Child Killed By Dog

[poodlefan]

Once again...it was an example as to HOW...not WHY...the why would be the upbringing/living situation of the dog and the influences of the owner to name just a couple...i would have imagined you of all people would have understood that.

sue you? what on earth for? i think i missed something there??

Yes, my sarcasm. ;)

Suggesting that a 3 year old somehow deliberately contributed to a series of circumstances that sees her dead in her front yard or home due to the actions of a dog that was outside its own yard doesn't wash with me. The only "blame" that can be layed here is on the owner of a dog that was prepared to savage three human beings when outside its yard. That kind of dog doesn't come out of nowhere.

Yes, victims contribute to these situations. But your hypothesis attempted to shift the responsiblity for the attack away from where it needs to be.. on the dog and the person that owns it. It's that simple.

[krustie22]

While i feel for the family, you have to wonder if the little girls didnt find the dog wandering outside, and had a play with it then took it in to mommy to do the whole "can we keep it?" when the dog was cornered in the house it was unfamiliar with, it could have become fear aggressive? Or do the people that want the breed banned think it picked out a house with people home, and knocked down the door???

That is really sick.

I agree!!!! That is a really disturbing statement

What part of this incident is NOT disturbing?

[Linda K]

they have just said that the minister has said there are up to 10000 dangerous dogs unregistered in Vic, and he will be increasing funding to councils to do squads to detect (and who knows what then, presumably confiscate and kill)), any dangerous dogs, as well as start up a dangerous dogs hotline, for people to ring up and presumably to dob in a dog, hope that innocent dogs do not get caught up in this from vexacious people with a grudge

[brightonrock]

just listening to the minister on the radio, I think you may find they will now become a banned breed - he said that in view of previous attacks and what happened last night, he will be moving swiftly to get the breed banned, and increase penalties, including making owners criminally responsible - ie potentially jail time and murder / manslaughter charges for people whose dogs cause death like this. I just see a lot more dogs now being dumped on pounds as a result to be PTS as so many more people will now dodge responsibility on properly caring for their dogs.

That is really a possibility ( that dogs will be dumped ) but they are probably dogs who are not being cared for in the first place. If it stops another death of a child or person then it is worth it.

turkishdelight, i think you will find it is the ones that are cared for and owned legally that will be surrendered, and the illegally, poorly owned ones will go on to give the diminishing breed a worse name

Heresay. You have no proof of that.

[raz]

This - the sad part is this owner will probably just think that it was the dog and not him that is responsible but the owner has everything to do with it. Any dog with even the potential to inflict damage must be kept contained and if that means having expensive enclosures etc then that's what you do as part of owning them.

absolutely. I'd like to see this owner hit with a comparable penalty to culpable drive. If that was a drunk driver that killed this child he'd be in prison. Bring it on for irresponsible dog owners who dont contain their dogs and they end up killing someone. Frigging disgusting. I dont give a rat's ass how the dog got out but the fact is, if it had been contained in it's own yard, that little girl would still be alive.

To think that family came here for a better, safer life, then their little child was killed by a dog at large. Absolutely outrageous. How many more deaths will it take before moron owners are brought into line.

[krustie22]

Once again...it was an example as to HOW...not WHY...the why would be the upbringing/living situation of the dog and the influences of the owner to name just a couple...i would have imagined you of all people would have understood that.

sue you? what on earth for? i think i missed something there??

Yes, my sarcasm. ;)

Suggesting that a 3 year old somehow deliberately contributed to a series of circumstances that sees her dead in her front yard or home due to the actions of a dog that was outside its own yard doesn't wash with me. The only "blame" that can be layed here is on the owner of a dog that was prepared to savage three human beings when outside its yard. That kind of dog doesn't come out of nowhere.

Yes, victims contribute to these situations. But your hypothesis attempted to shift the responsiblity for the attack away from where it needs to be.. on the dog and the person that owns it. It's that simple.

Oh no, i got the sarcasm :p

I do apologise, and have removed the comment. Altho i dont think with 3 year olds anything is deliberate. My comments were more directed at the PRO BSL comments. It was a moment of weakness and i have had a moment to cool down, and realise the comment was not helpful.

As i said before, there is no excuse, the owner will have to pay the penalty for this crime.

Sorry to those i offended.

[krustie22]

just listening to the minister on the radio, I think you may find they will now become a banned breed - he said that in view of previous attacks and what happened last night, he will be moving swiftly to get the breed banned, and increase penalties, including making owners criminally responsible - ie potentially jail time and murder / manslaughter charges for people whose dogs cause death like this. I just see a lot more dogs now being dumped on pounds as a result to be PTS as so many more people will now dodge responsibility on properly caring for their dogs.

That is really a possibility ( that dogs will be dumped ) but they are probably dogs who are not being cared for in the first place. If it stops another death of a child or person then it is worth it.

turkishdelight, i think you will find it is the ones that are cared for and owned legally that will be surrendered, and the illegally, poorly owned ones will go on to give the diminishing breed a worse name

Heresay. You have no proof of that.

