[Nufan]

I’m with falnfenix, time to get your neighbors and show up at City Hall. Offer to take the city to court for negligence (or whatever) if someone is seriously harmed multiple times by the same gd dog

Thanks that is a good idea

 

[sissl]

Thanks that is a good idea

Gov’t protection is inadequate
Can you sue a city for negligence

 

[Nufan]

Mail carrier killed after being attacked by five dogs in Florida

The dogs were turned over to the county and will be humanely euthanised

www.independent.co.uk

Not my county by one close by and multiple reports on these dogs too until they finally killed a USPS worker. I guess the issue in FL is the laws make it difficult here since the dog is considered private property. I appreciate the responses, it’s a very difficult situation, I worry about my animals and kids. Hopefully we stay safe and something is done. I’ll look into other options aside from Animal control. The laws make it difficult here I guess.

 

[sissl]

Mail carrier killed after being attacked by five dogs in Florida

The dogs were turned over to the county and will be humanely euthanised

www.independent.co.uk

Not my county by one close by and multiple reports on these dogs too until they finally killed a USPS worker. I guess the issue in FL is the laws make it difficult here since the dog is considered private property. I appreciate the responses, it’s a very difficult situation, I worry about my animals and kids. Hopefully we stay safe and something is done. I’ll look into other options aside from Animal control. The laws make it difficult here I guess. View attachment 174021

But this…
“The state of Florida considers personal pets an owner's personal property, which makes owners liable in the event that a dog bites or otherwise injures someone.”

Has nobody taken the owner of that dog to court then? Idiotic if that’s the way it has to be resolved. Totally stupid. But with that one serious bite, the sheriff should be involved and that family also. They should be making the medical bills under their insurance. Probably nobody wants to go the extra distance of a law suit, understable. But that’s the answer? Awesome. I’d still go to the city. Why can’t dogs simply be leashed to avoid this. It doesn’t take anything away - dogs are still the owners property. It makes all the dogs safer. The one pitbull I called in was nearly hit by a car when his owner called him back. Idiots.

 

[falnfenix]

Thanks that is a good idea

At such a local level, this sort of change only happens when the people get loud.

So get loud. Get your neighbors involved. Get in touch with the post office and see if they'll help out with a petition or something like that. But call your local representatives, show up at city hall, bring those photos and copies of the law you want changed. Be polite, of course, and represent yourself well - dress nicely, etc. The only way to get change to happen is to make people aware it NEEDS to happen.

 

[Gretchen_Red]

I was at a park where a pitbull got loose and attached a big ol male dobe. I'd guess around 100 pounds. It was able to bite the dogs neck and take it down, it killed the male.

 

[GP Person]

Dogs are considered property everywhere in the U.S. so far as I know. There have been jurisdictions that proposed laws changing that to more like you're a dog's guardian instead of owner, but I don't think they got too far except maybe in a couple of cities. Being property doesn't mean animals can't be regulated -- think about autos, livestock, houses, guns. Or confiscated if the right laws are in place.

As I mentioned recently in another thread, the first rescue I fostered had been confiscated for neglect and abuse. She wasn't the only one our rescue took in that had been taken from an owner by authorities for cause. Confiscation also happens to dangerous dogs. It just takes the right laws and regulations. Not that some laws aren't ones none of us here would like to see because authorities can and do get carried away. Even in rural areas here where there are few and weak laws affecting dogs, competent law enforcement (or animal control if it exists) will go talk to people and try to get it across to them they have to do better. Most people aren't too keen to get visits from authorities of any kind.

The really sad thing is a lot of dogs that cause trouble aren't bad dogs; they just have bad owners. In my experience that's the big problems with pit bulls. They attract the neglectful, irresponsible, and downright nasty kind of owner. The one I went to court over was like that. She wasn't a bad dog; she had a bad owner. Thankfully she stopped living off her parents and moved away, dog and all, shortly after my miserable encounters with her.

 

[Rosemary]

No. The answer is no. They may slowdown the dog and they may die in the process. No dog fight ever ends without damage to all dogs involved.
Get Bear Spray and keep it stowed around the property and contact the local news.

THIS. Even if your dog physically recovers, they might never recover mentally.

