Link To Dogstar Daily Article Lessons Learned From Tragedy

[Bull Arab]

G'day all

I very rarely post to the general page but this is such an informative blog I thought it should be read by as many people as possible!

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/lessons-learn-tragedy

Forward it to the politicians and people making decisions on aggressive breeds if you like, the message from a very respected trainer is straight forward is simple any dog regardless of breed (this has nothing at all to do with BSL) can do this if the circumstances are right!!

Forward it to the parents you know with dogs the message is really simple there as well!! Kids and dogs are great together if they are supervised!!!

Edited October 27, 2011 by Bull Arab

[Rusky]

love dogstar daily blog and this article is excellent..but oh dear what a terrible tragedy of neglect.

[sandgrubber]

Great article, though I suspect the real story is more complicated.

If you go back and look at the accounts in the local papers you'll find

1. the neighborhood is seriously full of drug activity

2. 'babysitting' isn't exactly accurate . . . I think the parents had absented themselves in a serious way

3. little Erica was left lying on the floor

The fuller picture, I think, is of a neglected child in a crumbling social structure.

The lessons, with respect to dogs, are correct. But I think the real problem is people. Sometimes things get set up so accidents happen often and early.

Abandoning a child to the care of an auntie who lives in a tiny 3rd floor flat with three pit bulls is the root cause here. Kids do it rough in drug-ridden slums. If little Erica hadn't been mauled by the dogs, she might well have ended out dead of an overdose or some other awful thing. And, yes, there's a possibility that these were not the 'waggy' sort of pit bulls, but were dogs deliberately bred/selected/managed to be tough.

[Bull Arab]

Great article, though I suspect the real story is more complicated.

If you go back and look at the accounts in the local papers you'll find

1. the neighborhood is seriously full of drug activity

2. 'babysitting' isn't exactly accurate . . . I think the parents had absented themselves in a serious way

3. little Erica was left lying on the floor

The fuller picture, I think, is of a neglected child in a crumbling social structure.

The lessons, with respect to dogs, are correct. But I think the real problem is people. Sometimes things get set up so accidents happen often and early.

Abandoning a child to the care of an auntie who lives in a tiny 3rd floor flat with three pit bulls is the root cause here. Kids do it rough in drug-ridden slums. If little Erica hadn't been mauled by the dogs, she might well have ended out dead of an overdose or some other awful thing. And, yes, there's a possibility that these were not the 'waggy' sort of pit bulls, but were dogs deliberately bred/selected/managed to be tough.

My point was more from a community education and dog socialization point of view. I do respect your insight but without all of the info I don't think I am comfortable commenting on the incident or all of the circumstances that lead up to it.

[BJean]

Bull Arab, I have never wanted a sticker for my car until I read your signature:

My car windows are not dirty its Aussie Shepherd Nose Art!!!

except I will have:

My car windows are not dirty its Anatolian Ovcharka Nose Art!!!

not that many will know what that is

Edited October 27, 2011 by lilli

[Little Gifts]

There are two really important aspects of this tragedy and they are both directly linked to adult responsibility. You simply can't leave a child in the care of anyone other than another attentive and skilled adult known to the child and child's parents. If you own a dog and don't raise it to respond safely to a range of situations that it is likely to face in its life then it will always be a potential safety risk to people and property.

There is so much loss and heartache related to denying or avoiding those two key responsibilities. The lives of dogs and humans are changed forever by the failings of adults. Killing the dogs convicted of a crime they didn't know they were commiting wont bring back the children who have been lost.

Thank you for linking the article Bull Arab. I wish more people were willing to question the facts so that we could continue learning and changing.

[sandgrubber]

There are two really important aspects of this tragedy and they are both directly linked to adult responsibility. You simply can't leave a child in the care of anyone other than another attentive and skilled adult known to the child and child's parents.

Below are some reader comment from the New Haven Register story on the incident. I agree with the moral people are drawing from this story, but I think it's the wrong moral to draw from this particular tragedy.

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/09/30/news/doc4e8672133b2e6645944751.txt?viewmode=comments

Neighborhood mess wrote on Sep 30, 2011 11:30 PM:

" This whole neighborhood is turning into a ghetto. I have a friend (wish she'd move) who unfortunatley lives on the next street. This whole neighborhood is loaded with pit-bulls and other attack dogs.

The absentee landlords that live elsewhere are also to blame. Most of these drug dealing, pitbull owning

thugs have police records and the owners don't care anymore. Just get that apartment rented..who cares cause I don't live in West Haven anyway.

The owner of the house is responsible, the owner of the dogs are responsible and most of all this little baby girl's parents are responsible. She didn't have a chance. She was surrounded by idiots. God bless her and may she rest in peace. Poor little innocent angel, what a horrible way to die. Thug brand dogs for thug brain owners.

West Haven should enforce some new zoning rules, three family homes should not have that many crazy dogs in it anyway. Where do you think all that waste from them ends up? Oh those poor sanitation workers. Mayor Picard, man up and do the right thing. That whole neighborhood is dangerous now..either no dogs in an apartment, or limit how many killer dogs in one apartment. "

thking wrote on Oct 1, 2011 8:43 AM:

" The New Haven area is a dump. I always hate the dump marches when somebody is killed just like they will hae for the guy just killed in New Haven. Most likely had a record. While a feel for those people families most brought it on themselves. But this child has done nothing. This is when we need a march. 3 pitbulls is to much to have. Something is wrong there. The good people out number the bad. We need to stand up and take our neighborhoods back. These criminals have no rights. My heart is crying for this child. I really hope parents hug their children today and watch them closely everyday. "

TaxJoe wrote on Oct 1, 2011 8:46 AM:

" It is beyond me why anyone would own a Pit Bull. "

tort for dogs wrote on Oct 1, 2011 8:54 AM:

" The owner of that building already had a tort claim against her for dogs, just look it up in the CT court records

http://tinyurl.com/3h8bny8 "

<a name="074079b4874de0fbcca56f8dee14d350">Somethings Wrong wrote on Oct 1, 2011 9:24 AM:

" How the hell do people on Section 8 [housing voucher system for the poor] and food stamps afford to feed 3 pitbulls? "

[huskies4life88]

This article is brilliant, it gets straight to the facts and cuts out all of the BS .

doesnt descriminate on breed or BSL.

its purely educational, love the dogstar daily.

RIP little one

when will people learn??