TexasCHLforum.com

First off, I'm sorry to hear about your father's injuries.

When I first read the title I thought this would be terrible accident, but I too must agree that leash laws are there for a reason. Where I live at it is actually stated in the lease that all dogs must be on leashes at all times. My dog, a pit/boxer mix, is always on a leash if we are not inside the apartment. Sadly there are a couple of people around me who don't have the same logic. My dog is very nice, sweet, and caring, but when someone or another dog comes at her or me she gets on the defensive and will stand her ground. Just recently I have had to jerk my dog through the air and immediately pick her up because of my neighbors who think they are above the law. I hate having to scare my dog by jerking her just because of the unintelligible people around here. I will always do what I can to prevent her from fighting with another dog, mainly because she would kill most anything that tried, but if someday one of these other dogs is unlucky enough I will not feel one bit sorry for the owner. I'm NOT saying I won't do anything, because I will, just to be clear.

One thing that really bugs me is when I take my dog to the pet store how the majority of parents are so ignorant about animal behaviors. I can't tell you how many times I have had to step in front of kids or sternly state to the parents not to approach me or my dog. I always get ugly looks but its better than them being possibly bitten.

I also can not believe the statements made by people about how pits are so aggressive and bred to be mean. I can not tell you how many times I have heard that statement while working at a vet clinic for 5 years, as the kennel tech who handled all dogs in the clinic. From my experience the most aggressive dog breed is the chihuahua hands down! I got more bite and scratch wounds from that breed then all other breeds combined. That is even including the one time my hand slipped into a pit bull's mouth when he was irritated and nothing happened.

Everything always comes down to the dog owners and how well they actually know how their dog will react in certain situations. I hope from now on you will always use a leash and that you will stop letting your dog go up to other dogs that you don't know anything about.

P.S.- To fickman, I don't mean to sound arrogant or anything but the diseases you listed can also be caught from the ground and droppings of the infected dogs. Parvo especially will stay in the area for a long time after the infected dog leaves. That's one little fact most dog owners never know about yet its the main killer of their puppies. Just one more reason to always have your dog on a leash so you know where it goes sniffing at.