Saturday 29 December 2007

Another Fatal Dog Attack

Yet another attack on a child by a dog. This time a year old baby boy has been mauled to death by a 10 stone Rottweiler.
The thirteen-month-old was killed when the dog snatched him from the arms of his young cousin at his grandparents home and carried him into the garden.
Once again we hear the same old story from the Police after the tragic event.
"What we know at this time is that the dog was a family pet, a two and a half year old female Rottweiler, which the family had owned for about six months. It had interacted with members of the family including children, and had showed no previous signs of any aggression."
"All breeds of dogs are animals. They do revert to animal instincts. If a dog is confronted with a situation they are not used to, they can react unexpectedly," explained a spokesman from the British Kennel Association.
Sadly, people continue to keep dogs like Rottweilers or pit bulls as pets so we will continue to hear such stories as these for the foreseeable future.
Rottweilers are not banned by the Dangerous Dogs Act and while the common mantra is to blame the owners and not the breed, some breeds are certainly more inclined towards violent outbursts.
The UK does not keep details of attacks by breeds but the American Veterinary Medical lists Pit bulls as the most dangerous breeds for fatal attacks in the US followed by Rottweilers, German shepherds and Huskies.
A rottweiler, if treated properly, will behave itself, like any other dog. But there is one obvious difference. If a 10 stone rottweiler attacks, as we have seen in far too many occasions now, the result is fatal.
Surely the safety of your loved ones should come above some macho status symbol, guard dog or fashion accessory.

7 comments:

Paula said...

Tragic. And how stupid can you be to leave a big dangerous animal around a baby? You do hear the same thing every time: "Duh, he was such a nice doggie and never did THAT before."

Daniel said...

If parents who allowed their children to become a meal for a dog were jailed for say five years minimum, I'm sure the incidence of such terrible, preventable attacks would decline greatly.

Anonymous said...

This keeps cropping up. I did a little research and found that these breeds don't attack more than others, they are simply more effective when that do. If the kid had been bitten by a pug, it wouldn't be news. It is absolutely the owner's fault, the dog should have been elsewhere during a family gathering, especially if it isn't used to crowds.

Falling on a bruise said...

It is the same thing said everytime miz uv, always after some poor kid has been killed.
Maybe Daniel it is time to think about bringing back the dog licence with the more powerful dogs costing more.
I agree with you joe that it not these kind of dogs that attack more, it is just that when they do they create greater damage which is why they make great guard dogs but not such great pets.

Cody Bones said...

Interesting, I wish I knew how to designate dogs as dangerous or not. I own a large dog, but I haven't ever heard of someone being mauled by a Golden Retriever. I will never understand the appeal of certain breeds to people, especially if they have children. I am in favor of different licenses, but am at a loss as to how to differentiate between the breeds. Does one size really fit all?

RaeJane said...

Growing up, my best friend had a Rottie. We used to rie on his back, he was so big.
He was our gentle giant.

Do I have a rottie now? No. Even though I grew up with Gideon and then Keisha.. they were both beautiful, gentle, wonderful dogs.
But, there is still something about them.
I am sometimes suprised that my friends mother gave those dogs so much leway with us.

On another note, Keisha was hit by a car.. it was a sad day.

Anonymous said...

"I haven't ever heard of someone being mauled by a Golden Retriever."

No, but a few GR owners have been smothered with love, and incidents of those overcome by drool continue to rise. :-)