More Problems with Pit Bulls — And Their Owners
Remembering the encounter we had last December in Fort Greene Park with a pit bull, a reader sent in this harrowing tale: “A guy was walking down my block the other night with his pit bull–and the dog (while on the leash) attacked a cat that lives across the street and tore it to pieces…
Remembering the encounter we had last December in Fort Greene Park with a pit bull, a reader sent in this harrowing tale: “A guy was walking down my block the other night with his pit bull–and the dog (while on the leash) attacked a cat that lives across the street and tore it to pieces in front of several witnesses,” she writes. “The police were called–arrived and did…nothing. They said unless it was a person nothing could be done.” That’s what we were told at the time as well. Seems crazy. What would someone be charged with for shooting a cat with a gun? Same thing, ain’t it?
you’re wrong. read the statute again.
the statute says that anyone can report a complaint to “a dog control officer or police officer of the appropriate municipality. Such officer shall immediately inform the complainant of his right to commence a proceeding as provided in subdivision two of this section and, if there is reason to believe the dog is a dangerous dog, the officer shall forthwith commence such proceeding himself.”
what is it about “a dog control officer or police officer of the appropriate municipality” that is confusing you? the “such officer” in the second sentence relates to the antecedent “dog control officer or police officer” in the first sentence.
clear mention of police officers. clearly not limited to dog control officers. (and just for the record, no, police officers and dog control officers are not the same thing.) any other questions i can help you with today?
“The cops were either ignorant, lazy…” “the problem here is lazy cops, not the laws themselves.”
Some cops are both ignorant and lazy. Clearly the majority are not. The problem here IS definitely the law. NYPD officers do not make arrests in most cases of animal cruelty which on the surface, this case does not appear to be. That is left to the the ASPCA officers whose police training concentrates on enforcement and investigation of animal cases and I think that there might only be 20 of them for the entire city. In cases like this, neither NYPD or ASPCA responding officers would arrest the owner of the dog on the scene because it is it remains to be seen whether a crime was committed. The dog would be confiscated if a human was bitten to check for rabies. In the case of dog on another animal, both animals would be taken to check for rabies.
If someone on-site makes a complaint of animal cruelty against the dog’s owner or says that the dog’s owner willfully made the dog attack an investigation in the animal cruelty case would be conducted by the ASPCA and more than likely not lead to jail time with the rest of the investigation conducted by the NYPD.
The laws need a little more bite in order to see better enforcement and prosecution of those who abuse animals. Ironic that it was the ASPCA that first protected children against abuse. What you see on Animal Cops are the most extreme and easily procsecuted cases of abuse and cruelty. Most cases are not that black and white.
Again, the NYPD will only make out a report if a human was bitten. Generally, if the attack is in progress the responding NYPD officers will try to stop the attack by use of their batons, chemical agents, etc… while awaiting the arrival of ESU. Deadly force (shooting) would only be used if it was apparent that the death of the person was imminent. I know officers who have shot pit bulls snf rottweilers who were engaged in attacks. I only know of one of them getting suspended because of it but of course there was a whole lot of Monday morning quarterbacking from those who have never put on a uniform and had to make a split second life or death decision.
of course not. cuz the law’s not fair all the time!
*rob*
I disagree,
I am citing the same statue. However, your original post said, “one interesting fact: a police officer who receives a complaint about a dangerous dog “shall immediately inform the complainant”
The statue makes no mention of police officers. They explicitly say dog control officer. Are police officers and dog control officers the same thing?
I highly doubt in a court of law that distinction would hold any water.
quote:
If your dog attacked a child would you still feel bad but not culpable?
it would depend on the situation. if a child ran up to my dog on a leash and got bit i dont think id feel responsible. if my dog lunged at a child i probably would feel responsible. this topic has definitely gotten ridiculous tho.
*rob*
My mother was mauled by a pit a few years ago. She almost lost an eye. I would not hesitate to kill one if I suspected it was about to attack me or a member of my family.
The dog that attacked my mother died of other-than-natural causes shortly after the event.
Feral cats don’t deserve to die like that either. And you are culpable- as a dog owner it’s your responsibility to see your dog doesn’t misbehave. If your dog attacked a child would you still feel bad but not culpable?
Thanks for the compliment, mshook. As you may know, the ASPCA does temperament test, and thus a pit from that shelter would likely be more amicable with dogs or people than would a pit from the CACC. Like the Humane Society, Bide-a Wee, BARC, etc., the ASPCA can choose what animals to take in and which not to take in. They are able to hold them for a while and assess them. THE CACCs (Center for Animal Care and Control) branches in Manhattan, Bklyn and Staten Island (I think) have to take any dogs surrendered to them , and are the repository for dogs caught by the police. Many animals there are euthanized within days or weeks, since there is so little room to hold them for any length of time. It’s been a few years since I was so involved with dog rescue, but I believe my basic facts are correct.