Pitt Bull and Pitt Bull Mix Scare
 

Ron and I went to town yesterday afternoon and when we got home there were two dogs attacking our miniature horses. The only thing that saved little Quincy and Bizzy was the was the electric fence and that didn't work for long..... The smaller of the two was a female she had pups (full milk bag) and was sssoooo skinny it broke my heart. The larger was a brindle and looked to be a pitt/boxer mix.

I called 911 and by the time the police arrived the two dogs were standing at our feet acting all innocent. I was able to get a phone number off the collar tag and called the owners - which happened to be our across the street neighbors :eek: I didn't know that they had these pitts. Anyway I had the owner on the phone, the policewoman gave him a verbal warning. The young man wasn't at home so the policewoman went to their house and was able to get someone to come and get the dogs. The neighbor lady was very RUDE. She even semi threatened me with .... if your ponies ever get out... Well, they did once a long time ago, but my ponies weren't attacking her dogs :rolleyes: they were grazing on the side of the street and I apologized and got them back in the fence, repaired the fence, end of story.

The ONLY thing that the policewoman did was give them a verbal warning. No report was written :thumbdown so there is actually no official record of our call other than the 911 log. I am going to call the police deparment this morning and complain about that AND call Animal Control.

Pitts are supposed to be kept behind a fence and/or chained -- it breakes my heart to think that these dogs will be chained up -- but we have a leash law and the dogs were threatening my livestock. I can only imagine what would have happened if one of the Yorkies had been outside with me.

People need to be more responsible pet owners.

OMG Cindy thank heavens you and your hubby got home when you did.
Those poor ponies must have be so frightened.
Hopefully this was an isolated case, the pits getting out, since you
had not seen them in the past. Some people will never learn to be
responsible owners because of the laws. As you saw an attack against
your live stock didn't even warrent it to be written up. A slap on the
wrist gives people the attitude that if the law dosen't care, well neither
do I. Irresponsible owner's need to be hit in their pocketbook where it
hurts and then they won't forget.
Something good came out of this because it will make you aware
of who your neighbor's are now. Beware, pitts and your babies.
Glad your ponies are alright. They must be adorable.

Wow, how scarey! Thank goodness no one was hurt!

OMG Cindy, I am so glad to hear everyone is ok!! I would have been freaking out!!! I sure hope they will do more than just a slap on the wrist. I dont understand why it takes a tragedy to happen for the law to take things more seriously!!!!

Good for you!! I would call anyone I could to make sure this does not happen again!!!!

Give those ponies a kiss for me!!!:)

Keep records of when you call 911 and officers names, dates and times and if possible take photos of the dogs with your horses. I know that's the last thing you think of when it's happening but it's PROOF. We lived on acreage in AZ where ranchers used to run their cattle. Even though we were fenced sometimes the cattle would get into our yard. I'd call the livestock people and they'd come and get them. I was told that if they ever damaged anything I had to document it and the owner of the cattle would have to pay for the damages. They never damaged anything, but you could have the owner of the dogs pay for vet bills to your miniture horses. The neighbor a couple acres away had some miniture horses and we just loved them! As far as the cattle go the kids loved it when they came for them because just like in the movies they'd come on horseback with their ropes and herd them back down to the valley.

Thank you, there IS an amusing side to the story, though. Little Quincy and Bizzy were eating their hay which was near the fence where the two dogs were snapping and snarling. Little Quincy was PISSED because his meal was being interrupted - and bless his tiny little soul (he is 27 1/2" tall and weighs just under 200 lbs) he was protecting his baby sister Bizzy (who is about the same size) by keepin in between Bizzy and the pitts and by trying to charge at them. They finally did get into the fence and Quincy charged at them and chased them out.

I am going to have an eagle eye on the lookout for those dogs. If they show up again I will definately call the authorities.

It was very scary .... very.....

I wish the law would allow for shooting a dog that is attacking your livestock, but alas, it is a crime :( Go figure. You are encouraged (there is a bounty) to kill coyotoes - but a domestic dog attacking your horses is protected. There is something wrong with his picture.

Thank you! It was VERY scary. And when we got out of the car the dogs came running towards us! They never threatened us, in fact the dogs seemed friendly enough with people, but you just never know about some of these more aggressive breeds. And that is beside the point, they were attacking my minis!



It was scary, but all is well. I am going to follow up with Animal Control this morning as soon as my phone charges :rolleyes: the story of my life. I will definately give Quincy and Bizzy a kiss on their sweet little noses for you.


Thank you for your suggestion, I have started a log. I am hoping that I won't see the dogs (or the nasty neighbors) again.

Sounds like your kids has a treat when the cattle had a stampeed on your property. I always wanted to go on a cattle drive :D - I Should Have Been a Cowboy is my theme song.

As far as shooting dogs, not legal but it happened out where we lived. The dogs would pack up with the coyotes at night and run down some of the cattle. Warnings were put out but some people didn't listen.

Holy crud :eek:! Stupid, stupid, people!:mad: It angers me to no end when owners let their dogs run loose, especially breeds like pitts.

