Aggression
Repeated Dog Attacks
How many bites is a dog entitled to? According to old English law, three. That situation is rapidly changing with more and more people becoming enraged with the press these cases are getting. Three bites seems logical to me but what about the severity of the bite? What about the surrounding circumstances?
What about the hanky-panky that is going on? A good example is the Bite-and-Run. In Australia a 10-year-old girl was mauled in a park near Sydney. She was in critical condition with a chunk ripped out of her thigh. The owner fled with his dog. In Columbus, Ohio another case is unfolding where some Rottweilers having a history of biting struck again. The owner escaped with his dogs and the police feel the suspect is a medical doctor, known to them. DNA will be brought into this case.
In New Zealand there is an even more bizarre story that keeps changing. A Staffordshire Bull Terrier attacked a three-year-old child named James Thorne-Harrison. The bite was described as a life-long scar on his face. Police were looking for the dog and they had received a bunch of different stories. When the police went to the home of the purported dog owner they were given a white Bull Terrier. The dog was identified as black. Now here is the switch. Charges were dropped when they couldn't find the victim. Staff, described as black The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a different breed than the Bull Terrier and of course there was the problem of color. The dog's owner later surrendered The unregistered, unneutered Zenthis. In the pound the dog had shown a "nasty disposition". The owner gave permission to destroy the dog. John Payne, the Tauranga District Council animal services described the attack as one of the worst he had seen in 16 years.
Part of the reason for the unfolding cover-up seems to be the fact that the boy's uncle has a business relationship with the dog's owner.
While the owner's attachment for their dogs is understandable sometimes it goes well beyond common sense. In Massachusetts the Board of Selectmen gave Brutus, a Labrador Retriever a reprieve. Brutus has twice bitten a year-and-a half old girl named Madison. Michele Burdick is in the process of adopting Madison, and her sister, Mrs. Naughton, Madison's mother, is agreeable to that. She feels that Bruno is a good dog and the Naughtons said they were committed to keeping Madison safe from Brutus, the 5-year-old, 110-pound, chocolate Lab. Animal Control Officer Daniel A. Chauvin said, "for whatever reason, he has a particular aggression toward one particular child."
After the first attack Mr. Naughton told Chauvin he would be willing to move the dog to a more appropriate setting, where it posed no threat to anyone. Mr. Naughton later changed his mind because he wanted the dog to be part of the family and Madison was bitten again. They feel Brutus is not a mean attack dog. They are making excuses for the dog saying Brutus is bigger and overzealous. Mr. Naughton said. ''We love the child. But it's too hard to let him [THE DOG] go.'' Mrs. Naughton chimed in with, ''I don't want him to think we're punishing him by taking away people and I don't feel my dog deserves to be put down.'' Who is crazy here?
Jan Motyl-Szary is in deep doo-doo over filing a false report in New Hampshire. After a two-year battle with the authorities he claimed his dog Chewy (well named), a yellow Labrador Retriever was hit by a truck and died. He was given a 30-day sentence for perjury when it was discovered that didn't happen. Mortyl-Szary spent a lot of time, energy, money and effort to save Chewy's life and decided to take the "easy" way out.
Let's take a look at Chewy's bite history
1) In 1999, Chewy attacked a 7-year-old girl, doing enough damage to require plastic surgery.
2) In 2000 Chewy attacked Emily Oakes with such force that the 6-year-old required 55 stitches. Her right cheek is scarred from the attack. Emily continues to suffer nightmares, according to her father, John Oakes. Chewy "grabbed a hold of her and shook her like a sack of potatoes," he said. "Some people feel their dog has rights over a little girl."
3) Chewy, renamed Scooby-Doo and relocated to Holden, NH struck again. He bit another child.
New Hampshire Animal Rights League president Barbara Bonsignore is sympathetic to Mortyl-Szary. Some of her quotes reveal a lot about her.
♦ "Sometimes you have to risk your own life or your own reputation"
♦"Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands."
♦ "I would do anything to save a dog."
So much for common sense.
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