Vicious Dogs: Email from a Concerned Resident

How should residents react when dangerous animals are loose in their neighborhoods and the problem is chronic? 

I'll preface this post with a disclaimer:  I am a lifelong pet owner and dog lover-- and I am also a supporter of good public policy on animal control.  I support pet spaying/neutering, adoptions, and also I support the move to a "no-kill" animal shelter.

As a political candidate in multiple elections, I walked to thousands of doors in Escambia County and I can report that a huge percentage of the houses I visited over the years had at least one dog on the premise--and I met a lot of them.  The scary scenario was when dogs were loose, and I had a couple of incidents where I had dogs come after me.  Luckily-it all ended well and I was able to get to safety.  But it is an unnerving sight to see a fence door wide open (or with sections missing) with a prominent "Beware of Dog" sign affixed to it.....I've seen that situation many times as well.  It is especially scary when you hear loud barking or growling from these houses--it is sobering.

Full Disclosure:  I am a lifelong pet owner and dog lover

About three years ago, I was minding my own business at my house and my Goldendoodle Rocky was on the front porch.  Suddenly he was attacked by two vicious Rhodesian Ridge back dogs that were loose in the neighborhood.  I quickly grabbed my pistol and (probably foolishly) opened the door to try and save Rocky.  Luckily for everyone--I did not have to kill the other dogs, and Rocky was not badly injured as I was able to get him separated and put inside.  It was unnerving.  The two dogs were subsequently captured by County Animal control, I met the owner who apologized profusely (the dogs escaped from her back yard), and eventually these dogs came home and were re-united with their owner.  But not all such incidents have happy endings......as illustrated in an email I received recently.

 The below email from a citizen is  rational, balanced, yet concerned.  He has legitimate points.

At the end of the day, though, the responsibility for  these issues lies squarely at the feet of the
owner (s) of such animals. And I do not support "outlawing" certain breeds based upon anecdotal evidence, statistics, or other data that is not scientifically valid.  But animals that are aggressive must be contained and segregated from the general public--and when that does not happen there MUST be meaningful action taken immediately.  If that does not occur, all bets are off and bad things can happen, as described here:

"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX,

 I want to start off by saying that my family has two dogs (XXXXX and XXXXXX) and my email is in no way an attempt to degrade other pet owners or discount the home security that comes with owning larger breeds.  With that said, we have lived @ XXXXXXXXX. for about 5 years now and overall enjoy our neighborhood.  In that time, I have personally witnessed two different animal attacks involving pit bulls and have heard of several others from neighbors. 

The first attack I witnessed started out by the owner of the pit bulls forgetting to latch the gate.  The two dogs were roaming the neighborhood and ended up attacking a smaller dog.  The owner of the smaller dog ended the attack by shooting and killing both of the pit bulls.  

The second attack happened yesterday afternoon. I am not sure how this one started but another neighbor and I responded to the owner of the victim (cat) when she was hysterical over her pet 

being attacked.  She was able to separate the animals but her cat did not make it.  The owners of the pit bulls were able to corral their dogs and secure them, however that does not change the fact that a loved pet was killed due to the lack of responsibility displayed by the owners of the dangerous breed.

These are not new stories and thousands have been witnessed and told over decades of pit bull ownership throughout our country.  Let's not forget the most tragic events that claim human victims.  Thankfully our neighborhood has not experienced that level of trauma since we have been residents.  It is only a matter of time, however, since our neighborhood has many children ranging from infants to teens.  While the loss of a pet is tragic, I cannot even begin to imagine how these emotions would escalate if/when a child is attacked.

While my family or myself have not been victims of these attacks, I feel a responsibility as an educated home owner and tax payer to bring these events and concerns to my elected official.  I do understand that the Code of Ordinances addresses dangerous dogs in section 10-14, however when my wife spoke with XXXXXXXXXXXyesterday afternoon, she was told that someone would be investigating over the next few days.  There was no physical response.

I know "these things take time" but meanwhile, the residents of our neighborhood are blind to the fact that we have dangerous dogs in our neighborhood aside from neighbor chats. Several neighbors walk our block and more than half of them have their leashed pets with them.  Let's not allow this to escalate into the maiming of humans before more concise action is taken.

XXXXXXXXXXX

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