I am so glad that you got home when you did; poor little horses must have been so frightened.:( So did the dogs do any physical harm to them? Big hugs :ghug: to those little horses and to you Cindy, from me.

What makes me just as upset is that 1) there was only a verbal warning given, and 2) that the neighbor not only semi-threatened you, but also showed no remorse for what had happened! Ugh!!!:mad:

Are you serious? :eek: I wouldn't care, I would've shot them. I believe we are able to shoot anything attacking our animals here. Gosh, you can shoot your own animal for whatever reason in my county. I found that out when our horse was dying and there was noone on a Sunday that could put him down. I called animal control, they never returned my call until Monday AFTER the vet had been out to put him down. My poor horse had to suffer a whole night freezing in the winter dying on the ground when we could have put him out of his misery. Not that I could have done it, but I was sick all night long because he was suffering so badly. Anyway, AC called me Monday and said you don't even need a good reason to shoot your animals. Your animals, your choice, which I believe should be true for most things like breeding and such, but this just seemed off.
I just would have shot the dumb dogs and told the cops you had no idea. If there is a person threatening you on your property you can shoot them, why not a DOG?

I am so sorry for your situation with your dying horse. I have all nighters with horse friends who were leaving this world. It is such a sad sad thing - horses die BIG if that makes any sense.

The difference is dogs are considered domestic animals and horses are livestock.

Thank you, Rose, I am definately going to follow up with Animal Control. Little Quincy and Bizzy were not harmed - this time anyway. What scares me is that these dogs know where they are and if they are not kept properly secured may very well come back.

It's a good thing you got home when you did. Some people are just not considerate of others and it is so sad because it is their animals that wind up paying the price. I would just try to stay out of your neighbors way , sounds as though she will just be looking for something to get back at you with. Good luck.

Most definitely they will at least attempt to come back. Typically that is not an isolated thing. I had a dog that had to be put down for killing our goat, almost killed another, and tried to kill and did pretty seriously injure my mini horse. After he killed the first goat, we made sure (or thought we did) that there was absolutely no possible way to get to the other animals. He found a way! He dug and dug and dug to get to them, and quickly too! Once they are on a mission like that, you can't get it out of their heads. Def talk to animal control and see what can be done about this.

I am SSSOOO pissed. I just got off the phone with Animal Control and she informed me that if the police officer gave a verbal warning that it was considered "taken care of". I told the AC Lady that the Officer told me that the AC would do a physical inspection of the premises and verify that the dogs were properly contained. They would issue a sitation if I wanted them to, but I'm not so sure I want to go that far.....

The AC Lady also told me that we have the right to defend ourselves and our property by whatever means was necessary. BUT refused to tell me that it was ok to shoot the dogs. :rolleyes::confused:nWhy can't people with authority just be accountable and speak plainly?????

AC is on the way our to our house and then they will be headed across the street to talk to the neighbors.....

The scariest thing about the whole dog issue is that the owner didn't realize that there was a problem. She was angry that the police came to her door. Down the road there are three neighborhoods with loads of young children playing up and down the street. Had the dogs injured my minis that would have been terrible, but just think if the dogs had turned right instead of left and had wound up on a street full unsuspecting innocent children playing.

I would take that as it would be ok to shoot then. They might not tell you that outright, but I am sure that if it came down to it, and you had to shoot them, you would face no repercussions.
I would hate to think of what would happen if they get to kids. My good friend was attacked 2 weeks ago by 2 pitts while he was jogging by their house. Adding that to my ever growing list of people I am close to that have had pitt attacks.

I'm pretty sure that we can shoot an animal that is attacking our livestock. Not sure if there's an actual law on the books for it though. I do know that a friend of ours not long ago shot a dog that was enjoying a killing rampage in his chicken coop. He killed almost all the chickens and had to be shot to be stopped. Sad, I know, but you should have the right to protect your animals. You can shoot an intruder inside your house (at least you can here) so you should be able to protect your livestock also.

The Animal Control Officer came and we had a nice little chat. After he left my house he was going to the owners house for a not so nice chat. We could have had them cited and went to court, but we realy want to be good neighbors, so we opted for a warning.

The AC Officer was very informative. He said that in Georgia we have the legal right to protect persons and property (we already knew this ) and that if the dogs were attacking our livestock we were within our legal right to shoot them, then call 911 and make a formal complaint/police report. He said the big problem is when someone shoots a dog and tries to hide it.

We will take his advice - however shooting an animal that is attacking another is risky business. I'm afraid that I'm not a good enough shot, but my son is :D So we have a viable option -- if the neighbors aren't responsible.

I am glad to hear they will be visiting your neighbors, hopefully it will help them to keep their dogs under control. I would be very careful and keep an eye out. I would be scared they would come back now that they have been there once!

Oh how scary Cindy! Im glad everything turned out ok.

What a scary situation! :( That's awful. I think when you have such powerful breeds, especially if they are not seeming to be friendly, would let their dogs run loose, even if it was accidental. You've gotta be more precautious.

