Dog attack - pit bull - what to do? (Hempstead: apartment, rental)

[Kbinspections]

IMO, too many people are treating their dogs like people. This has let people become too comfortable with dogs and dogs too comfortable with humans. Dogs are great pets but they are pets and should be treated that way.

Why are kids getting bitten? Because dogs are now "part of the family" and left alone with dogs to play. That is very dangerous for any breed of dog. You just don't know what is going to happen.

The fact is, no matter how well trained a dog is, you should not think he will never bite someone. Owning a pit bull comes with much more responsibility than owning a beagle.

Comes down to the potential of damage that can happen. Do you want to be shot with a pellet gun or a .45? Both hurt, one can be fatal.

[garmin239]

Originally Posted by NYNewbie

You are wrong on a number of counts. First and foremost, these dogs are disproportionately harmful. In terms of fatal incidents, their numbers far greater than they ought to be, if all things are equal. I've evidence this fact for you in the previous post, but you both chose to ignore that while insisting that I am "misinformed."

Second, I have granted that not all pit bulls are, as you put it, "destructive creatures." Let me point out, however, that "not all pit bulls are destructive creatures" isn't much of a defense. Some people are immune to the pague, but that doesn't mean it isn't a deadly disease. Likewise, you may have trained and properly loved your pet, enabling it to overcome its hard-wired tendencies. That doesn't deny the fact that it has hard-wired tendencies.

Third, even if I accept your unsupported conjectural premise that all dogs should be considered equal (which is like saying all felines are the same, so why not have a lion in your house?), I'd much rather be charged by a ****zu or a beagle than a pit bull. Even if improperly trained, they are more likely to just damage my clothing than my body, or my son's body.

But you don't care about all that.

You are wrong. "Pit bulls" attack persons far less than many breeds of dogs if you look at bite statistics. The reason is because Pit bulls have historically been raised to not attack humans.
If we are talking fatal incidents, you have to take into account the several breeds are thrown into the "pitbull" category. The only real pitbull is the American Pit Bull Terrier. American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and mixed breeds are thrown into the category. All breeds are different, but people will put them in the same category for reasons of ignorance. When you throw several different breeds (including mixed which can mean anything) into one group, of course the fatality number will be higher.

[NYNewbie]

Originally Posted by garmin239

You are wrong. "Pit bulls" attack persons far less than many breeds of dogs if you look at bite statistics. The reason is because Pit bulls have historically been raised to not attack humans.
If we are talking fatal incidents, you have to take into account the several breeds are thrown into the "pitbull" category. The only real pitbull is the American Pit Bull Terrier. American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and mixed breeds are thrown into the category. All breeds are different, but people will put them in the same category for reasons of ignorance. When you throw several different breeds (including mixed which can mean anything) into one group, of course the fatality number will be higher.

Instead of saying that I am wrong, say you don't agree with me despite the evidence I've made available. I mean, how can you KNOW that these dogs bite people less often if in the same argument you claim the statistics aren't accurate.

According to our Dr. Polsky, dog bite legal expert at:

Facts & Stats about Dog Bites

"In the United States, pit bulls make up one to three per cent of the overall dog population and cause more than 50 per cent of serious attacks."

Also, as cited above, Pit Bulls were not bred to protect humans. One could argue that all breeds of dog come from an ancestor that provided that function. But these dogs were bred to fight - period. You would have to demonstrate that their desire to fight somehow switches off because the target is a human - despite all of the evidence that suggests you are wrong.

According to the CDC at:

Dog Bite - Dog Bite Statistics

"The Centers for Disease Control study dog bite incidents, including the types of dogs most likely to bite. The breeds that the CDC considers highest risk are pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies, Alaskan malamutes, Doberman pinschers, chows, Great Danes, St. Bernards and Akitas."

Go ahead and read up on their 900 year history of fighting bear, bulls and other dogs for sport (or as you put it "protecting humans").

When you are done reading, just be sure to say I'm wrong and insensitive to your killer dog. Then, when you are paying the medical bills for some child whose face has been removed, we can talk again.

[Johninwestbury]

Originally Posted by VillageOfWestbury

While that may be true, they are all over long island...in many case just below the surface. VTP posted on another site that that same "tagging" was seen across from the Haborfields High school. Bodies (2) have been found in the woods---one in Bethpage and one in Old Westbury related to MS-13 executions. A man was murdered in North Massapequa by an MS-13 gang member....

My point is where are you going to run to next? They are in the suburbs and not necessarily in poor-downtrodden areas. They are organized and they hold jobs. Many try to recruit day-laborors to their cause.

So let's wake here and not pretend like this stuff "only" exists in Westbury.

