My best friend

Silverpearl: why on earth would you walk down the street with a pit bull on a huge chain?!
It may be a workout. It is a better exercise for a dog to drag heavy chains than pulling. A dog may pull hard for 20-30 minutes but will drag his "heavy" chain the entire way. Why remove this exercise because people do not understand? The more they see it, the more common it will become. Common leads to acceptable.
Silverpearl:It's a shame that we have to live in a society that judges people based on their looks, but guess what? WE LIVE IN THAT SOCIETY! So if anyone learns anything from this: don't walk your dog down the street on a huge chain w/a padlock and a chain collar
Yes, it is a shame but it does not have to be this way. A person can make a difference but two will start a mission!

 

Personally, Rusty, I would fo llow up on everything. Although you "say" your dog never growled or acted inappropriately, believe me, animals can do a 180 when placed in a situation they're uaware of, not used to, and while placed in the company of people they've never seen before. A 180!!!! I work MANY hours at boarding facilities, and an animals behavior changes dramatically when they're there. So, follow up on the "report". If a bite did infact occur, especially at a shelter, it should have been documented, and a report filed.
Then find out what your local laws are. If a bite occurs, what are the WRITTEN steps that are then taken by officials or ACO.
In regards to the post having officials present a warrant. If L.E. deems a situation as "probable cause", a warrant, therefore is not necessary. The huge chain, they could have felt gave them probable cause, as, why is that dog being walked on such a HUGE chain, especially since Rusty said it was a good dog, a house dog, and never hurt anyone? Why, then, would you want to draw such unnecessary attention to yourself, if the dog is such a mild mannered dog? With all the grief this breed already gets, imo, that just seems foolish.
I'm sorry to hear about your dog. That truly sux!
Follow up though, and see where it gets you. The inicident COULD have happened. If so, you'll at least have, somewhat, of a piece of mind, as to why. and again, sorry to hear about your loss.

 

Veary true.....

 

Ok folks, the bottom line is this guy lost a part of his family and I am sure he is grieving, I am sure if he had it to do all over again he would never have used a large chain to walk his dog. Hindsight truly sucks, but I bet he doesnt need you reminding him of his mistake. I will say this it seems he is wondering if it was because of his color and the type of dog that caused him to be singled out, I think it was a combination of all 3. Lets face it prejudice is huge and it not only applies to the APBT breed, the african american people have been dealing with this for years.. Hey buddy sorry for your loss and hopefully something good will come of this..

 

Boa..people are trying to HELP him figure out why this happened and maybe get some compensation for his loss or at least answers especialliy if the shelter was at fault. They are giving him tips and ideas of how to go about this to possibly stop it from ever happening again to someone (gee theres some good postive press for ya.. take a stand and prevent this from happening again instead of feeling sorry for ones self and blaming it on this and that)

I dont see one post where it says serves you right.. I see posts of get out there and fight for your dog and others...dont let the H.S or animal control get away with putting your dog to sleep and not following the rules..

 

Get the bite report from the shelter. Here in Ontario, any dog that has bitten someone MUST be held for 10 days quarentine and cannot be euthanised until the release is signed by the Board of Health. Also, the OSPCA is supposed to give you warnings before they act to give you the opportunity to comply with their orders. Unfortunate about your dog. So sorry this happened. But don't just let them get away with it. Investigate what your rights are and what their rights are. See if they violated any of your rights and take them to task on it if they did. The more we let them get away with now, the farther they will go next time.

 

Great point!

 

Rusty, sorry for your loss. I live in Fayetteville and no matter what leash, harness, etc. I use I get bad attention. I walk my dogs at night just to avoid, which may be wrong in some "peoples" eyes, but I have been through a lot to protect my babies. I am a very proud of my breed. I socialize my dogs but I have a couple that I can't. NC is very strict on pits because there are a lot of underground fights, like many other places. I have been on Carolina News, newspapers....I have contacted many associations to help that were just for the APBT. Only a few helped. You gotta find out why these idiots killed your kid man. People are very quick to judge and could find themselves in a situation, maybe similar, maybe not. It's a risk we take for our love. Investigate and don't give up. I fought the city on my dogs, I have won for a few months but I'm sure it will rise up again soon. I fight my neighbors who take pics of me in my backyard, I have a privacy fence and they peak through it. The cops were called on me because they barked. My neighbor has jack russels who yap ALLLLL the time and no one calls on them. You gotta watch your image, or you'll end up a stereotype which I believe you already have. So be careful and keep ya head up. INVESTIGATE, don't let them get away with it, or they will keep doing it.FIGHT FOR IT!!!!!

 

fa real!!!!!!! ain't NOBODY perfect.

 

That really sucks and I'm very, very sorry to hear this crap story that is an actual reality.

I hope everyone realizes why it is so important to maintain a good image with your dogs. Which is also why all these wonderful breeds on the ban lists need to be well trained and not look like they are controlling their owners. It's also important to NOT walk your pit in public if it's turning itself blue and suffocating to try and get at the poodle on the other side of the street. I also really don't like seeing these dogs walked on harnesses. Maintain control, act like you have control of your dog and people will respect you as an owner, trust you and then learn to trust the breed.

 

I am VERY sorry for your loss Rusty. That being said, up until the time I got my Pitbull Stockey from the shelter I was what one might call a "casual" dog owner. Once I got my Pitbull I learned VERY quickly through reading the challenges the breed was facing and knew I had to raise my game as a dogowner in order not to contribute to the problem.

That includes being aware of the picture one presents when out in public with the dog. Everytime any Pitbull owner is out they are engaging, for good or ill in breed PR. The big chain was a mistake. Now is it fair that it could be a fatal mistake? NO. Its not fair at all. But sadly thats the boat we are all in right now.

