Sunday, January 04, 2009

The pit bull next door

Our next door neighbors got a pit bull puppy about 5 months ago. Needless to say, we're not real happy about this. She was really little when they got her. Now she's probably at least 30 pounds and quite a bit bigger than our dog Scott. I think her name is Charra or something like that. Not sure what that means.... probably something bad. We decided that if there was going to be a pit bull next door we wanted her to like us. So we pet her from time to time and give her treats. Phillip doesn't even like dogs and he's been petting her and letting her smell his hand and stuff.

We were out in the back yard earlier this evening so the boys could jump on the trampoline. I was petting the pit bull over the chain link fence and she just decided to come right on over and play. Keep in mind that this dog is about 6 months old and she just climbed right over the fence without much effort. This is bad news, folks. We have two young kids and sissy little yorkie. Our dog is pretty big for a yorkie but he's still dinner for that dog. She probably wouldn't have climbed over the fence if I hadn't been talking to her....this time. But she is very interested in us when we're out in the back yard. I would rather her be interested in us because she likes us rather than because she wants to eat us. We thought she was going to tear Scott up for a second but she was too busy playing. Phillip grabbed Scott and zipped him up in the trampoline with the boys and went over to tell the neighbors to come get her. The owner didn't even apologize. He just said, "She doesn't bite." Are you freaking kidding me??? She's a PIT BULL for goodness sake!!!

So, I'm not really sure what we should do or if there's anything we can do. Right now she's a pretty sweet (huge) puppy but very soon she will be a terrifying dog who could kill my children if she wanted to. I'm hoping the people next door will use their brains and decide to chain her on their own. But these people have been historically very irresponsible and stupid about lots of things over the years so I'm sure this will be no different. Even if we got a privacy fence she could still climb the chain link and then just have another couple feet or so to go over the privacy fence. I'm not really sure if that would keep her out. I guess if we start to feel threatened in our yard we'll have to keep pepper spray on us just in case. I just know that if I'm out in the yard with two little boys and Scott I won't be able to protect all of us from her if she gets aggressive. We'll have to keep OFF out there to keep the mosquitos away and pepper spray to keep the pit bull away.

Do we have any legal rights that any of you know of? What should we do if she gets in our yard again? I don't know if I should call the humane dept. so it's documented or what. I really don't want to make enemies with the people next door but I am really scared of what that dog could do. I know that not all pit bulls are aggressive but they are all extremely strong with very sharp teeth.

22 comments:

debbie said...

Call the police and ask them what you can do about it. Don't take any chances.

Maury said...

a punctured hot dog + clear antifreeze = problem solved

Jenny Hintze said...

I'll keep that in mind, Maury. Thanks.

Andrea said...

Gwen and I recently were in a stand-off with two big boxers when we were out walking. Another story for another day. The humane police said that the owners get one warning (if it's even collared) and then they are fined after that. But they at least have to pay to get their dog out of doggie jail, I think. So, I say, open the gate. I'm not a big fan of irresponsible pet owners, can you tell? Especially when they threaten me or my kids.

Maury said...

In all seriousness, if it gets on your yard, you have the right to call animal control. They'll talk to the peopl.

Just know that it's a big can of worms and the people will act like idiots and hate you guys, but that's no biggie when we're talking about getting mauled, right?

Andrea said...

Or, if you just want to keep being nice, I know someone who makes some really good dog treats. :)

Unknown said...

From what little I read online in a few minutes, they are aggressive toward other dogs and protective toward their family, but don't take to strangers. If he can come over your fence and already has, I would mention it to the police. I've heard that as they get older, they can feel threatened if someone makes an unexpected move, so I wouldn't want him in the backyard with the kids and dog.

csmith4210 said...

Hi Jenny,

Pit Bulls are a breed I'm familiar with. I'm sorry to say that I've seen the worst these dogs can do. Even more than that, however, I've seen the unconditional devotion this breed (more so than others) has toward it's person. Unfortunately, it's that exceptional ability to bond that's made these dogs the status symbol of choice for weak, lowlife degenerates.

The truth is, it's not the puppy you need to worry about, it's your neighbor. Any breed of dog, in the hands of an irresponsible jerk, is going to be dangerous.

I would respectfully suggest two things:

1.) Contact your local humane society. Get it on record that your neighbor has already displayed a lack of regard for basic pet ownership (containment).

2.) Cut all personal ties with Maury as soon as humanly possible. That man is a public hazard. Jeez...


www.loveisthepits.com

Jenny Hintze said...