There's a huge difference. The gangs LIVE in the village. Look around up and down Post ave and you will see them loitering around. Many of them dress in blue and white. And then there are the Mexican gangs. And every spring there's more of them coming to work as day laborers.
Meanwhile some communities, like Wantagh, Levittown and that general area have stayed relatively clean of the problem. I dont see gangs of illegals loitering over there, I dont see cars with out of state plates, I feel alot safer over there.
It makes me uneasy having to walk down Post ave and see these people walking around. If the village was serious about cleaning up the problem they would have cracked down on this. Why is Westbury on the list of sanctuary cities?
It is clear that Post ave and the village, slowly but surely, is becoming a barrio much like Freeport and Brentwood. Barrios have stuff like loose dogs, its commonplace in Brentwood, now its happening here too.
I dont want to live in a neighborhood with illegals. That's why the places on LI that dont have them have such high home prices, and being a renter the best places to live dont have many rentals and whatever they have is expensive. Westbury has cheaper apts for a reason, it IS undesirable.
All I know is I am sick of living in an area where I feel unsafe, I dont want to deal with illegals, dangerous loose dogs, and gangs.
This whole chain reaction started in my life when I had to move from my grandparents house in N.Wantagh where I lived since I was a kid with my now deceased mother when they passed away. If I known where I'd wind up I would've fought harder so the house wouldn't have been sold. Everytime I go to that neighborhood (the W section) I see how little it has changed, no illegals, no gangs, just peaceful and safe, that's all I want.
Never should have left that house on Wing lane. If my mother knew I'd wind up here she would've made sure we weren't forced out. A reverse mortgage would've helped but my uncle who was half-owner of the house didn't go for it.
I lived on LI for 32 years of my life and dammit I deserve better than to live in a hellhole of a town this is.

[garmin239]

Once again, I'll point out that your sites lump several breeds of dog into one category. How can that be credible?
And if we are going to take your site seriously it says pit bulls were not involved in most attacks. It shows that Chows and Shepherds are involved the most in attacks.

"Mixed breeds and not pure bred dogs are the type of dog most often involved in inflicting bites to people. The pure-bred dogs most often involved are German shepherds and Chow chows."



The other site you listed only includes LARGE breed dogs based on your quote. The CDC, the source where your articles get much of their information from warns that there is no way to tell which dog will most likely attack.
Spotlight on Dog Bite Prevention Week

"Each year, 4.7 million Americans are bitten by dogs. These bites result in approximately 16 fatalities; about 0.0002 percent of the total number of people bitten. These relatively few fatalities offer the only available information about breeds involved in dog bites. There is currently no accurate way to identify the number of dogs of a particular breed, and consequently no measure to determine which breeds are more likely to bite or kill."


There is also a group that tests temperaments of breeds of dogs that show am staff terriers and american pitbull terriers have good temperaments compared to other dogs.
ATTS - American Temperament Test Society, Inc. - ATTS Breed Statistics - page 1

So yea, you are wrong.

[JustSayNo]

Garmin and Mommie, don't bother with it anymore. We made our peace, we stated opinions and experiences that disagreed with Newbie. Clearly, we are on the total opposite side of the fence of Newbie, and certainly us three are VERY experienced in dealing with the type that stereotype, believe the media hype, and stir up and increase the hysteria. Obviously, folks like Newbie see it as the dog's fault, the breed's fault, etc. Notice, not one answer to our comments regarding the trash that created this problem. The stupid POS who owns the dog. I stand firm that THAT party is the one at fault.

Also notice the OP, John, IS focusing on the human species problem, not on the dog that attacked him. Let the post cook, don't bother trying to fight Newbie, or others like him/her that want to ban and destroy total lines of certain breeds because humans turned their own dogs into troubled and dangerous animals. Baby with the bath water mentality. We obviously have the companionship of Pits, Sheps, Rotts and the like, we obviously are not lazy - we train, we socialize, we KNOW the responsibilty of having these wonderful animals and we know that our guys need to be ambassadogs for the breeds to keep crap like this happening and to keep mentalities of "killing them all" at bay. Clearly there are thousands of balanced, well bred, well trained animals in all the "bad" breeds, but I guess that does not matter-just kill um all.

Again, John, I do hope you are feeling better and doing OK.

