I'll try to keep this brief. I work at an animal shelter. We recently got in 2 mastiffs that are to be destroyed. Court date was pushed back so they are still alive for now. They attacked a woman and sent her to the hospital with a bite to the arm and face. Other reports of the dogs attacking to what degree we dont know were also made. The female is apparently the more aggressive. We are to have as minimal contact with them as possible and they are to be muzzled whenever being handled etc. I have spent the last few weeks with them and other than the female barking and acting fearful with strangers they havent shown an ounce of agressive behavior. I have bathed her, cut her nails, stuck my face up to her while chewing on a raw bone, grabbed her tail, lifted her up, blow dryed her, open her mouth, stared her down, and not an ounce, she gives me kissses. They jump up which is their only fault. The male too, he loves everyone. The female trust me mostly but will go up to other people and take treats, its when they try to pet her she backs up and growls and barks, but only sometimes. My cane corso used to do that too though. The male is a bull mastiff. She is one year and very much a puppy still. I have fallen in love with them but especially her. my question is what am I missing? Do these dogs deserve to die? I dont know what to do and am looking for any ideas anyone might have, Im desperate. The guy who owned the dogs is banned from owning dogs for a whole year, serves him right huh, grrrrrr!!!! These attacks happened on leash if that makes a difference. He cant even control his sweet dogs and they have to die, please help. BTW, its the city ordering their destruction, not the people who run the shelter.

They are not innocent if they bit a lady in the face. Maybe not to blame. Maybe not right but some lady is recovering from a horrific face injury.

To be honest, without seeing the dogs and the history, there is no way to answer your questions fully.

It may be poor handling on the owners part, and by poor handling I mean, babying, allowing the dogs to do as they pleased and what not (I do not mean abuse or neglect, which could very well be also).....

It may be having the two of them together triggers something with them, like dominance or rivalry for attention and the woman got in the way.....

It may be a temperament issue with one, and that triggers the other.....

There are so many things that it "could" be, that to answer that and have one or both of these dogs go to homes based on internet opinions, and then have an attack happen again....that would be awful.

No matter what happened, this lady is in the hospital or at least was, due to an attack by two large breed dogs that can be a handful without displays of aggression, let alone with them.

My only advice would be to "detach" yourself....and most definitely do not push the issue with either one of them by placing yourself in a position to be horribly bitten by either one of these dogs. (like putting your face next to theirs whether they have a toy or bone or not).

I am sorry to be so "negative", but it sounds like they are a couple of "unpredictable" dogs if not in the right hands or even with the "right" person.

Cat,
you yourself put the dog in a compromising position by PUTTING YOUR FACE NEXT TO HERS WHILE SHE WAS EATING A RAW BONE ...something wrong with that picture , and IF she had re-acted on it, and bit you ,she'd be dead now! So again who's fault would this be?? And you know what everyone would have said? " well that dummy put her face in the dogs face while she was eating a raw bone,and now we definetely have to put her down" what do you expect from a dog that was raised with no rules or better, does not know you at all??? She would have been put to sleep for biting you!! So next time you feel sorry for any dog , think before you stick your face in a dogs face you do not know and you care about, because your actions could have cost that dog you so care about her life faster then the "death sentence" she already has. Sorry but I don't feel for your anguish , I think you should learn from this and like Carol said distant yourself from this case.

Well, you can petition the city to take custody of the dogs. It would not be an insurance policy I'd like to carry or an added social debt I'd be willing to carry.

Seriously though, I know you ment well but be safe around shelter and other unknown dogs. Take warnings about temperament seriously, it's not worth being bit to prove a point. I work with shelter dogs weekly and I've had a few explode on me seemingly from nowhere. Happily heeding warnings from shelter staff I've yet to be bitten. There are a reason some dogs end up at a shelter.

I know it's sad to see dogs die at the shelter. Even sadder still the ones who have done nothing wrong. Sadly, without knowing the circumstances we only have the facts of this woman being bit by these dogs. This is enough in my eyes to put them in a special home or PTS as their only option. Special homes with the requirements to handle potentially dangerious dogs of that size are few and far between. Fewer yet of those have openings for another dog.

I wish I could help you more but please, be safe.

Many dogs will act different in a shelter environment but once on home turf can be aggressive for many reasons. It's a sad and unfortunate that they have such an irresponsible owner.
When you said that you put your face in that dogs face it made me nervous. You never know what a dog may do especially one that you don't have a clear back ground on. She did just bite someone in the face; I wouldn't doubt that if in the right situation she would do it again.
So many dogs die for the mistakes of the owners.

Well pretty hard to distance myself when Im the one caring for them. They are stuck in an isolation cell and we are not able to take them for walks so they only get out 15min a day. I know its easy to look at this from far away and I would probably say the same things, I just cant help but think something went on that we dont know, we know so little about the cases. We have at least 3 dogs in the shelter that are up for adoption that are way more agressive then the mastiffs. I just cant think a dogs bad because it bites someone, so many things can factor into that. I can read dogs pretty well and I just dont see it. I dont get that feeling from either of them. I wish I knew more about what went on, I just dont think the dogs should be the ones who have to pay. Im sure my own dog would bite put in certain circumstances, Im flabberghasted that in 12 months I could be dealing with a new dog from the same owner with the same problems. Wheres the justice in that? Maybe if theres nothing we can do I just wanted to find any reason in all this. Im truly heart broken over it.

 Quote: Cat Richter

I know its easy to look at this from far away and I would probably say the same things, I just cant help but think something went on that we dont know, we know so little about the cases.

No, actually it is not easy. It is frustrating to me at least to hear or read about things like this. My heart goes out to those dogs as well as the owner.....

I agree that there is probably more that went on than you may ever know, which is why, unfortunately, fate will take it's course for this animals.

Reading dogs is a great skill to have, it is something I do on a daily basis with my dogs, but I would never give a dog I do not know full access to my face. I would not do that with my own dogs in the situation you describe.

Cat, I know it is hard, but you can distance yourself when having to care for those dogs. Does not mean to close your heart or your compassion towards them, but rather look at it from a perspective of the fact that they are not your dogs, and they have done serious damage, more than once from the sounds of it.

I have dogs in quite often to be tested for SAR work and some of them are great personality wise, but they do not have what is needed for the work I do.

I have to look at it as, I cannot afford to feed, care for and most of all, spend time with a dog that cannot or will not work. I have to concentrate on my working dogs and they come first. Period.

I would keep them all if I could, and sometimes there are times when placing a dog or sending one back kills me. Not because they are going to a bad place, not at all, but rather because of the fact that I had a soft spot for them.

If you have other pets and/or children and other family, think of them first before thinking about taking dogs with this kind of past home...or placing them in an environment with other children and animals. That may make it a bit easier.

Fantastic advice Carol.

Carol gave you an excellent advice. My sisters and I have grown up with several dogs. My mother taught all three of us that we never never hug and put our face near to dogs's face that aren't ours. She isn't into training or learning about dogs, but she knows what things can go wrong with dogs and kids. It doesn't mean that being adults can ignore the similar rule. I'm not a little kid anymore and I never let strange dogs get too close to my face. I don't care how friendly they are. It is simple because they aren't my dogs.