Dangerous Dogs and Irresponsible Owners

I love dogs. My sibblings and I have had many dogs as pets growing up. They are so entertaining and lovable and they make great friends. Loosing pet dogs to old age or disease has caused me to shed more than my fair share of tears. It felt like loosing a part of my family - loosing a part of myself when one of them died or got lost. (Still haven't gotten over my dog Bambi... sob, sob) Dogs are special. In addition to being cute and cuddly, and a host of other things, they also make wonderful protectors. I remember one of our dogs, a female german shepherd, who we never trained to attack and was very playful. She protected us very well since her appearance alone would scare away most people.

This brings us to the subject of scaring people. There are different categories of dogs. Of all the dog breeds to choose from, why would someone choose to have a dog categorized as a "dangerous dog" as a pet? Is the answer protection? Okay! Fair enough. Maybe you're a thrill seeker and you like to live on the edge. Okay! Maybe you have a certain image to uphold and that particular dog suits the purpose. Okay! You perhaps can't help yourself, you simply love them. Still reasonable. I get it... I understand. I've seen the show "Pit Bulls and Parolees" from the Animal Planet channel. I can't relate but I can certainly understand. Even if you would choose to have such a dog as a pet, why not take responsibility and do EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER to ensure that it would never be able to hurt the innocent? I am so disgusted by the accounts of dangerous dog attacks on children, on other defenseless dogs, on unsuspecting individuals incurring serious injury or senselessly loosing their lives because some idiot refused to put a savage cross breed on a leash.

Pitbulls, dobermans, bulldogs, rottweilers, alsatians, boxers and wolf hybrids among many others
breeds of dangerous dogs have stuck fear into the hearts of the innocent with attacks becoming more and more prevalent in recent times. Governments (including TnT's own) have put laws in place as a result of the rising figures of brutality, injury and death caused by some of these dogs. Yet the cases keep coming in. Dog owners, trainers and others rush to their defense and the battle between dangerous dog lovers and innocent suffering victims continue thereby perpetuating the cycle. Yet no one is addressing the real issue. How do we keep these dogs away from the wrong types of people?

Some owners are highly irresponsible. Don't get me wrong. I am not referring to ALL people who own dogs categorized as dangerous. I know people who own some very scary dogs who keep them in a place where they cannot hurt anyone. They keep them on a leash and know how to take care of them and how to handle them. I am referring to those owners who are selfish human beings who would rather see a child laid up in hospital for weeks on end rather than realize that they cannot contain or control their dog. They get highly offended or irritated when they are asked to give the dog up even though they know that their dog could viciously attack other individuals. They don't take precautions to ensure that their neighbours and the public at large are protected from such attacks. Some owners are careless enough to let their dogs run around their neighborhoods without so much as a warning to others. I have had experiences where I've been walking along the streets in my area and I had to stop dead in my tracks or quickly change course because I saw huge vicious looking dogs just happily roaming the streets as if they owned it. I no longer feel safe in my own neighbourhood.

This is how I look at it. Animals like lions, wolves,  grizzly bears, tigers, all have their place. We see them at the zoo, we see them on animal planet or the discovery channel or the national geographic channel, living in the wild, happy and free where they belong. We know we must keep them where they belong because they are capable of posing a real threat to human life. We cannot control them. What am I getting at? If the animals that cannot be controlled are kept where they belong, where they cannot pose any threat to human life then how or why are dogs, capable of killing, being given over to irresponsible owners?

Now I know there is a huge fan base for certain dogs like the pit bull for instance. These dogs can be described as loveable, friendly and man's best friend. Dog trainers and other dog enthusiasts would know more than I would about these dogs and I respect their expertise. I say this to re-emphasize my point that there is a place for these dogs where they can be well cared for and loved and appreciated. There are people who are highly capable of maintaing and controlling these dogs. There are even professions where these dogs are very useful. (The police profession, businesses who need guard dogs for protection on their property, the "Pit Bulls and Parolees" tv series).

Tia Maria Torres, a pitbull trainer and the star of reality series "Pit  Bulls & Parolees

They should not be left unattended in the streets, without a leash, roaming free to terrorize the unsuspecting and creating phobias in the hearts of little children who manage to survive an attack. They don't belong in a place where small pets can be murdered at anytime simply because someone wanted to take their dachshund puppy for a walk. This has been a topic that has left me a little more than annoyed. Let me know how you feel about it!