Let me start by saying that my heart goes out to you and your son. This is a terrible thing that happend and I worry that you and your son might be both physically and emotionally scarred for a long time because of this.
I hope that you both understand that it is your neighbors that are dangerous, as bad and neglectful dog owners, and not just the dogs themselves. I recommend litigation as a solution to your problems. You should demand full compensation for any medical and/or therapy costs that this dog attack causes you. In addition, you should not rule out punitive damages against your neighbors as this is their fault.
I hope that you do not press for the killing of the dogs. I personally do not condone capital punishment, for dogs or humans. I think it's a barbaric act and that society has passed the point where we should be doing things like this. Instead, I think that you should demand that the dogs be rehomed and retrained; perhaps someplace where you and your son could meet them again in the future. This way your son could witness first hand that dogs can in fact be redeemed and that it was, in fact, the fault of your careless neighbors and not some bestial instinct of a mad beast that needed to be put down.
I understand your anger and fury at this happening to your child. I'd be furious too and when we're this angry many things that we'd never condone we often wish for. If your Christian, ask yourself "what would Jesus do?" and realize that murder (of even dogs) is not what he'd proscribe. If you're not Christian, then just look in your heart and I think you'll see that the mother was probably protecting her pups and the pups protecting their mother; I'd hate to see an animal killed over a misunderstanding even if a person was injured.
Again, you have my full sympathy and empathy (as a person who has been given many stitches due to a dog attack), and I wish a speedy recovery for you and your son. |