Dangerous Dog Law

MandyPug

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#1
A debate regarding dangerous dogs is scheduled for Monday night in the city of Corsicana, where the town is reviewing its dog ordinance.

With 38 reports of dogs biting humans in Corsicana since Jan. 2013, police say it's a problem.

But there's been criticism as to how the city handles the issue, and community members are calling for change after a 9-pound Chihuahua named Blackie was recently declared a dangerous dog in Corsicana.

Because she bit someone, Blackie has to wear a muzzle and a decal labeling her as dangerous.

Posted signs warn people of 6-year-old Blackie, the only dog in Corsicana deemed dangerous.

"A lady was walking down the street, minding her own business for a walk down the street,†said Police Chief Randy Bratton. “The animal went out into the street and attacked her, unprovoked, and bit her on the ankle.â€

The city says Blackie wasn't licensed and didn't have a rabies vaccine.

Police quarantined Blackie for the required 10 days, then Blackie's owner, Juan Luna, says he went to see an animal control officer.

"I asked her, ‘What do we need to do to save my dog?'†said Luna. “She said, ‘Nothing, because it's the law.'â€

Luna says he was given two options: the muzzle, collar and special tag, or else Blackie would be put down.

"They've harassed, scared, basically bullied people into surrendering their animals and euthanizing them without any due process of law,†said Dr. Bo Ivie, a veterinarian.

Luna went to Dr. Ivie for help after the incident, and while Ivie says the decisions on dangerous dogs should be up to a judge, the city says that its regulations mirror state law, and that once a dog is deemed dangerous, an owner has 15 days to appeal to municipal court. However, Luna didn't.
Even though Blackie is small in size, the city says the law must be applied consistently and fairly.

"If we get into judging the type of dog that bit of person, then we're doing an injustice to the dog, and we open up enforcement to favoritism allegations,†said Bratton.

But Luna says incidents like the one involving Blackie need more clarity.

The Lunas also had to take out liability insurance on Blackie.

Theirs ensures them up to $300,000.

The mayor says that although he thinks the city's dog biting laws are fair and effective, he'll listen to what the packed crowd has to say Monday night.
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/26310124/corsicana-dog-ordinance-to-be-reviewed



Thoughts?
 

MicksMom

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#2
It may sound silly to call a dog that size a dangerous dog, but if that's the wording used in the law, then that's what the dog is. They may not cause the same amount of physical damage as a larger dog, but the emotional damage can be the same. Hopefully, this will be a wake up call to owners of small dogs that they need to follow the same laws as those of us with larger dogs.
 

yoko

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#3
I do understand why people think it's dumb. But on the other side I get kind of tired of small dog people who think their dog can just do whatever just because it's small.

It sounds like the dog attacked an adult but what if it was a toddler or an infant? The damage could have been or could be a lot worse next time.

I mean yes it is a chi but at the same time this is now a dog with a bite history. You don't get to just ignore rules because you picked a tiny dog.

Also she asked:

‘What do we need to do to save my dog?'

The answer:

muzzle, collar and special tag
 

MicksMom

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#4
I do understand why people think it's dumb. But on the other side I get kind of tired of small dog people who think their dog can just do whatever just because it's small.

It sounds like the dog attacked an adult but what if it was a toddler or an infant? The damage could have been or could be a lot worse next time.

I mean yes it is a chi but at the same time this is now a dog with a bite history. You don't get to just ignore rules because you picked a tiny dog.

Also she asked:

‘What do we need to do to save my dog?'

The answer:

muzzle, collar and special tag
Exactly what I was trying to say, but couldn't put it into words. And the bolded part? Oh, yes, a million times over.
 

teacuptiger

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#5
Sounds good to me. It's about time the law got equal. Just cuz your dog is small doesn't mean you can let it terrorize and attack people.
 

Shakou

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#6
Sounds good to me. It's about time the law got equal. Just cuz your dog is small doesn't mean you can let it terrorize and attack people.
This is actually how I feel. I find it incredibly unfair that only large breed dogs get deemed dangerous for acting this way. Sometimes for doing things less then a bite (I've seen dogs labeled dangerous, taken away and euthanized for simply charging at people and barking). Yet when a small dog attacks and acts aggressive, they get away scott-free simply because they are small. And what's more is the fact that a large majority of small dog owners LET their dogs run around and do these things because they seem to think their dogs size warrants them a free pass for bad behavior.
 