 

[NOLAdoberman67]

I agree, but the laws where I’m at state they only do something after a certain amount of bites or serious bodily injury or death.

I’m an LEO in New Orleans, I find this hard to believe,……..what’s the Magic bite number, before action is taken?!?

 

[ABCDogs]

I worked at animal control and we took any dog that bit and broke skin for quarantine and evaluation. That is state law in GA but I would think it’s the law in every state.

As for the question about the dog fight… that’s not your dog’s responsibility. It’s YOUR responsibility to protect your dog. Do everything you can to keep the dogs away from the neighbors dog. Don’t let them get in a situation where there could be a fight. And carry a slip lead with you when you’re outside so you can choke the dog out if they do get into a fight and it bites and won’t let go.

And honestly if you see the aggressive dog on your property, take the ACO’s advice and shoot it. If it has a history of attacking people, that would be the most responsible thing you can do to protect your family.

 

[Nufan]

I worked at animal control and we took any dog that bit and broke skin for quarantine and evaluation. That is state law in GA but I would think it’s the law in every state.

As for the question about the dog fight… that’s not your dog’s responsibility. It’s YOUR responsibility to protect your dog. Do everything you can to keep the dogs away from the neighbors dog. Don’t let them get in a situation where there could be a fight. And carry a slip lead with you when you’re outside so you can choke the dog out if they do get into a fight and it bites and won’t let go.

And honestly if you see the aggressive dog on your property, take the ACO’s advice and shoot it. If it has a history of attacking people, that would be the most responsible thing you can do to protect your family.

💯

 

[Sunje]

As has been stated before, YOUR job with your dog is to protect it from dogs like this. My last male became dog aggressive after being attacked by loose dogs in our old neighborhood (one a GSD and the other a golden retriever). While it's tempting to shoot an offending dog, what happens when the dog's owner gets pissed at you for shooting his dog? Then you have an aggressive person living near you. I started carrying a stun baton and advocate highly for carrying this instead. They are inexpensive, easily available on Amazon, and legal in most areas of the country. The noise from test-firing it alone will scare off most every dog. And if you actually have to use it on a dog, that dog is never going to come near you again. If you have 2 dogs fighting, it's going to be next to impossible to shoot the offending dog; you're going to have much better luck w/ the stun baton. You can use it on the damn owner if you have to, no lasting harm done, and you can easily take the guy down. Better than bear spray too, as you can't spray that if the wind is blowing at you, plus you don't want to spray your own dog. I am far from being anti-gun, but I just don't think it's the answer in this situation, when you're in a neighborhood w/ a pit bull charging at you. And if you are going to carry a gun, you'd better be sure that you know how to use it and train regularly with it for situations like that.

Whether or not my doberman can take down a pitbull is a moot point. I will make sure he never gets the chance to try--I will always have his back.

 

[Arrow-The-GSD]

I agree with carrying for protection. My last dog was a 35 lb Aussie, and she was ready to take on any dog, including one of the more problematic pits. It got so close so fast one time it almost had her by the neck by the time we were beating it away, but she was ready to go. I always don't let dogs get anywhere near mine as much as I can help it though, I'm certainly not throwing them out there to take care of the problem. My dad was very stubborn about not giving in and started carrying when walking past that one pit house. It stopped the owner from threatening us at least for walking down the street, but we did just avoid walking down there altogether because they still just let it run and kept getting more dogs that were just as bad so you had two or three going after you and it was to the point we were going to get hurt. Animal control and the police here also don't care so our walking route just gets smaller every year because I get tired of beating the new dogs off all the time and my dog is an absolute mess mentally now. People just seem very entitled to the point they think they own the street even and nobody should be walking and that you are the problem. So I feel for you! We are going to be most likely getting some bear spray this year because the stun wands are illegal. 🙄 Arrow is nasty looking and sounding enough with her issues caused by those dogs we haven't had much issues with dogs not being under control now, they grab them very quickly, but I would like her to be able to just walk past the well behaved dogs and not be ready to kill them before they kill her attitude. It so tiring and difficult to build up a stable well behaved dog here.

