Posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 - 11:20 am:
Hey purple, it's OK my friend- I truly appreciate your input. I agree completely that at the VERY least, these dogs need some kind of training- but I've spoken with 2 good friends who raised Great Danes, some for show, and they share my concerns. One of these friends is a dog groomer, and she had WAY more than enough to say about all this.
You also made a very good point- Pitbulls have been rescued from horrible conditions, often having been trained to fight- I guess that it's possible to rehab a dog that's tasted blood. I'm more of the mindset that dogs that attack and kill should be seen in the same way as sexual offenders- they may never do it again, but we just DON'T KNOW. The behavior is THERE, is it worth the RISK? THAT'S the million dollar question.
It's been since about 6:30 Sunday that it all began, and I've not yet heard anything from the Dane owners other than the brief apology to my GF by the lady- I intend to type up a letter sometime today and at least leave it in their mailbox, unless I actually DO get to discuss it all with them. I really want to have a calm, rational, non-threatening, frank discussion about those dogs, and the spiritual/monetary losses they've caused.
Posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 - 01:05 pm:
Had a chance to talk with my neighborhood association lady today, she was walking her Chihuahua in the park- as we were finishing up, I happened to notice some distinct claw marks on the concrete sidewalk. Two sets, the one closest to my property was the most pronounced.
I just can't get away from the thought- if you CAN'T CONTROL your animal, even ON LEASH, that animal needs to GO AWAY. I'm not saying "put down", just AWAY from the city, from other dogs, and ESPECIALLY children.
One little boisterous kid in a Batman suit, and...???
Posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 - 05:54 pm:
OK, finally, the first bit of good news I can share...
I went and talked with the guy who owns these 3 dogs. We had a long chat, 30-45 minutes. From the time we first met, I'd pegged him as a decent guy- of course he apologized every way he could, and our conversation went all over the map and back. We never had anything harsh to say to one another, never approached an argument. We even drank a beer together, he offered me one early on.
What I DIDN'T know was that his kids were in the park. I was on the phone with my fence guy when it happened, facing away from the whole thing...
Now it makes more sense. He told me that the dogs were raised up with his 5 kids, and that the breed is extremely protective of family. I agreed, as this is what a good dog SHOULD do. All I knew at the time was that he and his wife were walking the 2 dogs, and that they attacked Chloe- never registered at all that there were kids even there, much less THEIR kids.
To top it off, my fence guy lives across the street- yesterday, out of the blue, he sees this guy and blurts out "You know their dog died, right?"... within earshot of his kids. DAMMMITTT. That's almost as bad as us losing Chloe...
I did lay it out there that he should think seriously about his dog's behavior, and also that I'm nearly $1000 poorer as a result of this whole thing. I emphatically told him I KNOW that he's not liable, but if he could help I'd appreciate it. I softened that statement up a bit and said "If you or your wife happen to hit on a scratch-off or something, just give me a holler."
But, we left each other with a mutual understanding that it just happened, it is what it is, can't fix it, but when the time comes he should bring the whole fandamily over for a cookout sometime. Knowing now that his kids were in the park helps.
Still really sucks giant goat balls though.
(Message edited by 86129squids on September 26, 2012)
Posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 - 07:05 pm:
It's terrible reading about what you've been through. I'm sure (assuming he's a decent guy as you describe) that he was pretty horrified by what happened too. I'm willing to bet that he was unsure if he should try to even talk to you, how long to give you, etc. Most of us are ill-prepared to handle these sorts of things well.
Great Danes can get very protective of their family. I dated someone for a couple of years who's father had a GD. That dog never did warm up to me, and I get along with most dogs great. It can also be a real problem getting them properly socialized. Frankly Great Danes scare me in ways that Pit Bulls never will.
I know there's a hole in your hearts over this that will never go away. I hope you managing to deal with this terrible event. It's got to just rip your hearts out.
I still gotta get around to FINALLY posting pics of our loved ones- although it'll break me down all over again to see them, my pics of Chloe are priceless, and should be shared...
She was always afraid of loud noises, especially thunder- heck, she'd get startled if I opened a beer. We were out back in my shed one day, I was putting up the GL before a storm hit. The thunder started up, and she wanted to hide somewhere- so she started to get in my right hardbag on the bike!
Of course I obliged her- got about 4 pics with the camera phone! Somehow I gotta post them- mebbe I'll try using my GF's Windows OS, or mebbe someone can help me.
