iGary said:
The dogs have an underlying aggressive nature. They can snap in a moment. Some never "snap" their entire lives, and are wonderful animals. Others maul people to near death. Sorry, you'll never find me taking the risk.
Exactly. I love dogs, but I have to say that having certain breeds as pets is like leaving a loaded gun around the house. Guns can be safe and a fun hobby when treated with the utmost care, but it's very easy for them to 'snap' and be misused -- intentionally or accidentally -- in the wrong hands. I'd never leave a loaded gun in the house with a child, and I'd certainly never put an agressive breed dog in a family home.
As their defenders correctly state, the vast majority of these dogs are wonderful loving family pets and never so much as harm a fly. The problem is that they have been selectively bred for certain characteristics -- aggression being prime among them (think about all the illegal dog fighters -- do they ever use Retrievers, or Pugs??
🙄 😀). These dogs have that instinct ingrained at some base level in the brain. They're just wired that way and you can't change that. Many never trip those wires, but when they do, somebody's gonna get seriously hurt or killed. I'm not willing to take that risk.
And personally, I think the mother should be charged with some form of criminal negligence leading to homicide. I recall there was a case up in northern California recently where the dog owners were convicted of the murder their dogs committed. More people need to be held responsible for the actions of their pets like that. Then maybe people will realize that certain breeds carry an inherent risk -- and heck, even docile breeds can be risky if they're mistreated! Pets should be nurtured members of the family, not lawn furniture that poops. Most aggressive dogs I've known personally were never socially engaged by their owners, so they probably degenerated into that state out of fear and lack of emotional companionship. Sad.
🙁
On an Apple-related side note, I know a guy who works at Apple. Apparently he lives on the same street as that boy and couldn't get home for a few hours that evening as it was blocked off while they looked for the second dog, who'd gotten loose.