 

So, because I have tattoo's, I should wear clothes that cover them up if I walk my dog?
What a boring world it would be if we were all the same. What needs to happen is that people have to stop buying into the stereotype's and actually judge people on an individual basis. What you see on the outside rarely represents what is on the inside. In the summer, when my tat's are exposed, I get mixed reactions. Some actually ask to look closer and tell me that they love my tat's. Others look like they can't wait to get away. But if you ignore the ink and actually look into my face, which always has a smile on, and maybe start a conversation, and find out that I'm actually an intelligent person who has choosen to express herself through body art, maybe, just maybe, I can change your mind and you might be a better person for it. And if I can change your mind about me, I can change your mind about my dogs......

 

DryCreek: Yeah, that sounds great but sadly thats not how a lot of people react. Myself, I go WAY more by body language and how a person carries
themself than by the way they dress. But John Q. Public is quite another thing. If you present what a lot of people regard as a threatening appearence then I would suggesst for example training your dog to sit on command and so on. Why? So people understand that you and your dog are no threat. Some folks just can't be reached but some can. One of the things Pitull owners have to live down is that there are people who use their Pitbulls to menace others. This hurts everyone since it fuels ill-will against the breed.
Now is it fair that someone would judge you based on surface apperance? No. But in some large cities its done fairly often and can be a needed survival tactic. People will dislike being frightened. So, as a responsable Pitbull owner, trying not to scare the hell out of people is a good idea.

I understand some folks will be scared no matter what you do. My middle aged self and my cute little wife can go out with out sweet natured CGC/TDI Pitbull while he is dressed in a cute sweater. Once in a blue moon someone still acts like he might as well be a grown lion and we might as well be Hells Angels in full leathers (no offense to any Angels on the board). You can only do the best you can do. But we do in fact all pay for people who do the "tough guy" thing with their Pitbulls as a prop. Even sadly if its not always intentional.

Even if the general public should not judge you, they still are.

 

I don't walk my dogs in public......this happens when I'm alone LOL. In Ontario, with the BSL, I refuse to muzzle my dogs so that leaves me walking them on private property. Thats okay because we have lots. I will NOT put my dog at risk of an attack from another dog due to being muzzled. If someone else's dog is un-muzzled and un-leashed and comes up to mine, I will pick my dog up if I can, if not, sorry about your dog. It's on my property running free, too bad so sad. It just burns my butt that people will judge a book by it's cover. In the winter, when I'm covered, it's a whole new ballgame LMAO.

 

rusty i am with u? to put down a dog u must have the permision of the owner.
im sorry.

 

While I know you said no offense, the Angels statement just goes to show you how we all have preconcieved ideas and sterotypes of others..all of us.

I can tell you from experience that most patchholders are not like the cops and media would have you believe, much the same as bulldog owners. I was a patchholder in a local club for several years and before that kinda grew up in the shadows of the local MC. A better group of people could never be found. Some were down right awful people while others would give a person the shirt off their back...BUT NEVER THEIR COLORS....lmfao. Now I didn't write this to call you out or because I took offense, but instead to show how even in making an innocent point a person can unwittingly draw on negative sterotypes.

Respectfully Crash

 

Stop it right there 14:mad: Why do you continue to defend the actions of AC (not just on this thread but on others?)

If this happens to you (anyone else) (AC stops you and wants to take your dog), don't give AC your dog. Immediately go back home. Do not wait for the police. Once you have placed your dog in your property, ask anyone wanting to take "your property" (dog) for a warrant. If they (cops) want to come into your home, ask for a warrant.

Rusty, if you want your dog's death to mean something for the breed. ACT. Make reports and demand same from AC. As others have stated on other threads, if a person is injured while handling a dog, the injury must be written up and "reported". Sue via "small claims" court for the most amount of $ as possible (I think it is 5,000 in small claims court and $10 for the court processing).

Personally, I have been asked to hand over my boy after he was in an accident with another dog (other dog was taken to the hospital for immediate surgery <luckily he survived>). Now, my situation was more serious than yours. I told them almost word for word, "With all due respect, I am not going to hand over my property". They insisted but again I refused and asked (it is our right) to speak to their sargeant (8 out of 10 times they won't want to bring their boss into things). Stick to your guns (sort of speak).

Big chain? Big chain my @ss! If you purchased it from a regular pet store it is not too big. If you modified one of those boat anchor(?) chains, that's a different story.

Funny how they stopped you for a chain issue and yet took your dog for behavior testing? BS. I am glad I do not live in NC!

 

I am NOT defending AC. All I was trying to say is people judge based on how you look. Its a way of life, its an old method of survival. That being said, all we can do is not play into stereotypes. When I take my dogs off my property they are as presentable as a dog can be (LOL) and I myself take into account how people are going to judge me based on what I'm wearing. You cannot deny that you will get a much diffrent reaction walking down the street with a good looking bulldog, clean jeans and a nice collared sweater....as opposed to somebody wearing pants 5 sizes too big, hanging off their ass, XXXL shirt on a kid weighing 120 with his hat kicked and a big chain collar/leash. Is it right? HELL NO! Alot of kids that dress like thugs are good kids...but judging by looks alone you might be doubtful. Also, that same kid with a collared sweater and nice clean jeans could be an absolute menace little rich boy who doesnt care what sort of problems he causes. Unfortunately, stereotypes do exist, all we can do is try to not perpetuate the myths. With all this being said, when I'm on my property working a dog I will (in the warmer months) you can drive out to my property and see a big bald, tattooed up guy running through the mud with no shoes on, no shirt on, rolling in the mud and playing with a dog quite frequently. If I leave my property or head into town...I clean up (both myself and the dog I'm taking) and act a little more civilized. LOL