Am I ticked off about this? Yeah, just a bit.
I'm sorry, but your everyday family pets do not break out of a heavily fenced yard and as a pack bring down a 29 inch horse. A horse, people! Like this one:
It's not the breed of the dogs that bothers me (The article above said they were both pitbulls, but others I've read said one was a pitbull and one was a mastiff.). I know that those types of dogs can live happy, non-aggressive lives with families if raised correctly. Let me stress that again, If Raised Correctly. But these particular dogs had escaped from their home before with no incident and this time they killed a good sized animal.
To put the size of the horse versus the size of the dogs into perspective, the horse was 29 inches high or about 2 1/2 feet. I believe horses, like dogs, are measured at the withers, or the highest point of the animals back. My male labrador, Fisher, is roughly 25 inches high. Male mastiffs, at a minimum to be eligible for the confirmation ring, are 30 inches. Therefore, the largest of the two dogs was a probably a few inches taller than the horse. The other dog was probably a good four inches shorter.
My point? It was a small horse but still a decently sized animal. That takes some strength and tenacity on the dogs part.
I'm sure Joey Porter had purchased these dogs for protection, although he said he kept these dogs as pets not for security. I'm just wondering where the line of guard dog vs. family pet was drawn in that house. Porter has four kids. Were the dogs a part of that family? Given the names of the dogs - Tina and Nemo. Hello! Nemo?! I don't suppose the dog was named after this guy - I'm assuming they had some contact with the kids. Which leads me back to my first point: What type of dogs were these that broke free from their restraints (a fenced in yard), crossed property lines, and attacked a group of miniature horses? And killed one? What if it were a group of children running and playing? Would the dogs have known the difference in their frenzy?
I am not breed biased and I wish that society didn't have to have lists of "dangerous dogs" but instead a ban on irresponsible owners. Unfortunately, in the hands of the wrong people there are certain breeds of dogs that will do more harm than others. For instance, an American Staffordshire Terrier (commonly known as a pit bull, or a bully breed) who comes from inbred parents of questionable nature and then receives no training is more likely to cause more harm than a Clumber Spaniel with a similar background. I have a problem with people who buy and raise these dogs around others with little thought about what could happen if these animals suddenly snapped. Today a horse, tomorrow the mailman. Or a kid.
Because the dogs killed livestock a judge will have to determine if they're "dangerous" or not and then what will happen to them. For now, they're going back to California (Porter's other home) to be kenneled for "safe keeping".
And Porter? He'll get slapped with some fines for housing dangerous animals and failure to confine his dogs. He'll get another fine for not having them licensed in Pennsylvania (they were licensed in California). A slap on the wrist for a man who plays in the NFL. But lucky for him the dogs didn't hurt a person because the penalty might have been much higher. Is there a law that will stop him in the future from ever purchasing and raising another dog? Not to my knowledge. For as safe as he was with these dogs he may as well have kept a loaded gun in his home and given his children the keys to the gun safe.
Unbeleivable story. How awful. I'm so glad that you drive home the point that although left untrained and unsocialized, some breeds might be more dangerous than others -- all dog breeds can be loving safe pets if trained properly. Because of what we see in the media, I'm always fearful of Pit Bulls.
Posted by: Wendy Boucher | September 23, 2006 at 05:13 PM
Well written post. My friends down the road have a large male bull mastiff. At first, I was terrified by this dog and didn't want him around my kids. But as I grew to know the dog, he is as sweet as my little Boston Terrier. And the big dog is way more timid and docile than my Nixon.
But my neighbours have a small mutt and he is almost feral. I WONT let my kids go near him.
I wonder if the dog owner will have learned anything from this. Sadly, probably not.
Posted by: Redneck mommy | September 24, 2006 at 01:36 PM
Good grief...
And when you see Craigslist FILLED with people specifically (sp??) looking for Pits and so on...you gotta wonder when will people grow up.
I mean, I have met Pits that were wonderful and VERY well trained and very well bred..but that is the point isn't it? The breeding and the dumb clucks out there buying these dogs.
Oh man.
Posted by: crunchy carpets | September 24, 2006 at 02:03 PM
As brought up by Wendy above, I think there is danger in media bias. Crying "fire" in a crowded theater can cause damage when there isn't even a spark present. Media bias leads to unnecessary fear and to more concrete infringements on personal liberties through things like breed specific legislation. Maybe it even leads to a glorification of "dangerous" dogs among elements of society looking to sport such menacing trophies. I understand that media bias is a symptom of issues surrounding aggressive dogs, and not the cause, but I felt it was an important thing to address. Chicky, I agree with a lot of your post and the problems with irresponsible pet ownership and breeding. We really need to figure out how to educate people about how to select, care for and protect their dogs--ALL DOGS, ALL BREEDS. As the owner of a rescued American Pit Bull Terrier, I am terrified of the idea of BSL making part of my family illegal. Knowing as I do what wonderful family companions pit bulls innately are, the idea of a world without them makes me sad. And mad. I don't know what the solution is.
Posted by: Binky | September 25, 2006 at 06:02 PM
As a former Pitbull owner this pisses me off. I trained my dogs to obey, they were socialized with other dogs and small children as puppies and my dogs NEVER growled at children.
I got in many heated conversation with people about my dogs including my parents. Ironically my mom ended up falling so madly in love with my female that she spoiled her rotten.
I think it is reprehesible for people to raise dogs to be mean, no matter what the bread. There should be specials laws in place to punish those who do.
So so sad, I'll dig out some pictures of my babies.
Posted by: Dirty Birdie | September 25, 2006 at 08:58 PM
Poor horse. I had friends growing up who had minis, and you're right about their size, definitely smaller than a mastiff.
Posted by: Heather | September 26, 2006 at 09:54 PM
This makes me want to run out in the yard and bring our mini into the barn. Free roaming dogs are worse for livestock than wild coyotes for some reason.
Posted by: threecollie | October 08, 2006 at 12:41 PM