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?
CSA:
§ 121. Dangerous dogs. 1. Any person who witnesses an attack or threatened attack, or in the case of a minor, an adult acting on behalf of such minor, may make a complaint of an attack or threatened attack upon a person, companion animal, farm animal as defined in subdivision twenty-four of section one hundred eight of this article, or a domestic animal as defined in subdivision seven of section one hundred eight of this article 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.
not sure what statute you copied, since you didn’t cite it. but you might have checked mine before making accusations.
“And your comment showcases your lack of responsibility. The vast majority of *pet* dogs don’t kill cats or attack kids; if anything, many dogs are scared of cats. So if your dog “can” kill a cat, it’s your freaking responsibility to prevent it.”
I suppose I was unclear in my response. What I meant to say was that my Boxer, a fun-loving and extremely spirited dog, has a STRONG IMPULSE to chase cats. I don’t know for a fact that he would kill the cat as the dog in the story did, as I would never allow him access to the cat. I have taught him the ‘leave it’ command, but he is extremely strong-willed and is always testing boundaries. I could envision a scenario where if he got his jaws on a smaller animal like a cat he could inflict mortal damage in a very short amount of time.
If a cat were to approach him while he was on-leash ( which he always is) I can’t say for sure that he wouldn’t at least attempt to attack/chase the cat. In fact, I suspect the thrill of the chase is his motivator and he has no desire to actually kill the cat, but I’m not willing to find out.
I would be heartbroken if this were to actually transpire, but I would not feel particularly culpable- if one is comfortable letting their companion animal roam free, one must assume the risks of doing so.
Yet without the comments section there would be no brownstoner. What’s wrong with debating both sides ofthe issue, especially if you can learn something?
I disagree,
You really shouldn’t remove key words of the statue just to make your point. The actual statue..
# 3. Any person may make a complaint of an attack upon a person or of an attack, chasing or worrying of a domestic animal or domesticated dog or cat to a dog control officer of the appropriate municipality. Any dog control officer acting pursuant to paragraph ( c ) of subdivision one of section one hundred eighteen of this article shall commence a proceeding to determine if such is a dangerous dog.
Dog Control Officer are the operative words here, which you conveniently omitted. Is it your belief that Police Officers and Dog Control Officers are the same?
The best examples yet as to why one should stay away from the Comments section of Brownstoner. Just had to verify my initial impressions.
for what it’s worth i don’t bring my pitbull to dog runs because while he always minds his own business i’ve had incidents the few times i have brought him to one. he never expresses interest in other dogs (i think he’s K9 autistic actually hahah) but everytime i brought him other male dogs would start circling him and a fight would break out. so i figure for the safety of other dogs there is no need for me to be there. he gets enough exercise on his leash (ALWAYS) im so against dogs off leashes it’s not even funny. i dont care how friendly your dog is, another dog might NOT be as friendly. or a cat or a rat or a raccoon or a bike or an SUV. keep your dog on a leash!
and to this person…
quote:
I would not want to share an elevator ride with this guy and his dog and wish he would stop walking his dog on my block!
oh so you OWN your entire block? that’s nice to know! care to tell me what block so i can avoid it your majesty?
*rob*
bkyln20, thank you for a very informative post. My rescued pit was taken from the ASPCA by a foster group, whose trainer had her for a few months prior to our adoption, so we got a pretty good idea of what she is actually like. She is a voracious snuggler, and has never seemed to want to do anything other than play with our 2 cats (whose response is a uniform “go f*** yourself”). We have learned that because she was probably backyard bred, by god knows who and for god knows what, she has some impulse control issues, and we need to watch her excitement levels. But that’s our JOB. She has never hurt another animal. I canot undertand how this pit (if it was a pit; as we learned last time, quite often these “pit bulls” in the horror stories are something entirely different, or a big mish mash) got away from its owner. I know there is no way my pit is going to pull me over or get somewhere I don’t want her to get when she is on a leash. It’s my job to be alert and know what is around us, and what she is focussing on.
CSA – you’re talking about a different provision than i was. the dangerous dog/dog bite provision does seem to limit criminal penalties to bites on humans. but if you can prove that it’s a “dangerous dog” and it’s killed a cat, there are a number of things that a judge can order for the dog, including evaluations, training, confinement, insurance, or even euthanasia. all of this is at the dog owner’s expense.
one interesting fact: a police officer who receives a complaint about a dangerous dog “shall immediately inform the complainant of his right to commence a [dangerous dog] proceeding and, if there is reason to believe the dog is a dangerous dog, the officer shall forthwith commence such proceeding himself.” NYAGM section 121.1.
this is different from the animal cruelty statutes i cited previously, which have nothing to do with human victims in the first place.
thanks for clarifying, PD. I know a lot of great cops- I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. I’ve had this discussion with my brother too. He wants a law passed making it a crime to own a pit bull. He has the stats that he feels back him up but those numbers really don’t give the whole story, and it’s unfair to condemn a breed- or their owners- for the faults of a few.