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View Full Version : Devastating weekend for dogs :'(



tonkatiel
10-27-2013, 12:43 PM
Had a terrible weekend...

On Friday we had the ranger show up to tell us our neighbours had reported that we have a pitbull (over here pitbulls are a restricted breed and have to be declared and kept the same as a dangerous dog would). Our dog is an American Staffordshire Terrier but because she doesn't have pedigree papers proving that, she has now been declared a dangerous dog. This means that she has to be kept in a secure pen at all times other than if we are outside with her - in that case she is allowed out of her pen, but has to be kept on a lead and wear a muzzle, even in our backyard! We have to put huge signs on all entrances to our property, stating there is a dangerous dog here. She needs to be re-microchipped, and her council registration will now cost 3x what it used to.
My dog is a huge baby! She sleeps in my bed! Shes the same age as my son, and we've had her since she was 12 weeks old, so they have grown up together. She loves the kids to pieces and they her. She has NEVER done a dangerous thing in her life! My partner is a dairy farmer and often takes her to work with him - she's scared of the calves, let alone the cows :(
But because some idiot who has never even met her, just drove past and decided that he didn't like the look of her, she now has to be locked up for the rest of her life and treated like a monster for nothing!!

As if that wasn't devastating enough though, our other dog (an Australian Bulldog) who was only 8 months old, was hit by a car and killed this morning :'(
Whoever hit her didn't bother coming to let us know, nor did any cars who must have driven past afterward. We let her outside when we woke up this morning, and it wasn't until we went outside 2 hours later that we found her :( the gates were shut so we have no idea how she got onto the road in the first place, but not only am I in shock that shes gone, I'm also in shock that whoever did it didn't have the decency to come and tell us! She was just left there in the middle of the road to be hit again :'(
Her name was Puppy Dog (or PD if you ask my partner) thanks to my 6 year old daughter naming her. She was a dopey little thing, you could whistle to her and she'd run in the opposite direction, she tripped over her own feet, and she sat around with her tongue hanging out of her mouth the majority of the time. But she was sweet and loving, so ugly she was adorable lol, and such a clown. She's definitely going to be missed and I'm sure I'll never meet another dog like her :(
RIP Puppy Dog xx

tonkatiel
10-27-2013, 12:48 PM
This is a terrible photo and a few months old, but its the only one I have on my phone...
1406

Debra
10-27-2013, 01:14 PM
That's crazy! I'm so sorry this has happened to you. I thought pit bulls faces were more square than your dog's face. Your dog looks similar to a pit bull, but doesn't have quite the same features. This is coming from one who is scared of pit bulls as I've had a family member mauled to death by one -- literally.

I know your kids must be heartbroken over Puppy Dog's death. How heartless people are.

tonkatiel
10-27-2013, 01:59 PM
Yes my dog definitely isn't a pit bull... Unfortunately we have had a few attacks in the last few years though, and whether the attacking dogs were pit bulls or not, they were named pit bulls and have in turn made owning any bull breed of dog very hard... Rangers have the authority to decide whether your dog is a pit bull or not, and most of them can't even tell the difference between a pit bull and a rottweiler - if it looks like it could hurt you then of course it MUST be a pit bull :/
To be fair American Staffys are related, but I still feel that there should be a temperament test done, rather than just going by what breed they are or what breed they look like...

I'm sorry to hear about your family member :(

coltfire
10-27-2013, 04:12 PM
Tonkateil 1st of im sorry for your loss,i grew up with boxer's but later on i breed pit bulls before all this crap they have going on now, now just by looking at that photo i know its not a pitty, you can fight council over this and i would, talk to your vet, hopefully you have been going to the same one for awhile now, and then write to council telling them you want to protest there decision, or if you can afford it after the vet and get a letter from him stating the breed of dog, go to a lawyer and get them to write up a letter for you , and watch how quick the order is reversed .

Blancaej
10-27-2013, 05:28 PM
I am so sorry you lost your puppy this morning. That is awful. :(

As for your sweet girl, I think Steve gave you some good advice. I hope you can get this worked out. It would be sad to see her have to live like that going forward. Keep us posted.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

Pinkbirdy
10-27-2013, 05:47 PM
Im so sorry about your dog :( Here we can send a Dna sample through our vet. To find out exactly what breeds they are.

Rescued
10-27-2013, 06:28 PM
At least in America their isn't a pit bull breed, it is a type and unfortunately they consider any bully type breed a pit bull. I'm so sorry for your loss and difficulties. I hope that a lawyer or your vet to help you.

mrgoogls
10-27-2013, 06:57 PM
wow i am so sorry. firstly for your loss. also for having to lock up your other dog. it is horrible all of the things pit bulls have to deal with(and their owners). IT IS NOT THE DOG! ITS HOW THEIR RAISED! i dont know why people dont understand that. but it just happens that pits are a bigger dog and CAN hurt you if they have bad owners. a tiny dog like a toy poodle or any toy breed can be just as mean a a stereotypical pit bull, but since they are small its okay. it makes me so mad.

On a side note, it is possible to tell what breed a dog is by looking at them, but can be hard sometimes. my dog looks nothing like stereotypical pit bull, but we have the papers to prove she is. she is much smaller than an average and her head is not square like most pit bulls, but she is pit bull. and she is the sweetest dog ever. she also sleeps in my bed :)

[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

thats a picture of her. hopefully it works :)

Debra
10-27-2013, 07:14 PM
Kenny, I edited your post so the picture shows up instead of the link. I hope that's ok with you. Your dog looks nothing like most pit's I've seen. I've never met a pit without the square face. I would not be afraid of your dog, but then again I wouldn't recognize her as a pittie. I understand what you say about it being the owner and not the breed, but when you've lost a family member from two of them, you tend to blame the breed also -- especially when the law is such that there can be no criminal charges toward the owners.

tonkatiel
10-27-2013, 08:12 PM
Thanks Steve, I'll look in to that :)

Debra, over here if we have a dog who kills someone we go to jail... Its only a new law thats been around for about 3 years, and its only 10 years in jail (5 years for a mauling that doesn't kill) - but its a lot better than how it used to be where the dog would be put to sleep and the owners would walk away with nothing but a slap on the wrist and asked to pay a fine :/

Mrgoogls, I agree, your dog looks nothing like what I'd expect a pitty to lol, thanks for sharing :)