However, I'm kind of amazed at all the people who would willingly shoot these dogs. I mean... if the dog was KILLING my animal or extremely injuring my animal, yes, I'd have to do something to try and get the Pit off. Well, I don't even have a gun anyways, but I dunno... those are peoples pets too.

But anyways, that's a crappy situation and I can't believe the police officers didn't do anymore about it!

Oh Cindy! I am so sorry.

If the dogs were after my animals or my kids, darn right I'd shoot. I am an animal lover, but that's where I draw the line. As an animal lover, I fight for laws promoting responsible pet ownership. I believe that owners have the right to responsibly own any breed of dog they choose, but the key word there is 'responsible'.

:eek: Cindy, I am so thankful your babies weren't hurt and that your Yorkies weren't in harm's way!! The law is disgusting sometimes! Several years ago when a pitt grabbed our granddaughter's old cat and killed it, my son called the police and it was pretty much the same result as you had. BUT ... my son told the policemen, if they couldn't do more than that, the next time the thing came in his yard, he would shoot it! The policeman looked at his partner, then looked my son in the eye and said ... "and we didn't hear the shot!" They agreed but they were helpless to do more than they did! The thing killed poor Spooky right where their 2 yr. old granddaughter played in their yard!!

I am thankful that none of your babies were hurt!! :thumbup::thumbup:

The worst thing about the whole situation is that the lady who came to pick the dogs up was completely clueless about what had just happened. Her dogs left her property , turned left, came across the road and attacked my horses, unprovoked. Had the dogs turned right and trotted about 1/4 mile down the road, there is a neighborhood full of kids who play outside, up and down the street. The dogs could very well have seen these innocent children running, and laughing and yelling as prey. I think that anyone who is taken aback about shooting a dog that is harrasssing livestock would have a second thought if they realized that you could just as easily substitute the kids down the street for my ponies. Would we have an issue shooting the dogs if they were attacking a child playing hop scotch in the road?

I don't want to kill anything..... my son had a good clear bead on the dogs and could have shot, but his dad and I stopped him 'cause when he could get a clear shot the horses weren't being threatened. I just hope that the education given to these folks by the Animal Control Officer will be enough to convince them to be responsible dog owners.

Bettyeanne, how scary for you and your son. Just imagine if your granddaughter had been outside. :( People just don't realize the importance of good aninal stewardship when dealing with these large aggressive dogs.

Reponsible is the key word here -- had the neighbors been responsible their dogs wouldn't have been in my yard attacking my horses.

What is also odd about this situation is that the neighbors have horses as well - I wonder if they would tolerate these dogs attacking their own?

First off, it would be extremely not smart to try to "get" the pitt off of an animal it is attacking. Case in point: 2 weeks ago on the news here, there were 2 people staying in their Jeep Liberty with their pitts. The pitts got in a fight with eachother, the 2 tried to break it up, and they both had their hands severely mangled, no idea if they will use their hands again. You cannot bother a pitt while it is attacking.
Second, if a pitt is activly attacking anything, that animals life IS in danger. I had my dog put down for attacking my animals. I would not hesitate to kill a dog attacking my animals, I don't care whos pet it is. The only time I might not is if it was a little tiny dog that I could just kick away from the animal and I knew it could not severely hurt me. IMO an innocent animal's life is more valuable than a monster that is out to attack and kill.

Thank goodness you and your minature horses are okay! I would definately follow up to see if they would write a report on the incident. This is how dogs that wind up killing or maiming have no previous record. Many times they have attacked, killed cats or dogs, made threatening moves towards people or animals, and the epolice are called. But without that written report, it is like it never happened. You wind up reading in the paper how the owners say it was the gentlest animal, never any incidents before. When the neighbors all know differently! Make sure they document! Unfortunately, there is a good chance the dogs will get into trouble again. Shame on their owners!

I. too, would not hesitate to shoot to protect my kids or my animals from a vicious attacker. Just as my DH shot a rattle snake poised to strike, I would do the same for a pitt that was attacking any of my "family" human or otherwise.

Some owners say that because when the dogs are at home they behave like angels, when let out on their own they are CRAZY. So the owners don't see that side of their dog unless it's caught on film or video. Then they still don't believe it and say their dog had to have been provoked. As far a rattle snakes go my hubby shot many the 10 years we lived on acerage in the AZ desert. We had crazy cats that would surround the snake when it was close to the house, like on the back patio a few times. Our young son walked out the back door to find that once.

the dogs probably went after the horse because they arent use to the animals and ahvent seen anything like them before not socialized very well acclimated with different kinds of animals so theres no telling what may happne towards cats ot smaller dogs/yorkies i would report it to animal control ESPICALLY if the owner people RESPONSIBLE for them was rude about it!! usually im one to defend pits tooth and nail against anyone and everyone ingorant against the breed just because they are pits doesnt mean they should be instanly be judged but this sounds like pure neglagance and a safety issue at least they seem people friendly but what about small kids? you never know not worth the chance with any large unattended breed of dog!