*Rant on dangerous pets and their owners*

[Menarker]

Had a bad run in with someone's PITBULL.

No leash, no muzzle, Entire driveway with 3-4 meter sliding fence open as possible as it could be.

Dog instantly and aggressively charge towards me on sight despite me not actually being on his territory.

I dunno if I was brave/smart or stupid/mistaking my "dog lore", but I stood my ground and didn't run (despite being a fast runner myself) so as not to encourage it to chase after me (it slowed down still growling insanely as I slowly moved backwards). Its owner finally shouted and ran to pull the dog backwards (and she ran off into the house so as to avoid me catching her face... which is pointless since I live 3-4 houses away from her!)

Good news is, I'm untouched. Shaken, but nothing worse.

But I'm pissed off as hell. She lives near 3 schools, several bus stops, a senior center, 2 centers of worship. Someone else much more panicky or weaker could have easily been severely injured, especially those younger or weaker than I am.

Now, I've walked that path for 5 years, and never seen it before, so it's possible that dog belonged to someone visiting them or they... *Shudder* bought an aggressive dog all the sudden and have the gall to not take the proper measures to keep it in the yard...

I've always had a distaste for dogs (and a fondness for cats). This event only made the feeling much stronger.



So yeah, I hate owners of pets who are unable or unwilling to properly take actions to restrain their pets, especially if it has a history of aggression. Makes me want to advocate destruction of said animal and to charge owners in the same way as if they used a weapon.

[Krylo]

Isn't that more or less what they do if a dog like that mauls someone?

Edit: Just say kill or death or whatever. You want the dog dead. Not destroyed. Man, this ain't no prime time anime from the 90s. We aren't sending that dog to another dimension. And it's a living being, not an object.

Edit2: It's possible they've had the dog for a long time and it's never been violent before, as well. Dogs tend to get a little crazy in their old age just like any other animal (including humans), and with breeds bred to be aggressive that can often express itself in violence that the animal never actually displayed before. Which is why some people consider them 'time bombs'. While there's a good chance such a dog will never get violent, there's also a chance it will get violent for no reason other than getting old.

[Menarker]

I see the word destroyed used in nearly every book and newspaper I have read regarding santioned killing of animals under these circumstances. It's basically the approved euphemism. But dead's dead.

[Marc v4.0]

Pittbulls are absolute sweethearts unless you in-breed and then beat them for fighting, or they go crazy, but that is true of any big dog really. Blame the people, but don't hate the pup

[pochercoaster]

Not even a leash? Yeah, that's downright irresponsible. If you don't want to leash them put them in a fenced-in backyard at least.

I was in a similar situation when I got in the elevator the other day with a fellow tenant and their HUGE unmuzzled dog, which was growling quite... violently at me until I got off on my floor. I guess I was lucky that nothing happened- what are you supposed to do in a small, confined space like that? This dog was huge, its jaw was scary.

A lot of people say "oh don't worry he won't bite you he likes people," and yeah while dogs do have their own personalities and can lean towards being "nice," especially if their owners treat them properly, it doesn't GUARANTEE anything. It's still an animal and we can't read their minds so you have to be cautious and especially mindful of other people's safety. Meaning you should leash your dog and not let them run amok, regardless of their breed. Unless they're a toy chihuahua or something equally non threatening, but if you have one of those you probably carry it around in your purse a la Paris Hilton anyways.

[Menarker]

I'm willing to allow that pitbulls as rabid vicious murder on four legs are the minority (more of a trope than reality). However, I hate dogs (or any other animal) of any species that are uncontrolled when they behave in that fashion. (I still hate them when they are controlled, but at least it's not going to harm anyone unless they accidently or purposely bypass the controlling factors.)

Animals in a manner of fashion are worse than humans when they go out of control because they are impossible to negotiate or plactate in general. If it was possible that I could just tell that dog that I'm not stepping on his territory, don't plan to, and was leaving the general area anyhow in a few seconds, even that would be a massive improvement from being unable to do a god damn thing about my situation except being lucky that the owner heard the growling.

[Pip Boy]

Dogs tend to be less likely to attack if you're off of their territory and if you don't back down. Stand your ground and show them you're not afraid. That said, it isn't a perfect strategy. They're living beings, not robots, so if they're rabid or if you're just unlucky, they may attack anyway.

[phil_]

Why can't I own a lion tiger? He'd kick that mouse in the wall's ass no sweat, plus he's too heavy to jump on my shelves and knock stuff down like a regular cat.

Edit:

Originally Posted by pocheros

Unless they're a toy chihuahua or something equally non threatening, but if you have one of those you probably carry it around in your purse a la Paris Hilton anyways.

Little dogs will eat you and your family if given a chance.

[Aldurin]

My family has always gone with border collies because of how smart they are, and the ones I've had are as loyal and kind as hell. The worst they are to strangers is sometimes avoiding them, sometimes scream-barking.

But those are medium size dogs. Little dogs are actually the perfect vessels for demons who are capable of completely fooling their masters or finding senile ones.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Originally Posted by phil_

Why can't I own a lion tiger? He'd kick that mouse in the wall's ass no sweat, plus he's too heavy to jump on my shelves and knock stuff down like a regular cat.

You're right he would just completely destroy them with a swing of his massive paw of death.