RANT – Pit Bull Off Lease at Alki

[rugsmith]

Hi – my mom took my 15 month old to Alki yesterday and a man with a pitbull made a point of giving them a wide berth as he passed them on the sidewalk (dog was on leash at this point). That was nice of him. But once he was just a short ways past them he let the dog off its leash! I’m not one who thinks every pit bull (or any dog for that matter) will attack a little kid (or adult, or another dog) if it’s off leash, but I have to say this incident is pretty scary for me. My mom would do anything to protect my baby (of course) and I just hate to imagine what would happen if the dog did run up to the baby for some reason. I don’t know much about dog behavior, but if it ran up to the baby just to sniff (or whatever dogs do), I would imagine my mom would have panicked, possibly causing the dog to become aggressive?

Should I contact the Seattle police, or is there a better place to direct a complaint like this? I’m sure it won’t do any good but I feel like I need to let someone know.

Thanks

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[Cait]

I would contact Animal Control. Probably not a lot that they can do about this incident at this point. I don’t know why these people don’t just take their dogs to the off-leash parks…

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[rugsmith]

Oh, I’m not trying to get this particular individual in trouble, I would just like to inform the authorities (whomever that is) that it happened, in case they’d be interested in stepping up their enforcement activities! (a bit of sarcasm…)

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[thee]

OH NO! PANIC! EVERYBODY RUN AROUND AND YELL!!!

CALL THE COPS! GRAB THE BULLETS, FOR CRIPES SAKE, DO SOMETHING!!!!

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[Huindekmi]

Never, NEVER lease a pit bull. You never know what the previous renters did with it.

Always buy your pit bull new from the dealer.

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[rugsmith]

Who’s panicking? Nothing happened, it wasn’t a huge deal and I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble. It’s just my bitty girl is pretty defenseless and I’m trying to be a good mama. I’m not expecting the leash rules ever to be obeyed 100% (what rules are ever obeyed 100% anyway?) so I will always keep a really close eye on her. I just figured it didn’t make sense for me to complain about it but not do anything proactive. And by proactive I was just planning on sending a short email to whoever enforces leash laws. I’m not making a big deal about this event, since it wasn’t. Certainly not panicking. My mom didn’t panic either. And my baby probably would’ve wanted to pet the dog if the owner didn’t mind! She loves dogs. :)

I wasn’t trying to make a big deal about it being a pit bull either, that’s just the breed it happened to be.

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[rockergirl5678]

Obviously THEE doesn’t realize the threat and damage pitbulls have can and have done to many children and adults – pretty much can kill you if they want. So give the mother, grandmother and baby a break – the owner should absolutely be ticketed if not given a warning for having his dog off leash – especially in a public park.

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[JenV]

Huindekmi made me LOL

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[thee]

AKKK! OFF-LEASH DOGS! RUNNING WILD! IN PACKS! KILLER PACKS WHO CAN KILL YOU ANYTIME THEY WANT!

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[rockergirl5678]

Nobody said anything about packs or wild dogs – we all know there have been many posts and threads on here about off leash dogs – a nuisance to all – dog owners or not. Be respectful of those around you and think about the choices you make as a pet owner is all we are asking.

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[Cait]

rockergirl, I think your comments about pitbulls as killers were negligent at best. Have some respect for the pitbull owners on this page please.

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[rockergirl]

cait – my comments are true in many cases – just read or watch the news – not all owners are as responsible as you might be – and obviously the ones who let there dogs off leash are not – i do not care what kind of dog you have – there are leash laws for a reason – and i know i am not the only one who is annoyed by those who disregard them – my comments are not negligent just my opinion – negligence is carelessness and disrespect for those who live around you.

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[Zenguy]

Not that I am against any one breed, but breeding does have something to do with behavior and of course how an animal is raised does as well.

However I have had two dogs attacked, mine were leashed and the pitbulls were not. Both of my dogs survived after a lot of vet care and both of the pitbulls were put down for what it is worth.

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[HunterG]

ZenGuy, I am so sorry for your dogs’ experience. Any dog who attacked my (animal) babies would be lucky they were still breathing.

Pitt Bulls are not a bad breed, their temperment is naturally more violent/defensive than other dogs. Much of the behavior lays upon the shoulders of the master.

If the master is conscientious and responsible pitt bulls are very good dogs I lived with one for three years – they just have a bad rap.

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[dgirl]

I don’t post often to the Forum…but I love to read what folks have to say. The dialogue is typically intelligent with multiple points of view. Frankly, I find off leash dogs (especially pitbulls)intimidating and sometimes scary.

I understand there are many points of view and most of the posters are respectful of those opinions. BUT…when I read the two posting from “THEE”, wow…these postings were childish and, if anything, made a good point in favor of the original post!

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[hammerhead]

I rescue pits all the time and the ones on alki are posing for fights with gang bangers and with all the recent shootings…What thee said was disrespectful period. You should be afraid and there really isn’t anything animal control can do. You can give them a description of the owner of the the dog, the only thing they can do is site him for not having the dog NOT on a leash and most likely not licensed

I also own a pit and it chills me to bone when I hear these things because it TRULY is the owner not the dog.

