Posted 8 months, 20 days ago in 
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When will Colorado join other states in banning violent dog breeds?
Two of my three small children had to watch in absolute horror as their cat was attacked and killed in front of them yesterday in our own yard by two sharpei dogs.
When a person at the dogs’ home was confronted about the situation, the only response I got was, “Which cat?”
Animal Control picked up the dogs pending an investigation, two of several in the home, but that does very little for the trauma my wife and I had to face, including what I presume was the first of many sleepless nights.
There simply is no excuse for animals like these to be loose at any time!
KEVIN MCCHESNEY
Grand Junction
12 Responses to “Violent dogs”
Posted March 6th, 2008 at 4:09 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
The problem is not the breed of dog, it is the owner. It is the owners responsiblity to raise and train their dog. It is also the responsibility of the cat owner to provide a safe environment. Too many cat owners just allow them to run loose outside and they become everyone else’s problem. I would like to see a ban on bad animal owners! I think they need to charge both owners since they are both at fault.
Posted March 6th, 2008 at 7:30 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
Indeed SunnyGJ. It isn’t the dog breed, banning a dog breed is a blanket “solution” that misses the real causes of the problem, bad training. Think logically people, it’s poor decisions by humans that cause the problems so it is the humans who should be held responsible.
Posted March 6th, 2008 at 7:47 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
I saw a Dodge pickup run a red light once. S’pose we oughta ban Dodges instead of slapping the stupid driver for trying to kill other drivers?
Maybe it was a ford…?
No, I think it was a Nissan…..
Let’s just get rid of everything.
As long as we don’t blame the moron in charge of whatever is causing the problem.
Posted March 6th, 2008 at 8:33 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
I guess I should have expected such replies. But let me add the cat in question was an inside cat, that was taken out into the front yard for my children to play with. In less than five minutes, the dogs came into my yard and the safe environment was betrayed by, yes, lousy pet owners. While I certainly agree that the pet owner’s are largely to blame, breeding does play a role in behavior, just like in humans I suspect! My cat never left my yard, and sunnygj, from your comments, the evidence obviously matters little in your “charge them both” philosophy! Willis from the other posts of yours I’ve read, it would seem that you are only for it, if you brought it up!
Posted March 7th, 2008 at 6:29 am Login to Send PM Report this comment
Naw, if it was my cat, both dogs would have failed to make it off my property.
My fence is high enough to keep *most* stray animals from intruding.
And you and your kids do have my deepest sympathies.
But, the fact still remains, the dogs were kept by people with little, if any, knowledge of controlling their specific breed.
Just like a lot of people who possess various breeds, they stand back, point to their animals, and say “see? looky there what I got.”
And promptly absolve themselves of any blame for NOT preparing themselves or their animals for breed specific problems that may arise.
The way I see it, your cat was a special breed.
Slap a $20,000 lien on their property for your loss. Then neglect to mention it.
Just sit back and let it draw the maximum allowed interest until they want to sell or refinance.
Posted March 7th, 2008 at 12:36 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
Well if the kids were “playing” with the cat (Playing what? Fetch?!!?) Wouldnt your children have gotten hurt too?
Posted March 7th, 2008 at 1:58 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
This is a sad situation. I am so sorry for the letter writer and especially his children.
I live in the neighborhood, in fact next door to the dogs. The owner is a nice young lady but has been in over her head with these dogs for a while.’
Another sad chapter is the nine puppies (the second litter) who are going all over the city. And what do we want to bet the people who take these puppies will bee any more responsible, or know any more about the breed, or not make more !@#$-ing puppies of their own?
… So the cycle continues.
But I can not support a breed specific ban. Any breed can be dangerous when not managed properly. There are also several pit bulls in our neighborhood who are always contained behind proper fences or on leashes, not to mention spayed/neutered, licensed, well trained and socialized, etc. Yet under a breed ban these harmless dogs would be hauled away (maybe in front of THEIR owners’ children) and taken to be put down. It has been happening in Aurora and Denver for years.
Posted March 7th, 2008 at 2:02 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
P.S. to NOExcuses, just because a dog kills a cat doesn’t necessarily mean it would hurt a child. Having interacted with these particular dogs on occasion, I didn’t find them to be human-aggressive.
Posted March 7th, 2008 at 10:05 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
Mr. McChesney my sympathies go out to you and your family for the loss of your pet, but BSL is NOT the solution. Denver authorities have taken over 3500 pit bulls from their owners, and many have moved out of the city to avoid having their pets euthanized. Surely you don’t want the whole state to be like that???
The owners of those dogs are the problem, NOT the dogs. They don’t know how to manage their animals. Make your case to the authorities that the dogs’ owners need to be held accountable.
Posted March 9th, 2008 at 1:06 am Login to Send PM Report this comment
Blaming the animal is not the answer. That is the shallow minded thinking of a lot of people. Aggressive animals are due to the way they have been raised and miss treated just like most aggressive adults in prison, not due to breed or nationality or color. Saying all pitbulls (for example) are aggressive before you know the dog is saying african americans, or germans, or mexicans are all aggressive before you have met the person. Aggressive animal owners should have charges brought against them similar to child abuse charges in my opnion. However we as private people in our own happy little worlds cannot control other people, therefore you have to be practive in your life and surroundings. Meaning if you know that it’s possible that a aggressive dog can stroll into your yard at anytime while you have your kid’s in the yard, then take some responsibility and put up a privacy fence so that it can’t happen. People, please take responsibility for your life, quit blammings others for everything. No one in our society seems to want to take responsibility for their own actions or part in life anymore. Sometimes you just have to be proactive, it’s your life don’t depend on others to solve everything for you. It’s YOUR life……….
Posted March 9th, 2008 at 11:11 am Login to Send PM Report this comment
cov27 … I agree with you that BSL (breed-specific legislation) is not the answer. But Mr. McChesney and his family did NOTHING wrong in this situation. Our neighborhood has always been a place where kids can play in their own yards, privacy fence or not, thank God.
There are not loose dogs roaming the streets on a regular basis; this was an isolated incident.
Calling Mr. McChesney “narrow minded” and suggesting he is to blame for the trauma his family went through is ridiculous. Now if his cat went into the DOG owner’s yard and got killed, I would say that’s just one of the many risks you take if you let your cat roam free. But that is NOT how it happened.
When the debate on BSL comes to our community, those of us who are opposed to it had better realize that blathering and name calling are not going to help us win the battle. Understanding the other person’s point of view, and simple education are the only ways we can keep BSL from happening anywhere.
Posted March 9th, 2008 at 10:41 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
i feel bad that your kids seen that, but maybe your cat should have been on a leash inside a 8ft. fence. o and i love the comment made by willis!
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