Time to rid Canada of vicious dogs

[caesar]

Krusty; the death of a 3 year old child by dogs is not something to joke about. Your remarks are insensitive and disgusting.

[PocketRocket]

A friend of mine has a rather large backyard just outside a small town in Northern Ontario.

He has a Rottie. A 160-lb brute of a dog. He also has a 4-year old daughter.

His backyard is completely fenced in.

When his daughter's friends come over to play, they are all put in the backyard, with the Rottie.

The kids climb all over that poor dog. They pull his ears. They sit on his back.

He loves it.

The only time he has EVER made a threatening sound or gesture, is when an adult comes to the gate to try enter the backyard.

But this only happens when the kids are out there playing.

My friend or his wife has to go get the kids out of the backyard so their parents can take them home.

As far as the Rottie is concerned, no one else is allowed in the backyard when the kids are back there playing.

Best protection a kid could possibly have, as most adults are terrified of the dog. He won't let anyone other than his masters near any of those kids. As long as they are in HIS backyard, they are his to protect. Outside of his own backyard, he's fine with anyone, anytime.

A few of the neighbouring parents would not, at first, let their kids play back there. But once they saw the way the dog

protects the kids, they changed their tune rather quickly.

That particular dog is so in tune with the kids, that if one of them falls and hurts himself, or starts crying for ANY reason, that dog will howl at the door of the house until my friend or his wife have come outside to attend to the child.

There are always exceptions, of course, but the behavior of a dog is largely a product of his upbringing and training.

A dog owner should be smart enough to realize how his dog will behave in different circumstances, and should take whatever measures are necessary to insure that his dog causes no harm.

Banning dogs is like banning guns, or knives. A responsible owner will take appropriate measures.

It's the irresponsible dog owners we need to legislate against, not the dogs themselves.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear PocketRocket,

A dog owner should be smart enough to realize how his dog will behave in different circumstances, and should take whatever measures are necessary to insure that his dog causes no harm.

Bingo.

The owners should be punished for failing to follow this simple guideline.

I have 3 dogs, all 'rescues' from an Animal Rescue Foundation. One is a lab/border collie, who is the sweetest dog in the world. He seems to have an affinity for the handicapped. He will sit at their feet and wag his tail endlessly, licking their hand if they'll let him, and we have to call him away. Another is a border collie, who is skittish of strangers, but will back away and bark from a safe distance.

The third dog, however, is a rottie x who, because of the circumstances she was found in, is dog aggressive, but fine with people. She was found as a stray on a First Nations Reserve, and was in foster care for almost 1 1/2 years. (Nine months at our house, and we eventually adopted her because we love her) She is great with our two other dogs, and with our cats, but in the park, as far as her eyes can see, it is her territory. She is never off leash, (though all three dogs get at least 2 walks a day) and supervised if out in the yard. I know what it takes to care for an animal like this, and believe I am a responsible owner.

I would hate to think what Gypsy would be if she was in the hands of an irresponsible owner, just like, as you say, a gun.

[KrustyKidd]

Krusty; the death of a 3 year old child by dogs is not something to joke about. Your remarks are insensitive and disgusting.

Insensitive? Of course I am sorry about the death of a child, a slow post day for you perhaps? My response was to the automatic idiocy of Maple Syrup who favors draconian measures without thinking of the consequences. His motion to fill dogs skulls full of lead as they attack with banned guns is as intelligent as banning all knives, leaving humanity to carve the sunday roast with a rubber mallet.

As far as I know, dogs that atack people are put away after the event is investigated. Many breeds of dogs are being placed on an illegal list and the owners are charged when found negiligent.

[maplesyrup]

Thank goodness for taxes. Now at least it looks like the government is being forced to intervene and take the surviving children away from their mother. Unfortunately but realistically governments have to intervene to protect children from abusive situations.

[maplesyrup]

Letter to the editor in the Van Sun today and I have quoted bits of it:

"Dogs kill people and guns kill people

Re: Treat potentially dangerous animals like loaded guns.

Yes there will always be dimwits who side with the dogs.

And yes there will always be dimwits who side with guns.

Unfortunately too many people are too stupid to figure it out, and too many politicians are too gutless to do anything about it.

This is an excellent letter and my sentiments exactly. What's it going to take for Canadians to wake up and put a stop to these atrocities?

/208

[August1991]

Letter to the editor in the Van Sun today and I have quoted bits of it:

"Dogs kill people and guns kill people

Re: Treat potentially dangerous animals like loaded guns.

Yes there will always be dimwits who side with the dogs.

And yes there will always be dimwits who side with guns.

Unfortunately too many people are too stupid to figure it out, and too many politicians are too gutless to do anything about it.

This is an excellent letter and my sentiments exactly. What's it going to take for Canadians to wake up and put a stop to these atrocities?

/208

MS, are you suggesting a multi-billion dollar "dog registry"?

[caesar]

MS, are you suggesting a multi-billion dollar "dog registry"?

We license and register our dogs now in the cities. I find is exasperating that I pay the same fee for my little Shih Tzus as others pay for their pit bulls and rottweillers. The authorities should charge fees on the size and breeds of dogs. Dogs that can cause serious injuries or kill; should be banned in cities and fees should be much higher. They should be required to purchase insurance that would cover their financial liability.

I think it is cruel to keep a large dog on a small city property. They need space to roam

It is not guns or dogs that are responsibile for killings; it is the owners of such potential weapons that use them to intimidate or control others or simply abuse them or neglect to ensure they are properly stored and cannot fall into the wrong hands,

[Ladyluck]

Yes I agree there has to be laws about dogs its not the dog its the owner who is at fault!

Last year I had to do something I never dreamed I would have to do. My dog of 2 years turned on my 4 year old granddaughter ,she was unhurt but I was bit on both hands protecting her. I did the right thing and put down the dog. That was a very hard thing to do. I had had other dogs and never once did they do anything like that.

I do not have a dog now and will never own one again.

people with children please watch your pets carefully .

But it could happen to anyone even a responiable owner

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