This has nothing to do with the thread, I just thought it was cool I used to live not far from cape cod, I lived in Quincy,mweymouth and used to go out to hull. I remember when the boston bay would be totally frozen over, memeries,fun

WOW....Amber,
Remind me that if I ever need a letter written to consult with you.
Awesome.....

I hope they post the WHOLE thing.

Eric, no, my point was that the owners of the aggressive little dogs have just as much responsibility and culpability for their dogs as the owners of larger dogs with the same issues.

Here's the full article, printed today:

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070525/NEWS/705250324

Make sure you check out the reader's comments, as well, because OF COURSE people are screaming BREED BAD again because of this.

The version I saw was an online midday update, which means that it hadn't hit the print version yet. I was waiting for that to happen because Letters to the Editors are only printed in regards to printed stories, not online versions.

Also, I wanted to see if the more comprehensive story had more that I wanted to address. It does. Those dogs have apparently been seen loose on days other than when the incidents occur. It also gives a much clearer picture of what happened during the first incident.

Also, it is not mentioned anywhere that the owner is facing a penalty of any kind, other than losing her dogs. It's outrageous. I picture these children having Cujo-like nightmares when really it was the junk-yard dog style owner who caused this.

Thanks for your support everyone. And thanks for letting me bounce it off of you before I send it...I was trying really hard not to let my anger make me seem unreasonable...my goal is to try and sway people who aren't thinking and are just reacting. Of course, the anger was TOTALLY there...hence the rant at the end!

I venture to say many of us would want to show our support of what you have proposed. If it would help at all to add additional signatures to your letter I would be proud to join you.

WOW Amber,

Wonderful letter!! (and rant!) - and a big THANK YOU for putting into words what so many RESPONSIBLE dog owners of ALL BREEDS feel everytime we read about another tragic and avoidable dog attack or sadly misdirected legislation. I'm inspired - we should all be so diligent and motivated, as there's no way these idiot owners, or unfair laws will be stopped without this kind of educated and vocal protest.

I was deeply disturbed to notice - just yesterday! - that in Ed's article about the danger of wolf hybrids, the state he chose as a representative bad example, with a nasty listing of attacks over a 3 year period, was my beloved home of Vermont! Granted, the dogs in question were *wolf* hybrids, BUT the root of the problem STILL lies in human responsability. Owners of dogs with aggressive tendencies need to be uber vigilant, but the truth is ANY dog, big or small, fluffy or scruffy, macho or meek has the potential to be dangerous out of lack of training, poor socialization, boredom, or abuse and neglect. I, like you and so many others, find it positively baffling as to why the owners of dogs who have aggressivley bitten or attacked are not punished more severely, if at all. And I whole heartedly believe in revoking ones right to have a dog if they prove themselves so inexusably incapable. Sorry, we may live in a free society, but we all have to live here together and if you can't manage your dog - to the degree that it causes physical injury to others - and ESPECIALLY if it happens MORE THAN ONCE - than you don't get to have one. Period.

The really sad thing about all of this is that yet again it's the animals that end up paying the deepest price for the stupid actions of their humans. Whether it's the backyard pit bull who is teased, abused and forced into aggression (and eventually euthanization if it ever bites anyone), or the cupcake, sweetheart of a Rottie family dog who's owners are forced to give her up after a breed ban - these dogs deserve the respect and lifelong commitment of their owners, and one way or another, they are failed. Shame on us.

Kelly,
Great post as well. I'm really impressed to learn how tightly controlled falconry is in this country and I think it's a nice correlation. The sheer number of dogs in the US (and the great quantity of moron owners) would make instituting similar regulations a real nightmare, but it's always helpful to problem solve by looking at other systems that have proven successful.

I'm not even going to touch the gun issue on this board.

~Natalya

 Quote: susan tuck

I venture to say many of us would want to show our support of what you have proposed. If it would help at all to add additional signatures to your letter I would be proud to join you.

Ditto!!!

I am considering starting a petition to get penalties for owners of dogs like these. One of the good things about living in a small town is that the locals have more of a voice in what happens in their towns. I'm not sure what say the selectmen have on law enforcement...but at the very least it would be a voice to counteract all of the people who are screaming to ban select breeds.

For some reason, the breed-banners seem to be shouting a lot louder than the reasonable people who see what's really happining. People who are responsible dog owners of these breeds are basically just shaking their heads and worrying that their dog could be banned (I know I was). I think it's time that they start getting a lot louder and more visable.

If you so much as leave your car parked past the meter time you get a penalty. How is it that these people who will not control their dogs have zero culpability? Sure, they can lose their dogs...but there are always more dogs to get.

Awhile back, there was a story about these local pit bull breeders who decapitated a friend's pit bull as some sort of revenge. The upshot of the whole thing is that they were fined for kennel violations. No consequence at all for what they did to the dog.

I just don't understand.

 Quote: amber morgan

....I just don't understand.

There's a lot of things I don't understand.

I like your letter, I also like your title for this thread "Idiot dog owner attacks kids" because that's EXACTLY what a dog attack is, it's the owner of the dog doing the attacking because of their irresponsibility - they are LETTING their dogs loose to attack whomever they want. That's the direction to go in for making owners responsible and I think your letter basically states that.

It's the same as leaving a loaded gun, cocked and ready to go, on the sidewalk, then saying "it's not my fault someone picked it up and pulled the trigger". I'm sure there would be a penalty for that. But leave a loose dog to run around and attack someone or another animal - how can the owner NOT be to blame.

Maybe a class action suit against the city for not enforcing loose dog laws would help to put some responsibility on them for enforcing the laws they make. Shake them up a little.

Have you sent this letter yet, Amber?

Yes, I sent it this morning. They have a 200 word limit for their letters to the editor, but they do occassionally make exceptions on hot topics. I asked if they would consider doing so in this case, as they only have to look at the intense amount of debate on the comments secion of their online version.

As an former freelance journalist, I know how selective editing can completely change the tone of the original piece. I hope they don't do that with mine, but there's not a lot I can do about it.