Dre, Pit Bull in Danger in Colorado

Remember Lennox?

Well, in Brighton, Colorado on July 31, an interesting thing happened. A run of the mill thing, really. Two dogs got loose, a pit bull and a Doberman. They were kind of freaked, and ran around for awhile, and were chased by people who were trying to catch them. They barked at people, and a lot of those people were scared and called the police. Once the dogs were finally caught, the owners were called. The Doberman went home. The pit bull is in danger of being euthanized for being "dangerous".

Not a single stranger was touched in this frightening barking spree. Nobody was jumped on. Not a paw or tooth was laid on a single person, by either dog.

I learned on Doggies and Stuff that there is a ChipIn to help Dre's family with the legal costs.  Dogster has run the story as well. There is a petition to save Dre, where you can add your voice (the petition page is where the above photo of Dre and Machomotto is from). The goal is 100,000 signatures. Currently, they're at 55, 095. My understanding is that Dre's next hearing has been postponed until August 21; at that point, let's hope that the DA looks at the FACTS rather than emotional opinions. A barking dog is not a biting dog. A biting dog is a biting dog.

Negligent to Own

I'm sure by now, Gentle Readers, it has come to your attention that a Court of Appeals in Maryland has ruled pit bulls "inherently dangerous" and also "negligent to own".

Calm your outrage for a moment. Lord knows it's hard.

It is important to know the details. I don't support them in any way, but it could be worse. Maryland has not outlawed the ownership of pit bulls. State law enforcement will not be knocking on doors with a measuring tape and removing peoples's dogs, as happens in a certain country in the UK.

Insurance

It may or may not surprise you to learn that not all homeowner's insurance companies cover all dog breeds. Did you know that prior to reading my sentence?  I sure didn't know it prior to owning a house and subsequently purchasing a "dangerous breed".

Dobermans, among others I'll list below, are considered to be "dangerous dogs".  There's a varied amount of politics and a small amount of statistics that goes into what makes or breaks a breed's reputation.  Actual bites and attacks are one of these things, obviously, especially against children.  The fact that all dogs have a mouth full of big pointy teeth is another, with varying PSI of bite pressure ability is another, though I don't think most people think too hard about that.

It's an issue.  I'm not saying it isn't.  But can you guess who I think is to blame?  Poor dog owners, bad breeders, and people (yup, that includes kids) who don't know how to act around dogs.