 

[170564]

As has been stated before, YOUR job with your dog is to protect it from dogs like this. My last male became dog aggressive after being attacked by loose dogs in our old neighborhood (one a GSD and the other a golden retriever). While it's tempting to shoot an offending dog, what happens when the dog's owner gets pissed at you for shooting his dog? Then you have an aggressive person living near you. I started carrying a stun baton and advocate highly for carrying this instead. They are inexpensive, easily available on Amazon, and legal in most areas of the country. The noise from test-firing it alone will scare off most every dog. And if you actually have to use it on a dog, that dog is never going to come near you again. If you have 2 dogs fighting, it's going to be next to impossible to shoot the offending dog; you're going to have much better luck w/ the stun baton. You can use it on the damn owner if you have to, no lasting harm done, and you can easily take the guy down. Better than bear spray too, as you can't spray that if the wind is blowing at you, plus you don't want to spray your own dog. I am far from being anti-gun, but I just don't think it's the answer in this situation, when you're in a neighborhood w/ a pit bull charging at you. And if you are going to carry a gun, you'd better be sure that you know how to use it and train regularly with it for situations like that.

Whether or not my doberman can take down a pitbull is a moot point. I will make sure he never gets the chance to try--I will always have his back.

 

[spocksdad]

... I started carrying a stun baton and advocate highly for carrying this instead. They are inexpensive, easily available on Amazon, and legal in most areas of the country. The noise from test-firing it alone will scare off most every dog. And if you actually have to use it on a dog, that dog is never going to come near you again. ...

Like Sunje, I carry a stun device (flashlight) whenever out in public with our Dobes to fend off any rogue/loose aggressive dogs. It's worked every time at a distance without the dogs getting close. I have also used on (2) dogs at once several times. Here's an example from one of Neo's walks when he was just under 2 y/o. With previous female we had, Eva, she would get behind me when I had to use the stun flashlight on several occasions but the males would stand their ground out front. In the video, it was a female dog that had slipped out of her house, then thought she owned then entire block!

Neo Confronts Kamikaze Dog 2-25-23

 

[greenkouki]

Maybe you should consider moving to a safer or less populated area. I know that seems like a drastic measure but peace of mind with your animals may be worth the hassle.

 

[Nufan]

Maybe you should consider moving to a safer or less populated area. I know that seems like a drastic measure but peace of mind with your animals may be worth the hassle.

I hope too! That is the ultimate goal for us.

 

[Nufan]

Thanks everyone, as of now I just have a bat near my front door but I’ll look into stun baton, bear spray etc as well. As for now we just avoid going outside our gate, sucks but better to take every precaution possible since the Pit slips under the neighbors gate now and then. Just not worth the risk.
Our mailbox is across street right next to theirs and only my husband goes to it now. 100% agree that it’s my job to protect my dogs and kids, I was more thinking in the event the Pit some how finds its way onto our property would our dogs be able to protect us.
You’re right though it’s my job to protect them because unfortunately Pitbulls are insane and I’m afraid they can take down most breeds, except maybe a Kangal.
Thanks for all the suggestions, hopefully eventually we can move.

 

[sissl]

I don’t know how little your kids are. Naturally parents keep an eye on them, but in the event that a fast errant toddler slips out of the house a good dog would alert you to the child exiting the house and definitely exiting the property. Otherwise make sure your fence is bottom to top secure so the monster can’t get in from the other side. Sure your dogs might so far as distract him from the kids by fighting but one of your dogs might die. Same as all of the above but I’m one to engage with government local etc if the ordinances are sh;t.

There was a no dog policy at a fair my aunt went to. She was bit by a Great Pyrenees just crossing the parking lot and needed skin grafting. She could have sued the fair. She didn’t. She was really gracious about it. She was probably gd serious with them about enforcing the rules and they have and her seriousness is intimidating enough. Says all that is needed. She’s over confident. If whole groups of people are complacent, yes then you probably need to sell your house and move.

I have a stun flashlight too but I rarely remember to take it anywhere. Pretty sane dogs around here. The one I called in I just haven’t seen anymore.

 

[Sunje]

I do like the idea of going to the city, hopefully w/ other neighbors. I think the local gov't would be liable if there are complaints about these dogs and then they hurt someone. I'd file multiple complaints and then keep a careful record of when you notify the city about them.