[VillageOfWestbury]

Originally Posted by Johninwestbury

There's a huge difference. The gangs LIVE in the village. Look around up and down Post ave and you will see them loitering around. Many of them dress in blue and white. And then there are the Mexican gangs. And every spring there's more of them coming to work as day laborers.
Meanwhile some communities, like Wantagh, Levittown and that general area have stayed relatively clean of the problem. I dont see gangs of illegals loitering over there, I dont see cars with out of state plates, I feel alot safer over there.
It makes me uneasy having to walk down Post ave and see these people walking around. If the village was serious about cleaning up the problem they would have cracked down on this. Why is Westbury on the list of sanctuary cities?
It is clear that Post ave and the village, slowly but surely, is becoming a barrio much like Freeport and Brentwood. Barrios have stuff like loose dogs, its commonplace in Brentwood, now its happening here too.
I dont want to live in a neighborhood with illegals. That's why the places on LI that dont have them have such high home prices, and being a renter the best places to live dont have many rentals and whatever they have is expensive. Westbury has cheaper apts for a reason, it IS undesirable.
All I know is I am sick of living in an area where I feel unsafe, I dont want to deal with illegals, dangerous loose dogs, and gangs.
This whole chain reaction started in my life when I had to move from my grandparents house in N.Wantagh where I lived since I was a kid with my now deceased mother when they passed away. If I known where I'd wind up I would've fought harder so the house wouldn't have been sold. Everytime I go to that neighborhood (the W section) I see how little it has changed, no illegals, no gangs, just peaceful and safe, that's all I want.
Never should have left that house on Wing lane. If my mother knew I'd wind up here she would've made sure we weren't forced out. A reverse mortgage would've helped but my uncle who was half-owner of the house didn't go for it.
I lived on LI for 32 years of my life and dammit I deserve better than to live in a hellhole of a town this is.

I'm sorry, but I just don't see the things you describe where I live. If you feel that unsafe why don't you simply move?

[NYNewbie]

Originally Posted by JustSayNo

Garmin and Mommie, don't bother with it anymore. We made our peace, we stated opinions and experiences that disagreed with Newbie. Clearly, we are on the total opposite side of the fence of Newbie, and certainly us three are VERY experienced in dealing with the type that stereotype, believe the media hype, and stir up and increase the hysteria. Obviously, folks like Newbie see it as the dog's fault, the breed's fault, etc. Notice, not one answer to our comments regarding the trash that created this problem. The stupid POS who owns the dog. I stand firm that THAT party is the one at fault.

Also notice the OP, John, IS focusing on the human species problem, not on the dog that attacked him. Let the post cook, don't bother trying to fight Newbie, or others like him/her that want to ban and destroy total lines of certain breeds because humans turned their own dogs into troubled and dangerous animals. Baby with the bath water mentality. We obviously have the companionship of Pits, Sheps, Rotts and the like, we obviously are not lazy - we train, we socialize, we KNOW the responsibilty of having these wonderful animals and we know that our guys need to be ambassadogs for the breeds to keep crap like this happening and to keep mentalities of "killing them all" at bay. Clearly there are thousands of balanced, well bred, well trained animals in all the "bad" breeds, but I guess that does not matter-just kill um all.

Again, John, I do hope you are feeling better and doing OK.

In argument, not bringing up or responding to a point is a concession of the point. By not mentioning the POS issue, I was granting it.

You are right, that there are POSes out there who own these dogs and treat them in a manner that exacerbates their harmful tendencies. But you can't get rid of the POS. You can get rid of the dogs, and I'd much rather get a bite from a collie than a pit bull.

[DD70]

WOW! Sorry to hear this, it must have been a terrifying experience.
I own a pit which is a bully breed and yes they do have more aggressive tendencies than other dogs, but these breeds are not evil, it is their owners that lack the common sense and responsibility to properly train their dog and ensure public safety.
I am sure you can press charges against the owners for negligence since these dogs are not known to be "escape artists" and usually stay near or in the home. There has to be a law about this somewhere where you reside, again I am sorry, but all pits and bully breeds are not evil

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by Kbinspections

IMO, too many people are treating their dogs like people. This has let people become too comfortable with dogs and dogs too comfortable with humans. Dogs are great pets but they are pets and should be treated that way.

Why are kids getting bitten? Because dogs are now "part of the family" and left alone with dogs to play. That is very dangerous for any breed of dog. You just don't know what is going to happen.

The fact is, no matter how well trained a dog is, you should not think he will never bite someone. Owning a pit bull comes with much more responsibility than owning a beagle.

Comes down to the potential of damage that can happen. Do you want to be shot with a pellet gun or a .45? Both hurt, one can be fatal.

I think that's the bottom line when it comes to Pits. I am a serious dog lover (had to put down my White Shepherd last year after 17 years ) and pit bulls can be great dogs but you seriously have to watch them. Even if they're playing around they're capable of ripping a little kids head off with that massive jaw. A few of my friends have them and they're all great dogs but if you get them riled up they can do some serious damage.

Somebody in this thread mentioned that there's this weird "EXTREME" culture that has made Pit Bulls really popular nowadays....I don't get that either, it's weird times we're living in...

John, how long have you lived in Westbury? I think, if anything, Post Avenue has gotten a little nicer in recent years. I live in North Wantagh too, a few hundred feet from where you grew up, and you know this area has it's problems too - like everywhere else on Long Island. There's not a huge difference to me. Like VoW suggested, why not just move?