Amaya was attacked.

[Aonir]

Yesterday was hell. We took Amaya outside to go potty, then two dogs that looked like pitbulls(not saying they are, just looked it) attacked her. I don't personally have anything against pits, but man. To see two dogs on Amaya who is only around 20 pounds is terrifying. They didn't do any damage and their owner ran to get his dogs.. The hard part was to get the dogs off of her, but after that, I picked her up. She was whining like there was no tomorrow. She had one wet spot on her coat, but no blood. She limped for a few minutes but that cleared up fast. I know where the guy lives, its in the same apartment building as us. I'm still considering whether to tell the police or the landlord or not. The guy acted really sorry when he came to check on her, but it's really no excuse to have his dogs off leash. His excuse was he opened his car door and the dogs darted out. He said he usually has them on leash.. I mean, Amaya darts outside if she can and we have to chase her. But she would never attack anyone. She'd run up to them barking, but if they so much as made a step towards her, she'd run away. She's a coward. Her running from the dogs is probably what made them go into attack mode instead of play mode. Anyway, it was hell. I know for sure if she was injured, I'd file it to the cops and press charges to get his dogs taken away. sigh.

I really don't know what to do. I have no idea if it IS an accident and if it has happened before or not. My fiance said "it was a mistake.. if it happens again, yes" And I said, "the point is, how do we know it hasn't happened before? and if it does happen again, how do we know what the turn-out will be?"

What do you think I should do? :(

[courtnek]

check with the police. If the dog has been reported for attacking/biting before, there will be a police record on it

[Guest Anonymous]

Turn him in. He is another example of an irresponsible owner. He has no excuse for having the dogs off leash. Especially if they might attack another dog. He should have had the dogs on leashes in the car as well.
Dont want this happening again to yourself or anyone else!

[drjeffrock]

I say turn him in. I am an absolute freak about walking my dogs on leash. I check the rings, make sure the leash isnt frayed, etc. every single time before I walk them. I am glad Amaya wasnt hurt though :)

[atghylin]

[quote]He should have had the dogs on leashes in the car as well.
[/quote]

My Felix is never on leash in the car... safety issue. Wouldn't want him to tangle himself up in the seats and hurt himself or others. But I always make sure he is on leash BEFORE I open the door. Or if he's not getting out with me then at least he's in a sit/stay or down/stay.

I would at least talk to the police and your landlord about the incident. Yes... it may have been an accident this time but if the owner has a habbit of not putting his dogs on leashes then it is most likely to happen again and not with favorable results.

I'm sorry to hear about the incident but am glad Amaya is okay.

Amanda

[Guest Anonymous]

[quote]My Felix is never on leash in the car... safety issue. Wouldn't want him to tangle himself up in the seats and hurt himself or others.[/quote]
I always use a leash (unless the dog is in a crate), but I do take it off if I have to run in somewhere for the same reasons.
BUT, this guy has 2 pit bulls. Im sorry but they dont just accidentally get by you, at least that has never happened to me. Owners of pit bulls, of any kind, CANNOT let this kind of thing happen. There are way too many chances of an accident happening.

[Guest Anonymous]

i agree with eeryone,. turn him in!! that is not safe

[midori115]

When Oscar's in the car, i have his seatbelt on -- one of the loops that attaches to his harness and the seatbelt -- and I get the leash onto the harness before I detach the seatbelt. It may have been an accident, but that doesn't make it OK.....

[Guest Anonymous]

You don't say whether Amaya was on leash or not, but if she wasn't, my guess is that the most the police will do is cluck sympathetically. Even if she was on leash, she wasn't hurt, and so I am betting that there won't be any repercussions for the owner of the pit bulls.

Although people here are saying all the safeguards they put in place, even with safeguards, virtually all owners who have had dogs for any length of time have had a dog get loose. Mistakes happen and we are all only human. Dogs that attack other dogs are therefore huge liabilities to even highly responsible owners. The solution is not to breed such dogs in the first place, not to (particularly) punish responsible owners of those dogs when the predictable accident happens.

Strangely, my bottom line as to whether to turn the guy in would be whether both his dogs are spayed/neutered. If they are, then odds are that he is at least trying to be a responsible owner and that is about all he can do short of being perfect (which none of us are) or killing his dogs (which probably none of us want). If they are not spayed/neutered, then you might want to consider turning him in, although (as I said) I doubt much will happen.

primrose

[courtnek]

I disagree with that. If you are in a place with leash laws, like here, then your dogs are required to be restrained. Yes, acidents do happen. In 98%
of them, no one gets hurt. The dog runs off while you frantically try to get it back. But if the dog has a history of attacking people or animals, that would be on the police file. Thats why I would check, and if it'sben reported before (or even not) I would report it.

[Guest Anonymous]

Sure, dogs are required to be restrained where there are leash laws. On the other hand, what goes around comes around, and unless you are prepared to risk a fine and (eventually) loss of your dogs, or unless you are perfect and have never had a loose dog, you probably don't want to contribute to making a society where the occasional loose dog (with owner in hot pursuit, as here) is a reason for police intervention without a really good reason to do so.

Again, the solution to dog aggressive dogs is to have a society where it isn't okay to breed dog aggressive dogs, not to try to make a society where dogs never, ever get loose. Dogs [b]will[/b] get loose and if the owner is otherwise responsible and there is no harm done, then why try to make trouble for anybody?

Again, if the owner is irresponsible (and having intact dog aggressive dogs is a big red flag that he is) or if there were actual harm done, my answer here would be different.

primrose

[Guest Anonymous]

There is too many dog owners out there who shouldn't own a dog at all!

[courtnek]

again, I disagree. I am not calling for new laws about dog restraints, they are already there. And no, I am nowhere near perfect. Both of mine have escaped, through doors that my kid and his friends left often. However, they are not the biting types and have never hurt anyone or any other animal. well, squirrels dont count...do they? :oops:

My point is that if you have a dog that is known to be, or could become, dog aggressive, then there is more responsibility involved in owning that dog. If mine escaped and bit somebody, or killed the neighbor's cat, then yes, that is my responsibility, even if it was an accident. If I hit someone crossing the street in my car, although it was an accident, it's still my responsibility. Same thing if my kid bats a baseball through the neighbors window. You get my drift. If you want to own a more aggressive dog, you need to be aware of that and take all the precautions necessary to see that your dog does not get loose.

[quote]There is too many dog owners out there who shouldn't own a dog at all![/quote]

I will agree with that 100% - there are people who should not be allowed to have children as well. Unfortunately, in those cases, there really is very little anyone can do about it, excpet try to educate.