Laurelin

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#7
Yep sounds good to me. The dog out and attacked someone just walking down the street. Don't know what the owner expects but maybe she should have contained her dog and kept it up to date on it's rabies vaccine?
 

amberdyan

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#9
I agree with all above. I've encounter several dogs walking on trails that act DA/HA towards Hugo and I. I've had to move off the trail and the dogs person acts like it's no big deal. I was also bitten by a pom when I was jogging because he (and I quote his person) "just likes to chase and grab anything that's moving." (insert eye roll)
 

teacuptiger

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#10
Wow, I didn't even see about the dog not being utd on rabies... The owners are lucky they still even have their dog!!
 

Locke

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#11
I think a two strike policy should be put in effect in some cases. Crazy accidents happen, and I don't think it's entirely fair for one fluke bite to lead to public shaming, and bring ostracized from the community.
 

MicksMom

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#12
I think a two strike policy should be put in effect in some cases. Crazy accidents happen, and I don't think it's entirely fair for one fluke bite to lead to public shaming, and bring ostracized from the community.
True. But this case doesn't sound like a crazy fluke. From original post:
"..."A lady was walking down the street, minding her own business for a walk down the street,†said Police Chief RandyBratton. “The animal went out into the street and attacked her, unprovoked, and bit her on the ankle.â€

The city says Blackie wasn't licensed and didn't have a rabies vaccine..."


That sounds more to me like an irresponsible owner letting their dog get away with aggressive behavior because it's small.
 
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#13
I think a two strike policy should be put in effect in some cases. Crazy accidents happen, and I don't think it's entirely fair for one fluke bite to lead to public shaming, and bring ostracized from the community.
It all depends on the wording of the law. In my city, bites are classified as "provoked" or "unprovoked" and unprovoked bites don't count towards dangerous dog classification.

Since the article specifies that this is the only dog in the city classified as dangerous (despite dozens of other reported bites), I suspect that the circumstances ARE taken into consideration with their dangerous dog law. And honestly, a dog that charges out its front door to bite a passerby SHOULD be classified as dangerous IMO (regardless of its size).
 

GoingNowhere

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#14
Because I like to play the devil's advocate card - here's my thoughts to throw into the mix.

On the one hand - no, I do not think that small dogs should be given free-reign and complete leniency when it comes to their behavior solely on the basis of their size. A 9 pound chihuahua behaving aggressively is not a funny situation. Rather, it is a situation that needs to be dealt with accordingly. This I do truly believe.

BUT (and here's the devil's advocate coming out), a 9 pound dog is not physically capable of doing as much damage as a 50 pound dog or a 100 pound dog. Because of that, I don't necessarily think that perfectly equal treatment is the correct approach.

I think the following analogy applies well. While a friendly dog with no concept or training of personal space is primarily irritating (potentially it could cause a scraped knee if it knocked you down), a friendly horse with no concept of personal space can be downright dangerous. The behavior is not "acceptable" in either species, but the fact of the matter is that it is less dangerous coming from a dog than a horse. Even more, it is less dangerous coming from a small dog than a big dog. If you have a 10 pound dog and don't train it not to jump on random strangers, you probably could have been more polite, but in the scheme of things, it matters less than if your great dane is constantly bowling over strange children out of sheer joy.

Likewise, a 9 pound aggressive dog can be physically overpowered by an average person. A 100 pound dog with the same behavioral attributes? Not a chance. The aggressive behavior is not acceptable in either instance, but let's just say that I don't mind the outcome for "Blackie." "Blackie" in the story can be appropriately managed without any special training or gear. If "Blackie" happened to be a 150 lb Fila mastiff and I lived next door, I would be doing my hardest to get that dog put down. Fair? No, not really. But life isn't fair and those of us with large dogs should be held to a standard that those of us with small dogs might never have to face.


