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The town of Leola, SD recently outlawed owning several breeds of dogs including Rottweilers. I'm just wondering how many of these residents have ever owned A Rott? we have a 150lb Male and a 110lb female both of which we have had for 7 years. Ohh yeah I almost forgot we have also raised 7 children around them our oldest being 11 and the youngest 18 months. Don't hate the dog breed hate the person that raised it!!
Proud parent of 7 children & 2 fantastic Rottweilers
Almost forgot your 7 children, thats funny.
You probably wouldn't feel the same way if one of those fantastic children was mauled by an uncontrolled dog.
Prosecute the owner for brandishing a lethal weapon. (my opinion)
I am not from South Dakota but i just happened to see this. Yes i think rotweillers should be banned. they are a hazard to the public. They are banned in the county i live in.
There is no such thing as a bad dog. There is, however, such a thing as a bad owner.
I've had rots, I've a lot of friends that have rots. If the owner takes care of the animal and works with them and exposes them to other people, that dog is just no different then any other dog. They're not born mad, owners make them that way.
If a person can't spend time with their animal, properly feed, care and train, then that person has absolutely no business owning a pet. And then it makes me wonder of their ability to spend time with their kids.
You have a good point in saying that they should be 'exposed' to other people. My husband made a comment in that 'the dogs may be good/gentle around the (owner's) children, however, how are they around other children'. I read this weekend, in our local newspaper, where a pit bull killed a 7 year old (neighbor) child, who was playing outside in the front yard. The owner's of the pit also have 3 others, and their comment was 'they are very gentle around our own kids, we don't understand what happened'. They now have charges filed against them. My friend in Eureka told me that they had a neighbor who had a German Shepherd that was very large and aggressive. The neighbor died unexpectedly and when EMS arrived, the dog wouldn't let them in the house--a police officer had to shoot it. All dogs have some sort of protection instinct--I have a chi that makes you think he will take your leg off. Unfortunately, in some of the large breed dogs, especially the ones who have been bred for guarding, the protection instinct leads to problems.
I grew up about 40 miles from Leola... Living in a small town like that, people are careless... Maybe careless isn't the best word...but people don't lock their houses, lock their cars... My point is, people leave their dogs unleashed to roam about... So, to go along with some of the other posts, yes the owners are really the problem. I, myself, have no experience with these breeds of dogs...but they shouldn't be roaming about, unleashed
Unfortunately, if there a problem with dogs attacking people in a small town, like Leola, and the owners don't get the message, sometimes laws and ordinances need to enacted.
In response to the above post regarding bans as a fair method of controlling the problem Leola seems to have with roaming dogs: I must respectfully disagree. It seems to me that enclosure and leash laws that affect the entire population of the town (not just the rott, shepherd, and bully dog owners) would be much more equitable.
Dogs become a part of the family for many people. To pass a ban and then expect those who own the now-dubbed "dangerous" breeds to either give up their family dog to be killed, or to move out of a town where they, in all likelihood, have very strong ties, is unfair to say the least, and unwarranted prejudice at its worst. I agree with you that certain dog owners should not be singled out with laws; but with breed bans, that is exactly what happens.
Not only that, but breed bans and breed specific legislation has failed to increase the safety of the public in every town, city, state and country that has tried it. For more information and statistics, see this website: [url=http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com]National Canine Research Council[/url]
Any dog can be dangerous. I was attacked and severely injured by an Australian Shepherd. Breed bans give us a false sense of security, and make us think that any breed not on the list is "safe". Tell that to the French woman who received the first-ever full face transplant after being mauled by her black Lab, or the baby who was mauled to death by the family Pomeranian in Los Angeles in 2006. Education in bite prevention and how to approach dogs will keep children safe, and making owners responsible for properly containing, caring for, training and socializing their pets is the true answer to keeping us all safer from EVERY potentially dangerous dog, not just those who look a certain way.
Last edited by Keri_Marie; 06-04-2008 at 07:05 PM..
The Leola article is available for reading at Aberdeennews.com (Search under Recent News - Leola dog ban).
It was voted on by the people of Leola 103-27. The ordinance also limits the number of dogs to 2, unless the owners are in the business of breeding or selling dogs (and that requires a permit).
Owners are excluded if the dog breed is used to assist people with disabilities. And, if they have had 2 more dogs, or have the stated dog breeds prior to March 11, they are allowed to keep the dogs in the city limits. (The dog breeds are pit bulls, bull mastiffs, Rottweilers, Doberman pinchers and German shepherds, including crossbreeds.) March 11 was the day of publication of the ordinance, and it went into effect on April 2.
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