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 have two very different socio/economic groups living side by side in Fort Greene. Pit bulls are a status symbol just like absurdly expensive European kitchen appliances.
“My Boxer- neither ‘vicious’ nor ‘attack trained’ and as friendly as can be – hates cats. He could just as easily have done the same thing. Don’t blame the dog because of it’s breed- that just showcases your ignorance.”
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.
houseofwax- indeed you’re right. To the dog, there was good reason and I am projecting. As I said- I don’t blame the animal at all, and I feel that pit bulls, perhaps more than most other breeds, suffer from bad press and more than their fair share of abuse. But the article does say that bad breeding makes some pit bulls more easily roused, and that pit bulls are easily trained. The problems with pit bulls are human error.
There are lots of friendly, well-trained pitbulls and there are lots of unfriendly, poorly-trained dogs of other breeds. Unfortunately, an aggressive, poorly-trained pitbulls (and other similarly powerful breeds) can inflict a lot more damage in a hurry than most smaller breeds. The bottom line is that pet owners should be held responsible for any damage their animals do.
Midwood, thank you. That is one of the only informed and rational responses to this thread. In matters of world politics NYers seem to be more cynical; they are distrustful of mass media and pride themselves on their abilities and willingness to look at every angle of the story and reach an informed conclusion. Somehow, however, the ;dangerous breed; debate is not given the same consideration. It’s downright alarming to see how many opinions are posted here ( and every time a ‘pitbull’ attack comes up; see B’stoner’s thread he links to above) and how few if those opinions are actually informed.
“And frankly, instinct or not, if your dog attacks a cat out on the street for no reason, its because you haven’t properly trained him.”
Again ( and again and again) – ANIMAL AGGRESSION IS WHAT PITBULLS WERE DEVELOPED FOR. Certainly the animal is not to be blamed for doing what 100+ years of selective breeding has created him to do. I agree that the owner should have been watchful and kept his dog AWAY from the cat, but the pitbull didn’t attack for ‘no reason’. If a JAck Russell Terrier grabbed a rat that happened to pass by and snapped it’s neck, that would be analogous. He would be applauded because rats are reviled in our society. The only difference, as far as I can see.
I came here to post the same article as midwood. Gladwell is an amazing writer and the piece is up to his usual thoughtful standard IMO.
i disagree- you’ll find the New Yorker article posted above by midwood very interesting- the article’s conclusion is the same as yours.
In so far as the cops go- I’m pretty sure they are told certain crimes ar not priority. A cat’s life is not important to them (and I disagree with them on that). Possibly its more a situation of not doing paperwork for something that the cat owner might take care of by suing in civil court. But like you, I agree the laws need to be more specific and stronger.
actually, mr. b’s post is somewhat ambiguous on what the cops said. but either way – whether they meant a person attacking a cat or a dog attacking a person (both of which are crimes), there’s no reason this situation couldn’t be the basis of a summons/arrest under the codes i cited. as i said, the case is no doubt more difficult than the more human victim or “human directly inflicting abuse” scenarios. but if there’s a problem in the neighborhood that’s endangering safety of animals and people, seems to me some strict enforcement is called for.
I heard that after the attack they cut the staffordshire terrier’s stomach open and found a Jersey license plate…