200,000 people sign petition to save dog that bit a two year old

Was bitten by neighbor's dog when I was i around 5 year old, dog was not put to sleep for that. Years later, when owner got kids, he got rid of the dog. (makes sense, right, own kids are bit more important)

Today, my daughter has a dog, but we got it already trained and with clear instructions what kind of behavior not to tolerate and how to show that to dog. Still, if it would bit any kids, I would not hesitate to put it to sleep, even we love the dog.

Those people in OP are just acting irrationally, unfortunately something very common lately...

a reply to: muse7

" If you hug a pet, and it mauls you, you put that animal down, PLAIN AND SIMPLE."
What Kromlech said.
A PET!

a reply to: Kromlech

It's always the humans' fault. Thoughtless, careless, uneducated or poorly educated in how to act THEMSELVES around our furry housemates.

They're not property. They have minds and feelings, frustrations, elations...just like us. They just perceive the world differently, and should be shown the same common decency you'd show anyone else.

I've got two pitbulls- sweetest baby bubs in the universe. I hug, tug, bite and pull their ears. That's me and them though. I can read them. I would not allow a child (or even an adult stranger) to do any of the # I do when I'm playing with my bubs. My child would be taught to treat everyone in the house with common decency and respect.

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic
a reply to: Hushabye

I can't believe parents (of kids AND pets) let this kind of interaction happen. Dogs are very predictable, but humans don't usually know the language very well.

There are VERY few cases (in my experience) where the dog should be put down. Just call Cesar.

Exactly

The dog in the article was in a cage, probably around a lot of other dogs so it was most likely excited and stressed out, and some stupid parents decide to let their kid run up to the dog and try to hug it...the dog acts on its instincts and now people want it killed when it was the parents fault for letting their kid run up to an unfamiliar dog...

I own four dogs and love them all dearly but, if one of them bit my child, I'm looking out for my child...plain and simple.

Call me crazy but, I hold more love for my children than I do my dogs.

Seems like common sense to me.

a reply to: muse7

I really hate it that so many people think a dog who has bitten someone needs to be put down. It's almost like it's a punishment.

I don't know the specifics of the dog in the OP, but I seriously doubt that the situation calls for euthanasia.

originally posted by: muse7
Lucky pooch. Where's the parents of this kid that got bitten? Do they get off Scot-free? Why not fine them for irresponsible parenting? I can't imagine the number of dogs that have gotten killed as a result of irresponsible parents.

Ever have a 2-year-old? It is impossible to keep them 100% contained.

originally posted by: ketsuko
Ever have a 2-year-old? It is impossible to keep them 100% contained.

If I were warned not to put the child down with the dogs, I would find a way to contain him, even if it meant leaving the area. These parents were warned. They voluntarily put the child down anyway, and the child cornered the dog.

From the OP's Source

The parents were advised by a staff member not to put their small son on the ground, because the dogs were playing energetically and a toddler could easily be accidentally knocked over. However, the child was placed on the ground and allowed to grab Neville, who unfortunately bit the child.
...
He did not seek out the child to bite, he was simply reacting to the child who cornered him.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

I am talking to some people who are making comments as thought parents have absolute perfect control over their toddlers all the time.

That simply isn't possible, no more than it is with a dog.

The only way to avoid this is to not let them interact in the first place.

originally posted by: ketsuko
I am talking to some people who are making comments as thought parents have absolute perfect control over their toddlers all the time.

I haven't seen those comments, but it's one thing to have control "all the time". That's unreasonable. But in a dog pen, having been warned that your child may be hurt, to then put the kid down and let him interact with the dogs they had just been warned about, is a very specific situation, and whether parents have control "all the time" or not, they should have control at THIS time.

It's like walking across a street. Maybe you don't have control of your toddler "at all times" but you damn better well have control of him THEN.

The only way to avoid this is to not let them interact in the first place.

EXACTLY. And that's how the parents should have handled it.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Sorry but the dog should be put down. The shelter cannot keep one indefinitely, and they can't rightly adopt out a dg that has bitten a child. If the dog later bits someone else, the shelter would be held liable. Besides, a dog that bites that severely isn't safe. I'd put down one of my own if it did that.

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic

The only way to avoid this is to not let them interact in the first place.

EXACTLY. And that's how the parents should have handled it.

This. If a child can't be fully contained, than it is up to the parent to keep that child away from such situations.

If the dog was naturally aggressive and bites or attacks with little to no provocation, then I would agree euthanasia would be called for. But if the dog bit the kid because the kid was hurting it, or threatening it, then no. Why punish the animal for trying to protect itself from physical harm? It's like putting someone on death row for fighting off a rapist or killer.

I've seen this all to often. A parent or adult will let kids run amok, including rough or totally unacceptable interaction and handling of an animal, to the point of injuring a critter. The critter bites the child, as it would any attack in an attempt to protect itself, and the parents start screaming for the critter's blood, despite the fact the child and his parents totally had it coming. It's an entitlement/vitcim mentality that makes me sick. Probably because I was actually raised better.

When I was a little kid, like 5, one of my friends down the block had a Beagle named Sarge, and we used to play with him. He was sweet, playful, loved us. But one day, as kids are wont to do, I was playing rough with Sarge. I was picking him up by his ears and swinging him, tackling him and crushing him and hurting him, and Sarge gave me a few good bites on my shoulder and wrist, drawing blood. I went home screaming to my mother. After looking at my wounds and cleaning them (she was a nurse, and they weren't that serious), she asked me what happened, then went down to talk to My friend's mom. When she came back and asked me if it still hurt and I said "yes", she said "Serves you right". Then she pinched my uninjured arm, pulled my ear and hair really hard, and asked me how I liked it. When I told her it hurt and made me mad and want to hit her, she said "How do you think Sarge felt? What did you expect him to do when you were doing that to him?" We then went to the doctor's office to be safe, though Sarge was well cared for and had all his shots. No worries. But my mother taught me personal responsibility, empathy, and common sense. Sarge was not put down, nor did my mom demand it. I still played at my friend's, though I was kept separated from Sarge when I came over, he was kept on the back porch when I was there. After a month, we were slowly reunited, and after some apologies and doggie biscuits, it was just like old times, except now I was more cautious and considerate of Sarge when we played with him. He never bit anyone again. And I learned not to treat animals roughly.

On the other hand, there are dogs out there that are naturally aggressive, and will attack and maul with little provocation. Sometimes it's from abuse, sometimes it's because they are trained and raised to be aggressive, and sometimes, they are naturally wired that way. And of course, some dogs, normally friendly with no history of aggression, will attack and kill someone for reasons no one knows or understands. Euthanizing such an animal would be the right course of action for the safety and welfare of everyone, the animal included. I know of a two year old that was dragged from her stroller and viciously savaged to death by a rottweiller right in front of her grandparents in their own home by their friend's dog. The dog never had bit or attacked anyone, and was a friendly, beloved family pet before then. The dog was put down, as it should have been.

I can't really say for sure which of the two applies to this situation, but I can say one thing upon reading this a second time: the parents are neglectful, irresponsible idiots. They allowed their child to run around on the ground with five strange dogs in a pen. You NEVER let a child that young loose around animals you have never met, even if they are tame or friendly. Children that young know no better and are strangers to the animal, and interactions become unpredictable. Very young children should be introduced to a new pet or animal the same way you introduce two unfamiliar animals. Carefully, in a calm, low stress environment, in gradually increasing amounts.

But hey, common sense and personal responsibility? Nah. Let's just freak out.