Posted on 05/03/2012 1:22:20 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
A new ruling makes it easier for anyone attacked by a pit bull or pit bull mix in Maryland to take legal action against the dog's owner. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruling declares pit bulls as a breed are "inherently dangerous," and the owner of a pit bull or a cross-bred pit that attacks is strictly liable for damages, as is any landlord who rents to a pit bull owner.
The Maryland SPCA, which arranges adoptions for dogs that need homes, currently has three pit bulls under its care: a five-month-old Brutus is scheduled to be adopted this week, Ayoki is available and Valentina will be put up for adoption soon. But the SPCA is concerned that it may be harder to find adoptive homes and families may abandon pit bulls after the recent ruling.
"We believe that an animal's behavior should be the determining factor in whether or not the animal is considered dangerous," said Cheryl Bernard Smith, of SPCA. "We don't believe that a particular breed should be pinpointed for that." "All dogs, if you don't train them and show them love, can turn out to be mean animals," said Rodney Taylor, of Prince George's County Animal Management. "It has a lot to do with the owner and how you raise the pet."
The Maryland Court of Appeals decision dealt with the case of a young boy who suffered life-threatening injuries when he was attacked by a pit bull.
(Excerpt) Read more at kwqc.com ...
Yes, I know the definition.
You apply it inappropriately to a whole class of domesticated canines.
Awwww!
‘pit bulls as a breed are “inherently dangerous,” and the owner of a pit bull or a cross-bred pit that attacks is strictly liable for damages’
There are so many problems with this!
1st, how many times do I have to say - “pit-bull terrier” is a TYPE, not a specific breed? There are many breeds under this umbrella.
2nd, how do you prove you have a “PBT” type? How do you prove the dog is a half-breed or less? I’m sure people really have documentation about their mutts/sarc. Is it all going to be based on the owner’s say-so?
Thanks, makes your meaning clearer.
1. A stupid person.
2. A mentally handicapped person.
3. A moron
4. A liberal
Synonyms:
fool - imbecile - blockhead - dunce - nitwit - dumbass - rarestia
I was cool with it either way....:D
Absolutely! We live on a very busy city street near the middle of Houston and the traffic is awful, either a parking lot or a race track. It is my worst nightmare that my dogs will get out and get hit.
That poster took exception to me saying I had to control my dogs. The small dogs I was talking about that were biters, were small enough that I could quickly pick them up and hold their mouths shut to keep them from biting someone.
I have picked up quite a few dogs on the road myself and may have saved them from being killed. Sometimes you cannot coax them to come to you and I always feel bad when that happens.
Hey, I recognize those dogs! :D
DNA testing is for dogs too.
But it doesn’t work very well. That’s the word on the street - and I’m always suspicious of those things, anyway.
YOU may have not met a dog YOU didn't like, but that is hardly evidence that there ARE NO bad dogs. As for me in the situation I commented on? The pit bull that attacked the 10 year old Black Lab (not my dog) was off leash in a neighborhood park with a leash law in force - the young woman who was there with the dog obviously didn't know how to control the dog, and should NOT have had it off leash. This pit bull engaged in a completely unprovoked attack against the Lab, taking her to the ground with it's mouth on the Lab's throat. There were minor puntures, but only because the Lab went completely docile while the Lab's owner stuck a stick down the pit bull's throat until it released her dog.
This was an incident I witnessed. There are untold numbers of incidents of unprovoked dog attacks against people and pets that I've read online and in the paper. You cannot tell me that these incidents are only due to the lack of knowledge about the dogs that attacked by those who have been injured or killed by them. That is simply BS.
The neighbor simply turned his back, before that it was all petting and tail wagging, licking the neighbor just normal puppy until the neighbor turned to walk away.
Neighbor hadn’t even realized anything was amiss, I was just lucky that my reflexes were fast that day.
No Alcohol, neighbor is “Dog Poor” (he loves his dogs), the dog did not bark, just short growl his hackles raised (jekyl / hyde).. immediately before he went for the back side of my neighbor (when he turned his back), after I grabbed his collar he didn’t have any other choices (he looked like he was sorry).. dog was gone that afternoon so no follow up is available.
TT
Agreed. Animals are not machines controlled only by who handles them. They are autonomous and are completely capable of acting on their own.
That last part is what really puts teeth into this ruling. As the owner of rental properties there is no way I would open myself up to this kind of liability from any tenant no matter how sweet their precious little cuddlebug is.
Going to be a whole lot of people really mad when their lease won't be renewed unless they get rid of their animal now, or at best have to provide a very high value umbrella policy to the landlords insurance that will cover any possible scenario involving the dog.
I don’t believe I said there were no bad dogs. That is fanciful and foolish.
I’m sorry about your experience. I’ve worked with dogs most of my life, and I was bitten once when I was three. That didn’t stop me from loving dogs and having them around me.
Shall I take that as a personal attack? Or should I than you for recognizing a champion?
Your blanket statement that you know I’.ve never bred dogs is asinine. Shame on you for assuming a FReeper whom you’ve never posted to until this thread is ignorant.
Were your dogs pedigreed? You can check thier lineages to make sure the dog s have been bred for temperament as well as looks, lines and stances.
The Russians experimented (and are still going, AFAIK), with domesticating wild foxes.
Maybe for the fur business.
Took something like 7-10 generations to get an animal that was in fact quite domesticated.
The point I’m making is that you can try until you are blue in the face and say “Well, it’s all in the way they are treated/raised...” and that is BS.
It was the selective breeding that did it. My suspicion would be pits are not yet as genetically tame as Labs or Border Collies.
I have had DNA testing done on dogs twice and I am very satisfied. My husband raises rodeo bulls for the PBR and the bulls are all DNA tested before they are registered.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.