(Message edited by 86129squids on October 01, 2012)
(Message edited by 86129squids on October 01, 2012)
It's been a week since we buried Chloe. A neighbor across from me called and told me that these folks are STILL walking these dogs in the park in the late afternoon- I go to work around 330ish, so I've not seen this.
Keep in mind that this is literally next to my property, and we regularly sit outside and watch folks and kids playing in the park. To my mind, after this incident happened, why are they continuing to walk them here? To "prove" something? To rub it in our faces? When my girlfriend sits out there as usual in the late day and sees these killers of her beloved Chloe come around AGAIN, why?!
For the sake of ANY human decency, and for the memory of Chloe, if it were me I'd at least take them somewhere, ANYWHERE else. Obviously these people don't feel that way.
To continue- I learned that ALL the neighbors adjacent to these Dane owners are scared of them, plus the feces output of 3 dogs has created a stench. Plus, these dogs bark at all hours of the night. Not being that close to their property, I'd not noticed. And I learned that one of them has attacked a neighbor...
I'm heading to animal control with the head of my neighborhood association tomorrow. A couple of days ago a man, his young son, and a baby Rottweiler came to the park, with the baby Rott very well behaved but off-leash. What if?
What if a child is carrying his pet jack Russell and they show up?
What if??
Bottom line is: If I DON'T report it, and something else happens down the line, to either another dog or Heaven forbid a child, that's on MY mojo. Period. Not to mention if my inaction is noted by a creative legal beagle, and a child is mauled or killed...
Gotta do it, torpedoes be damned.
(Message edited by 86129squids on October 01, 2012)
To all who visit this thread, I sincerely apologize for turning what SHOULD be a joyful thread into this.
To me, being able to post up this horrible stuff helps, just the simple act of writing it all here helps just a little. I come to the BW daily and often to be "social" with my peers and friends, and over the years my life has been thoroughly enriched in little and big ways by knowing folks here or by simply reading any given post. For this I am eternally grateful.
Going forward, yes, somehow forward, I implore all of you dog lovers here on BW to help bring back the stuff that wags your tail.
One thought off the top of my head while reading your post was to put a memorial up were your beloved was attacked. That is probably not a good idea... may seem like your trying to prove a point...but maybe you are. (and should?) I don't know.
The only encounters I've had with great danes were joyfulful 1yr old danes (huge) I think I posted a pic of one encounter a few pages back. I shutter to think what I would do if that happened to my girl.
After reading about this plus my own recent close encounters at the dog park... I am noticing I am having more and more nightmares about it. WTH!! Maybe that is a good thing? So I can prepare for it if something happens? ugh, and they allways end up with sad endings.
I wonder one of those portable air horns could distract a dog enough to stop fighting?
"I wonder one of those portable air horns could distract a dog enough to stop fighting?"
Not a bad idea. Hate to hear you're losing sleep due to all this- I've not had that problem, but when I'm awake I'm having a hard time not obsessing with it.
I'm looking forward to my date with Animal Control this afternoon.
I can't blame you for reporting this to the authorities. Let it rest on their shoulders. I agree with the "what if" issues you bring up. Animals like that have a lot of potential for bad things to happen, and thus, there is a huge responsibility put upon the owners. If there has indeed been another incident with these dogs, something isn't being done right. You lack any authority to make it get done right, but you can put it in the proper hands.
So sad to hear about your loss. I can only imagine what you have been through over the last few days. I hope it gets easier every day moving forward. Prayers to you and your GF.
Well, in defense of the dog and the owner it did say in the comments that if sternly told he would jump right off.
I got a kick out of how the dog was acting all macho and mean and the woman knew he wouldn't bite. It reminds me of Bella and me. We'll be playing rough and she'll act like she wants to bite me and I'll stick my hand in her mouth and she'll freeze and give me the, "OK, you called me out, I'm not going to bite" look. LOL
That day a storm was coming, and she hated any loud noise- she HAD to be at our side when a thunderstorm came in. As I was emptying my hard bags on the GL, she decided to "fill" one of them up again...
Friggin amazing! Didn't know Huskey's had that good a nose like a Beagle.
I'm moving into my buddy's townhouse and thinking about adopting an American Hairless Terrier. They're just rat terriers with no hair. Friggin weird but awesome at the same time.