No i dont. But i would sure as hell bet on it!!!

What proof do you have that it would be the ones not being cared for that would be dumped? seems like a silly comment!

Edited August 18, 2011 by krustie22

[Pockets]

While i feel for the family, you have to wonder if the little girls didnt find the dog wandering outside, and had a play with it then took it in to mommy to do the whole "can we keep it?" when the dog was cornered in the house it was unfamiliar with, it could have become fear aggressive? Or do the people that want the breed banned think it picked out a house with people home, and knocked down the door???

That is really sick.

I agree!!!! That is a really disturbing statement

What part of this incident is NOT disturbing?

No the incident is a tragedy!!! your ridiculous comment is disturbing

[huski]

That the dog was a pitbull has nothing to do with this story at all. It's a cheap way to place the blame because it's easier to point the finger at the dog's breed rather than look at the REAL reasons why dogs attack people, children and other animals.

So let's ban pit bulls - does anyone actually believe that will stop dog attacks? ANY DOG CAN BITE - and any dog is capable of aggression. Pitbulls aren't the only dogs that bite people. Until we focus on the real reasons behind why dogs bite people, dog attacks will continue to happen and by pointing the finger at the dog's breed, we learn nothing and we are encouraging people to believe that only certain dogs are capable of biting people.

Steve from K9 Pro has been asked to fly to VIC and assess the dog, will be interesting to see whether that happens.

http://www.k9pro.com.au/news/39/Dog-kills-child-

Edited August 18, 2011 by huski

[poodlefan]

they have just said that the minister has said there are up to 10000 dangerous dogs unregistered in Vic, and he will be increasing funding to councils to do squads to detect (and who knows what then, presumably confiscate and kill)), any dangerous dogs, as well as start up a dangerous dogs hotline, for people to ring up and presumably to dob in a dog, hope that innocent dogs do not get caught up in this from vexacious people with a grudge

Ah the irony.

If councils were adequately funded to enforce existing dangerous dog legislation, not a whit of this new "action" would be necessary.

But hey, our pollies have to be seen to be doing something. :rolleyes:

[poodlefan]

Heresay. You have no proof of that.

No it's not. It's opinion and nothing more.

[poodlefan]

Oh no, i got the sarcasm :p

I do apologise, and have removed the comment. Altho i dont think with 3 year olds anything is deliberate. My comments were more directed at the PRO BSL comments. It was a moment of weakness and i have had a moment to cool down, and realise the comment was not helpful.

As i said before, there is no excuse, the owner will have to pay the penalty for this crime.

Sorry to those i offended.

Look accidents happen. Gates get left open. But the overwhelming majority of loose dogs do NOT go on to savage and kill. Lets focus on what process made that dog what it was and not how it happened to be in that place at that time. Its the only thing that can help prevent another one of these disasters.

[brightonrock]

While i feel for the family, you have to wonder if the little girls didnt find the dog wandering outside, and had a play with it then took it in to mommy to do the whole "can we keep it?" when the dog was cornered in the house it was unfamiliar with, it could have become fear aggressive? Or do the people that want the breed banned think it picked out a house with people home, and knocked down the door???

That is really sick.

I agree!!!! That is a really disturbing statement

What part of this incident is NOT disturbing?

I thought I made it quite clear that your comment is sick. Just look at the facts, a dog has strayed into a private property AND home and then proceeded to kill one human being and attacked 2 others causing serious physical damage. Do you have children, if not can you even begin to understand how this family is feeling ?

[Matthew_B]

This breed of dogs (pitbull) needs to be banned, period. They have been bred over many, many years to be fighting dogs. That is their pedigree, it is what they were bred to do. They weren't bred to be cuddly playthings for the kids to poke and prod. They fight, maim and kill and once they have experienced the taste of human blood they will more often than not be involved in repeat attacks. It is as simple as that and arguing otherwise is just plain stupid and irresponsible. There is no need for these kinds of vicious dogs to be kept as pets by anyone. I don't care how much of an expert on this breed someone claims to be, you cannot make this breed of dogs a safe breed. It is imprinted into their brains to fight and takes just one moment, one thing for them to be set off and then there's virtually no stopping them except a Police Officer and his gun. Jailing or fining owners is not the answer, as it will not save victims of these aggressive, powerfully built dogs. We need to be more proactive, rather than reacting only after someone has been maimed or killed. The only responsible course of action is for the breed to be banned and for breeding these dogs to also be banned until they cease to exist.

[peaceful]

Would have education have helped?

There are groups in society that still street race, regardless of the strong message that it is unsafe plus with the impounding/ confiscation laws.

Some like the fact that they live on the edge, be it legally or safely.

What an absolute tragedy for that darling little girl and her family who were sadly already traumatised.

While I know there are many great pets from this breed and crosses from them there are just as many "aggressive" dogs of these breeds and I really do think that alot of it has to do with the "type" of person attracted to owning these dogs (and not the actual dogs) especially if they like the "tough guy" image that these dogs are often used to portray.