Another analogy before I step off my soap box and put on my flame suit: I work with students. I live near a college town. I greatly enjoy spending time in the college town after hours. But my job requires me to acknowledge my position even when I am on my own social time. If I am in a situation where I might encounter the students that I work with, I cannot act sloppily and lose sight of the fact that I am a role model both inside and outside of work. Is it truly fair that those college students can go out to bars in skimpy outfits and get sloppily drunk and not have to worry about a thing in the world except for their own dignity, while I (who am the same age as many of those students) cannot act in that manner? No, it is not fair at all. But it comes with the territory and I understand and accept why it isn't "fair." Quite frankly, I never acted that way to begin with, but the fact of the matter is that fair is not always the best way to go about things.

**flamesuit is zipped**
 
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#15
I don't care if the dog biting me can do more or less damage than some completely different dog who is not biting me. I don't care if I can physically overpower it or not (which actually isn't as easy as it sounds for a small dog in full attack mode, ask me how I know that). It CAN do damage, and I shouldn't have to worry about overpowering it when I am walking down the street minding my own business.

Also, where do you draw the size line? A 9 pound dog shouldn't be considered dangerous but an 11 pound dog should? Or a 15 pound dog? or a 21 pound dog?
 

teacuptiger

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#16
I don't think anybody cares about the size of the dog while they're being bitten by it, when all they've done is stepped outside their home to go for a walk.

An unprovoked dog bite is still an unprovoked dog bite no matter if it's a dog that weighs a whole two ounces or a dog that weighs 200lbs. Yes, one is obviously more life threatening than the other, but the dog's mental state remains the same.

If a dog any size is willing to bite unprovoked, it is dangerous. If for no other reason, then because of the dog's mental state. Dogs of all breeds can have bad wires.
 

Paviche

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#17
I don't care if the dog biting me can do more or less damage than some completely different dog who is not biting me. I don't care if I can physically overpower it or not (which actually isn't as easy as it sounds for a small dog in full attack mode, ask me how I know that). It CAN do damage, and I shouldn't have to worry about overpowering it when I am walking down the street minding my own business.

Also, where do you draw the size line? A 9 pound dog shouldn't be considered dangerous but an 11 pound dog should? Or a 15 pound dog? or a 21 pound dog?
I agree with all of this. A small dog can still do a lot of damage no matter how it compares to other dogs. The most serious bite I've ever sustained came from a small dog, and I was very lucky that she stopped after one bite.
 

Ozfozz

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#18
I don't care if the dog biting me can do more or less damage than some completely different dog who is not biting me. I don't care if I can physically overpower it or not (which actually isn't as easy as it sounds for a small dog in full attack mode, ask me how I know that). It CAN do damage, and I shouldn't have to worry about overpowering it when I am walking down the street minding my own business.

Also, where do you draw the size line? A 9 pound dog shouldn't be considered dangerous but an 11 pound dog should? Or a 15 pound dog? or a 21 pound dog?
Another thought with this is that we're talking about adults mostly here. A 9lbs dog can absolutely cause significant damage to a baby, toddler, child etc.
 

sillysally

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#19
I don't care if the dog biting me can do more or less damage than some completely different dog who is not biting me. I don't care if I can physically overpower it or not (which actually isn't as easy as it sounds for a small dog in full attack mode, ask me how I know that). It CAN do damage, and I shouldn't have to worry about overpowering it when I am walking down the street minding my own business.

Also, where do you draw the size line? A 9 pound dog shouldn't be considered dangerous but an 11 pound dog should? Or a 15 pound dog? or a 21 pound dog?
Absolutely. Ideally I don't want to be bitten by anything of any size ever. One of the few dogs I've really been afraid of was my friends chipoo. That dog meant business when she got aggressive. If you are going to have dangorous dog laws they need to be applied equally.
 

Dogdragoness

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#20
I think a two strike policy should be put in effect in some cases. Crazy accidents happen, and I don't think it's entirely fair for one fluke bite to lead to public shaming, and bring ostracized from the community.
This.

Although this particular dog was in the wrong (if it was at large at the time) but dangerous dog laws IMO seems to give people the belief that they can do whatever they want to any dog they see and if the dog bites them, the law will protect them and too bad if the dog is taken away or PTS ... at least my area seems to have people who have at least a shred of common sense.
 

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