One of our Volunteers/Adopters is having her letter published in the Vancouver Sun, you should expect to see it either Monday or Tuesday of this coming week, but for those that don't get the paper, here is what Arlene had to say.
I have owned dogs all my life and I currently own two pit bulls - both rescued from irresponsible owners. I am also a mauling victim - survived a vicious attack by a German Shephard when I was six - 158 stitches and six hours of facial surgery later - I have the scars to prove it. So I see both sides of the fence.....I am also a mother and yes, my son is actively involved in the lives of my two house-pit-bulls. So here is my opinion on a few things -
Responsible ownership of any breed - big and small- is imperative. This doesn't just mean having them on a leash - it means knowing what triggers, upsets, frightens or excites your dog and controlling it's environment to ensure the safety of all. Whether you own a toy poodle or a Mastiff - training is critical both to have control but also to build a bond between handler and dog. It is very time consuming but hey...if you don't want to spend the time, then you shouldn't own the pet.
Breed specific legislation scares me. The people that want vicious dogs will just move to another breed and it takes by far too long for the imperfect legislation to keep up. Instead, I prefer to have Owner Specific Legislation - in other words if you want to own any pet, you need to qualify for ownership (maybe show proof of seminars taken or training) and if your animal should ever cause harm to any human - harsh penalties should be imposed - including, in extreme cases,a ban from ever owning another animal. A little big brother - but in theory it would force the owners to be more accountable and responsible.
To this day, I have no idea what I ever did to invoke my attack - and I never will know.....I am very impressed with the father of this young boy and I truly believe that the father and his family will provide the support and guidance to their son to overcome the psychological and emotional wounds as well as the physical wounds.
No breed is the perfect breed for everyone....my wish would be that before any person buys, adopts or rescues an animal that they fully research the breed and responsibilities attached to owning that breed. For me, pit bulls are a fit, but I didn't run out and get one overnight - it was a fully researched decision. Is a poodle for me? Nope....but my girlfriend loves her poodle!
In closing I am a strong supporter of responsible ownership. Owning any dog is alot of work and is a huge time commitment if you want to do it properly. I truly believe in "Blame the hand that leads, not the breed"
- Arlene G. Lambert
Arlene's dogs left to right - Beef (Hug alumi) and Coco Bean relaxing in the sun
1 comment:
[quote].I am very impressed with the father of this young boy and I truly believe that the father and his family will provide the support and guidance to their son to overcome the psychological and emotional wounds as well as the physical wounds.[/quote]
I was also until they hired a doggie Ambulance chasing lawyer to sue everyone under the Sun.
I guess money is going to help the "nightmares" stop, which the father keeps mentioning over and over again.
I`d like to know exactly what happened in this case.
The dogs shouldn`t have been loose,that goes without saying but I suspect there`s more to the story.
Possibly fear of dogs(which may or may not be "Pit Bulls") heightened by all the media hype led to
this kid striking at the dogs first out of fear?
Maybe they reacted to that.
Who knows?
This all sounds a little fishy to me especially with all the Defendants they`re suing.
Sounds like a Get rich scheme at this point.
It`s too bad this kid and parents don`t just ask the Dog Owner for any out of pocket expenses and get back to their lives.
Oh well,the promise of a big payout may be too much to resist.
I feel sorry for the RCMP and the SPCA having to defend against this nonsense.
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