I've met many of the young male type owners; they like to have a tough dog as a projection of their own masulinity and they do not neuter the dog as it adversely affects the "tough guy" image. They are not familiar with dog behaviour and training etc. I'm sure there are many who are but the ones I have met are not.

The often times "novice" owners dont understand dog behaviour or correct training and socialising. I've seen it myself many many many times. At Puppy socialisation classes there are always at least 1 or 2 of these dogs & their owners BUT the owners are unfamiliar with proper dog training and never correctly identify the breed type. They usually portray them as some other breed (many times Staffordshires) and tell the organiser of the classes that they are a cross of this breed when they clearly are not. They know that if they tell the correct breed name that they probably wont be able to take them to socialising classes or they will be shunned by the other puppy owners which would just exacerbate the problem further. Many of these pups are friendly and outgoing but some of them are not but with correct training from dog savvy people would make great pets but alas they are owned by totally clueless people and once they start having problems instead of getting some one on one professional training hide the dogs in the backyard away from people which then creates a serious vicious cycle.

Who knows the full story of how the incident occurred and it may have been a series of very unfortunate events or maybe the owner knew the dog had a problem and thats why it was kept behind very high fences and never seen by the neighbours & accidentally escaped?

I really dont know what the answer is but I feel sick to the stomach for this poor little girl and her family and friends. RIP little girl

[poodlefan]

This breed of dogs (pitbull) needs to be banned, period. They have been bred over many, many years to be fighting dogs. That is their pedigree, it is what they were bred to do. They weren't bred to be cuddly playthings for the kids to poke and prod. They fight, maim and kill and once they have experienced the taste of human blood they will more often than not be involved in repeat attacks. It is as simple as that and arguing otherwise is just plain stupid and irresponsible. There is no need for these kinds of vicious dogs to be kept as pets by anyone. I don't care how much of an expert on this breed someone claims to be, you cannot make this breed of dogs a safe breed. It is imprinted into their brains to fight and takes just one moment, one thing for them to be set off and then there's virtually no stopping them except a Police Officer and his gun. Jailing or fining owners is not the answer, as it will not save victims of these aggressive, powerfully built dogs. We need to be more proactive, rather than reacting only after someone has been maimed or killed. The only responsible course of action is for the breed to be banned and for breeding these dogs to also be banned until they cease to exist.

Congratulations for holding a fundamental misunderstanding of dog aggression and the nature of the APBT. Dog and people aggression are rarely found in the same animal and at no stage has the APBT been bred to be aggressive to people. How the hell do you think they managed to handle such dogs in fighting pits?

The no 1 breed for dog bites in Canada is the Golden Retriever. Shall we ban those also?

Edited August 18, 2011 by poodlefan

[huski]

Anyone who thinks pitbulls are the only dog capable of attacking people needs to get their head checked.

Ok, so we ban pitbullls, that's easier than focusing on what leads a dog to bite someone and how to prevent that from happening (just don't buy a pitbull and you'll be right!) - does anyone actually believe that banning pitbulls will stop or prevent dog attacks? How bloody ridiculous.

[Matthew_B]

Almost every dog is capable of snapping, but is it a coincidence that pitbulls are the dogs most commonly associated with human deaths or horrendous injuries suffered by those lucky enough to live? I think not.

[krustie22]

I thought I made it quite clear that your comment is sick. Just look at the facts, a dog has strayed into a private property AND home and then proceeded to kill one human being and attacked 2 others causing serious physical damage. Do you have children, if not can you even begin to understand how this family is feeling ?

You made it clear...why comment further?

But while you're at it...what facts? what facts do we really, honestly know for sure? I dont think any of us truly know what they are going through, and i wish no one ever had to go through it again! what do my children have to do with being able to understand it?

Next time you berate someone and tell them to look at the facts, make sure there are facts to look at first??

[megan_]

That the dog was a pitbull has nothing to do with this story at all. It's a cheap way to place the blame because it's easier to point the finger at the dog's breed rather than look at the REAL reasons why dogs attack people, children and other animals.

So let's ban pit bulls - does anyone actually believe that will stop dog attacks? ANY DOG CAN BITE - and any dog is capable of aggression. Pitbulls aren't the only dogs that bite people. Until we focus on the real reasons behind why dogs bite people, dog attacks will continue to happen and by pointing the finger at the dog's breed, we learn nothing and we are encouraging people to believe that only certain dogs are capable of biting people.

Steve from K9 Pro has been asked to fly to VIC and assess the dog, will be interesting to see whether that happens.

http://www.k9pro.com.au/news/39/Dog-kills-child-

Asked by whom?

Yes - any dog can attack, however we must acknowledge that the consequences of a large, powerful dog attacking are far more severe than a smaller dog, so breed isn't totally irrelevant (not saying I support banning breeds etc, but I think it is false logic to say that breed has nothing to do with it).

Edited August 18, 2011 by megan_