), under the dangerous dog law, if this is the first incident, the dog should be under "house arrest" and must stay on his own property. That should give you some comfort to be able to walk your child in a stroller without fear.

Is this the police incident near the HS a week or so ago? People said here it was a vicious dog attack. How horrible.

This is a friend of mine and it truly is devastating. The mother and daughter are both distraught about what happened to their little dog. The attacking dog is a danger to the neighborhood and must be removed. I hope everyone approached signs the petition and something is done about this aggressive dog (and oblivious owner)

Good grief, how upsetting, and how horrible for the neighbor whose poor dog was killed.

I'll echo what Calli said, but add that I think you're right to give that dog wide berth, if it's the same animal. I kind of hope it's not the same dog, since the owner seems amused that you keep your toddler out of reach.

Has the dog bite (of the owner - not the dog) been reported to the town? Please be clear - if the dog bit a human (and the stitches seem to imply it had), I believe it must be reported as their is paperwork to fill out.

I hope this is the same incident that was discussed on swap last week (or else there's more than one dog like that around!). I believe someone said Robert Roe was looking into it. What a terrible situation. :

How horrible. I have a small dog and have heard too many of these stories. The family must be heartbroken.

It's a frightening situation. Dog owners need to be responsible for the behavior of their pets and for training them to be sociable or to keep them muzzled in public if they cannot be trusted.

bog said:
Has the dog bite (of the owner - not the dog) been reported to the town? Please be clear - if the dog bit a human (and the stitches seem to imply it had), I believe it must be reported as their is paperwork to fill out.

Medical providers are required to report dog bites to the health department in the patient's town.

cody said:
...
It's a frightening situation. Dog owners need to be responsible for the behavior of their pets and for training them to be sociable or to keep them muzzled in public if they cannot be trusted.

^^This^^

It scares me how many totally delusional or irresponsible dog owners there are out there.

The attacking dog should be put down. If the owner can't control it and it has killed another dog and bitten a person it is only a matter of time before this happens again, or something worse.

Yup. Or at minimum it sure as hell doesn't belong here.

I can just imagine the scene: the pit bull clamped on to the smaller dog while Orzabelle's neighbor and the owner fight to get the dog to stop but can't. That is an out of control and vicious animal that will only do it again.

Can you tell us what neighborhood it is, please? Just so we can be on alert or not while walking our (small) dogs.

blianderson, it was right next to Columbia High School

Thank you!

I can't imagine how scary and traumatizing this must be for this family. Truly awful.

That is horrible, the poor woman must be traumatized. What a horrible thing to witness. I don't know how I would react. Didn't something like this happen last year?

Law suit needs to take place. Not for the money but for getting the owner's attention.

I know how I would react. I would report it to the police and make sure those owners do the right thing. That dog cannot be allowed to terrorize the neighborhood just because its owners are idiots or asshats.

The attack needs to be reported to the Health Officer of the town in which the attack took place. If the dog resides in another town (attack location is on the Maplewood/SO border) the Health Officer of that town needs to be notified as well.

Police shut down the street after it happened so I'm certain a report must've been filed. Orzabelle, where does the pit live, do you know? Your side of Valley or mine?

My side. Neighbor said in the condos - I'm not sure if she means the brick building across from CHS or that 3-door yellow building.

If the owner has children, shouldn't DYFS be alerted that there's a dangerous dog on the premises? Shouldn't those kids' schools be alerted so that other parents know that if their kids go to play at that house they may be in danger of a dog attack? I fail to see the difference between this and a loaded gun on the premises. In fact it's worse -- the dog itself is both weapon and wielder of the weapon.

I have a little dog (mostly blind, totally deaf) who is best friends with a sweetheart of a pit bull. Good owners make for good dogs. The owner of the dog who attacked and mauled at least one other person while in the process of KILLING a leashed dog makes it that much more difficult for RESPONSIBLE pit owners to get along with their neighbors and their community. I completely agree that the attacking dog in this case should be put down. And I hope its owner gets punished to the fullest legal extent possible.

Everything about this is disgusting. My heart breaks for your friend, Orzabelle. I can't believe she has to go through the pain of going DOOR TO DOOR and reliving and re-explaining what happened to her over and over again.

I had heard this dog was a repeat offender but the last incident wasn't reported to the police. Maybe that is why a petition is needed

IMHO, the dog is not the "repeat offender" -- the owner is the repeat offender.

beppolina said:
IMHO, the dog is not the "repeat offender" -- the owner is the repeat offender.

Agree!!

NizhoniGrrrl said:

beppolina said:
IMHO, the dog is not the "repeat offender" -- the owner is the repeat offender.

Agree!!

Absolutely!!

dquadrel said:

NizhoniGrrrl said:

beppolina said:
IMHO, the dog is not the "repeat offender" -- the owner is the repeat offender.

Agree!!

Absolutely!!

Granted. But the dog will suffer, because the owner didn't bother with proper training. Which is sad, and makes me angry.