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[hammerhead]

I rescue pits all the time and the ones on alki are posing for fights with gang bangers and with all the recent shootings…What thee said was disrespectful period. You should be afraid and there really isn’t anything animal control can do. You can give them a description of the owner of the the dog, the only thing they can do is site him for not having the dog NOT on a leash and most likely not licensed

I also own a pit and it chills me to bone when I hear these things because it TRULY is the owner not the dog.

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[Zenguy]

Totally agree Hammerhead it is the owner and not the dog.

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[JanS]

and I can vouch for Hammerhead’s pit…definitely a love of a dog, as is her other, which I believe is part Rottweiler (?). They have been in my home…and make good rugs – lol. I’ve had a cocker spaniel turn on me…and a bichon frisee, too…now that’s scary…and not expected, but..it’s sometimes in their nature , too, I guess.

I think that we, as a community, need to consistently call people out when their dogs are off leash…take pics with your camera, if you can, too. The owner may tell you to “f*** off”, but if enough people tell them, maybe they’ll get the message.

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[Cait]

First of all, I should clarify that I am not a pitbull owner. I have done extensive research on pitbulls and their behavior and that’s really the only place I’m coming from. You cannot trust what you hear on the news because you are dealing with a pitbull-hostile environment. You’ll remember the moral panic in the 80’s over dobermans? This is the same thing, different scapegoat. The owners are DEFINITELY the ones to be held accountable when a dog attacks. That’s why it is disrespectful (in my opinion) to say those kinds of things about pitbulls in general because it ends up reflecting on their owners IN GENERAL, which is unfair. I would just like people to be aware of what they’re saying is all. What happened on Alki IS terrible and I’m sorry to hear about ANY dog being attacked.

Don’t blindly listen to the news and not filter what you’re hearing in ANY case, particularly this one. And try not to think of pitbulls as animals to be feared simply because of what they are and what the news chooses to air regarding dog attacks (reacting defensively to them also promotes attacks, like it does with any breed of dog – so it sometimes turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy.) Thousands of people get attacked by everything from Chow Chows to Poodles every year but no one is interested unless it’s an animal that you EXPECT to attack you. You are just as likely to be attacked by any other breed, honestly, if they were all bred and raised the same. Pitbulls have a bad rep and strong genes for protecting their owners and killing prey – it can be used for good or ill, but I would like people to realize that not every pit bull you run across is going to attack you or even has it in them to do so – any more than any other breed anyway.

There are going to be people who disagree or tell me that I’m misinformed, but if you take the time to research pitbull rescue sites, they will make you feel better. It’s truly not as bad as you would think from the press coverage.

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[thee]

I don’t post often to the Forum…but I love to read what folks have to say. The dialogue (sic) is typically intelligent with multiple points of view. Frankly, I find [the redundant and hysterically alarmist discussion of off leash dogs] (especially pitbulls) intimidating and sometimes scary.

I understand there are many points of view and most of the posters are respectful of those opinions. BUT…when I read the two posting from “DGIRL”, wow…these postings were childish and, if anything, betrayed a complete lack of understanding for concepts the likes of irony and satire!

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[GenHillOne]

Hey rugsmith, sorry the responses are so all over the board on this, not sure you even got the info you were looking for. I don’t think anyone is really blaming you for your reaction, but there may be “off-leash dog post fatigue” right now – I didn’t even open the thread until now because I figured I’d heard it all. If you click on both the “dog” and “dogs” tags at the bottom of the forum home page, you’ll find lots of threads on this subject, including resources and phone numbers for reporting. I think you’ll also find that you aren’t the only one concerned about off-leash dogs. Hope that helps!

Edit to add: here is more that comes up when “leash” is entered into the WSB Google box on right –

http://www.google.com/search?q=leash&sitesearch=westseattleblog.com

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[JoB]

It is always the owner who is at fault when a dog is off leash… and as such, they should be reported and fined.

i like the idea of taking pictures.

it sure works with drug dealers and johns:)

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[gambaru]

Interesting tidbit: I was just watching “It’s me or the dog” and they shared some trivia regarding pit bull temperament. Apparently they are known as “nannie dogs” because they are so good with children.

I wonder if the reaction would have been the same if the dog was a golden retriever… I have a bernese and it’s not uncommon for us to be walking (on-leash) and have toddlers run up and throw their arms around her neck. No parent has ever seemed alarmed or even restricted the child from doing so. Not that I mind, always happy to show off, however, that lends itself to be way more confrontational than just a dog that’s passed by being let off-leash in the distance…

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[JoB]

gambaru..

a good point…

a lot of the danger from any dog is in the way people react to it… their own preconceived notions.

I am glad your dog is so tolerant.. but i hope you teach kids that they should ask before hugging..

not all dogs like to be hugged… and not all parents are smart enough to teach a child how to properly approach a dog.

all dogs are smart enough to leash their owners though if they would only listen:)

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