Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Heidi the Doberman ~ decision has been made

I was happy to open my inbox today and see, via the Daily Tribune in Royal Oak, Michigan, that the verdict was in on Heidi the Doberman: she may remain with her family, but must be muzzled if she is in a public place. Heidi's owner, with no prior criminal record, pled "no contest" to the biting charge, and received a delayed sentence of six months, which means
  At the end of the six months, if Spalding [Heidi's owner] has not committed any other criminal violations, including violations of the city's dog ordinance, she will be allowed to withdraw her  plea and the case will be dismissed.

I'm unclear on whether this means Heidi will need to wear a muzzle in public for the rest of her life. Really, the outcome could have been worse, considering her owners feared that euthanasia was going to be an option.




Of course, a dog might still break somebody's  nose wearing  a muzzle, and Lennox (the American Bulldog mix) in Northern Ireland was wearing a muzzle when he knocked down a dog warden, precipitating his removal from home and subsequent court battles that, I think, are still going on. Last I knew, that was supposed to go to court again at the end of January, but when I look, the news sources have not updated on the matter.

A muzzle is an interesting thing. There are at least two kinds that come to my mind; a cloth one and a basket style. The basket style, be it leather or wire, still allows the dog to pant, eat, and drink. It's the kind that racing greyhounds wear, and are sometimes utilized in Schutzhund (or, they're for sale on all those equipment websites, anyway). A cloth muzzle is, I think, typically used more often in emergency situations, so that a dog does not bite while fearful and in pain and receiving medical care.

A muzzle doesn't have to be something that Heidi has to be unhappy wearing, either. Her family ought to acclimate her to it, over a period of days and perhaps weeks, making the muzzle a happy! Fun! thing! that involves tasty treats and only positive experiences. In my readings, people have suggested, while acclimating a dog to a muzzle, to put  peanut butter (or something equally lickable) in it so that the dog makes her own decision to insert her face. Then, as comfort familiarity grows, the straps are brought into play, moved around at first, then held, then buckled, for increasing amounts of time, until the dog is happily wearing the muzzle with no discomfort.

I'm not certain Heidi's owners are even thinking of the training aspect of that just yet. If it were me, and Elka, I would be sitting at home with her on the couch, holding her and thanking God that not only was my dog's life not in danger, but she was still my dog, at home with me.

13 comments:

  1. I'm so glad Heidi has been saved! That is wonderful news. I'm glad and you're right, the muzzle doesn't have to be a negative thing at all. YAY! Sighs of relief all around :0)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really relieved. According to the city attorney, euthanasia was not on the table, but removal/return to rescue was, and that wasn't something I wanted to hear happened.

      Delete
  2. Our Greyhounds have their plastic kennel muzzles, and we use them for a variety of things. The most helpful is when they have an injury that we don't want them to lick. Putting the stool guard on the basket muzzle lets them eat and drink, but not lick. It's the best! You can get them in cute colors and even get some that are rather fancy and take some of the sting out of the stigma of wearing a muzzle. I'm glad that Heidi has been spared!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the muzzle info, it's definitely appreciated! My knowledge about them is only book and message board related.

      I'm glad too, that Heidi is spared and still with her family. Amazing, the attention this story got.

      Delete
  3. Thank goodness. The whole story was sad, but I'm glad Heidi gets to stay with her family. Hopefully the family obeys the decision to keep her muzzled.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have been following the story and am glad to hear this decision. Heidi's owners probably should keep her muzzled in public for life just for their own, and Heidi's sake.

    Of course they could always put her in a Poodle disguise. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very good news! While a muzzle is not a perfect solution, it is far better than what the outcome could have been. I am so glad Heidi will be returned to life with her family.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Y'all!

    Thanks for relating the great news on Heidi. While a muzzle would not have stopped the kind of accident that broke the man's nose, it is a great outcome. My Human had an unprintable word for the man when she read the original story.

    I love the idea Jan had, disguise her as a poodle!

    Y'all come back now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great news that Heidi will be staying with her family! It's a shame that it has to be this way, but those if us with restricted breeds need to be especially careful or our dogs' lives could be in danger. Even accidents can be misinterpreted as this case shows.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Trying to catch up on my blog reading. :) This story is local to me. It might interest you to know that Heidi was never in danger of being euthanized (despite what her owner tried to tell people). The City was always willing to bargain this case away, but Heidi's owner wanted no consequences to her irresponsible actions. There was a bite so that is why the dog will need to be muzzled. I hope Heidi's owner takes this as a wake up call and doesn't put her dog in this situation again. A dog should never have been taken to the location where this incident occurred, let alone put in the care of your son's girlfriend. Really, really irresponsible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I did hear that it was in fact a bite, and read the articles where the city attorney was quoted as saying they didn't actually want to euthanize Heidi. It had seemed kind of weird to me that the incident happened in October, but the Save Heidi website was posted more recently (I think). I can imagine the kind of fear that would go along with an incident like this involving one's dog. I linked articles and the police report and stuff in my prior post on this topic ( http://theelkaalmanac.blogspot.com/2012/02/heidi-doberman-some-more-info-in-news.html )

      What's wrong with the location where the incident occurred, that no dog should go there? I'm not from there, obviously, I just got the impression that it was a sidewalk in front of some stores.

      Delete
    2. Royal Oak has a lot of foot and car traffic. The dogs (there were two) were on the sidewalk and a fence along one side. They were waiting and not walking. No way for strangers to easily pass without being close to them, which probably contributed to the bite. Thunder and Storm are well behaved dogs, but I would not put them in this situation. I guess I am not one who thinks dogs belong in all places.

      Delete
    3. LIke I said, I no nothing about the area, so I definitely appreciate the description! That does sound like it isn't the best place to hang out on leash with two Dobermans, especially if one of them may or may not be edgy about space (I don't know anything personal about Heidi.)

      Really, I don't let anybody else walk Elka. Even my fiance tends not to, even though she's "our" dog.

      Delete