I'm with you on the Maury thing. ;-)

We'll call them next time it happens. She looked like she was going to climb the fence again yesterday and she changed her mind.

Andrea said...

What if you just left your gate open and let things take care of themselves?

Jenny Hintze said...

We can't leave the gate open because we put Scott out there several times a day to do his thing.

Unknown said...

Jenny, Mike & Kathy have a pit bull living next door to them, with no fence in between. The dog is chained. One day, when Kathy was sitting in the backyard, the dog broke the chain, out of the blue, and ended up running over and knocking her out of her chair. So they can break a chain.

Maury said...

@Charity: that wasn't a very charitable thing to say to me. And don't be so touchy about Pitbulls — the anti-freeze/hot dog combo will work with ANY breed.

latchkey said...

I have lived in a co op for 9 yrs. A couple in the apt their door is perpendicular to my door just got a 3 yr old pitbull. The co-op has the rule no agressive breeds but the people are getting away with keeping the dog because they are telling the mgm't company that their do is bull dog terrier mixed breed....I have repeatedly told the mgm't company that all pitbulls are bull dog terrier mixes but they say what are we supposed to do the couple said the dog is not a pit bull. I am terrifed to walk in and out of my apt now I missed the dog by seconds this morning. I have a mortgage here and I can't just walk away from my apt. I am terrified I will encounter this dog in the hall and since it is 3 yrs old, raised by someone else the behavior is not completely known. The couple said the dog only barks for a few minutes when they leave the one day it barked for an hour and a half because it heard me talking in my apt. I am so scared..

Beth said...

Ginny,

About 2 months ago, we rescued a Pit mix (she looks like) from the pound. We asked the handlers which dogs were the best that they would recommend that day (we have young children, too) and "Chili" (she was shivering in the rain storm in the outdoor kennels) was one of them. She was about 4 months old.

She's now 6 months old and has been an incredible addition to our family. The vet assures us people are who make dogs mean. (I was bitten by a Lab when I was younger and still have a scar on my eyelid.)

We know the breed traits and we are socializing her every day. Dog parks, people in the yard, kids, older people, etc. However, as sweet and cute as she is, we just found out that our neighbor across the street is horrified that she looks like she's "100% Pit" (his words) and his daughter, an animal lover of ALL animals, is not supposed to interact with her or let their (mean, unsocialized but pure bred herding type)interact with our dog.

I know people fight breeds like our's looks, but we do not hit her, we are training and socializing her -- my goodness, "Petey" from the Little Rascals was a Pit.

I jumped on the internet to find out why people are so afraid of this dog breed. I've been bitten by a lab, a Beagle and two Chihuahuas -- threatened by a German Shepherd and an Akita -- ANY dog can bite or attack. I am crushed that so many people want to euthanize an entire breed of dog because some are raised to be mean.

Can you give us an update on the neighbor's dog? How is it now?

Also, the neighbor's dog across the street (another herding pure bred dog) is mean too. It's ALWAYS running across the street to our yard and barks threatening towards us. Should we call the animal warden on her, too? Or just when it's certain breeds?

Thanks for your insight.

Beth

Miss Olivia said...

So the dog has not done any damage, it allows you to pet and feed it, and jumped the fence one time to play? Sounds terrifying! Sounds to me like your just another coward afraid of recognizing yourself as what you truly are a prejudice yuppy. Think about it if your neighbors looked like you and had a yellow lab would you care?

Dontask said...

YOu're not as creative or special as you think you are that dog probably had or has far more integrity and character than your disillusioned family. It's illegal to chain any dog as a vet tech chihuahuas and yorkies are much more aggressive than bullies. I despise people like you you're nothing more than another bored housewife with too much time on your hands. Yet another prime example of the uneducated voice of America. Chain yourself up and rid us of your stupidity. Dogs live the way they were raised, just like you're raising your kids to be prejudice twerps with no backbone and an undeserved sense of uniqueness....just go over and ask the neighbor to keep her inside before you read her wrong and attack her.

Unknown said...

Same here, except the pitbulls when they grew up 11 months old. MAULED my dog and bit me. Yes that cute little puppy just climbed right over the fence. And ATTACKED.

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Unknown said...
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Deb said...

People are afraid ofthis breed because they go for the face and bite to kill. Where have you been. I saw a puppy put his toy ball in his mouth and he savagely jerked it back and forth. Why would you want that in your house around your kids.

Mike said...

Just ignore psychopath Maury. It's a crime to kill pets.