• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Dog owner responsibility

Should a dog owner be punished?

  • Total voters
    44
OscarB63 said:
so even though the owner may have done everything within his power to keep the dog on his property, he should spend 20 years in prison because the dog escaped?

there is more to this story than meets the eye. dogs, even trained attack dogs, don't just attack people for no reason. someone/something triggered this attack.
Click to expand...

Your wrong about dogs not attacking people for nothing Oscar...pit bulls do it all the time in florida...and right behind me a Sheriffs Deputy had her k9 atack dog penned and the dog was recently taken from her for attacking and biting two neighbors and the sheriffs dept having two lawsuits on them.
In fla there are constant reports of unprovoked dog attacks....something has to be done to control DOG OWNERS and make them more responsible for the pets they are responsible for....people shouldnt be afraid to go to their mailbox or walk their pets or ride a bike or walk their neighborhold...
 
I'd like more information. In one article linked on this thread, the statement was made that there were relatives standing in the home's driveway. I have my front door open and am standing on the porch or in the yard while whomever stopped by is in the driveway. But what we don't have are facts. Neighbors hadn't seen the dog, and we don't know how the dog got out. We also don't know whether somebody, maybe a kid, was provoking the dog.
 
lpast said:
Your wrong about dogs not attacking people for nothing Oscar...pit bulls do it all the time in florida...and right behind me a Sheriffs Deputy had her k9 atack dog penned and the dog was recently taken from her for attacking and biting two neighbors and the sheriffs dept having two lawsuits on them.
In fla there are constant reports of unprovoked dog attacks....something has to be done to control DOG OWNERS and make them more responsible for the pets they are responsible for....people shouldnt be afraid to go to their mailbox or walk their pets or ride a bike or walk their neighborhold...
Click to expand...

yeah and the punk kid who was throwing rocks at my neighbor's dog swore up and down that the dog attacked him for no reason too. easy to claim "the dog attacked for no reason" since the dog can't give its side of the story.
 
nota bene said:
I'd like more information. In one article linked on this thread, the statement was made that there were relatives standing in the home's driveway. I have my front door open and am standing on the porch or in the yard while whomever stopped by is in the driveway. But what we don't have are facts. Neighbors hadn't seen the dog, and we don't know how the dog got out. We also don't know whether somebody, maybe a kid, was provoking the dog.
Click to expand...

doesn't matter :2bigcry: the owner is repsonsible. he should've had the dog encased in kryptonite and in his hip pocket 24/7/365
 
lpast said:
Your wrong about dogs not attacking people for nothing Oscar...pit bulls do it all the time in florida...and right behind me a Sheriffs Deputy had her k9 atack dog penned and the dog was recently taken from her for attacking and biting two neighbors and the sheriffs dept having two lawsuits on them.
In fla there are constant reports of unprovoked dog attacks....something has to be done to control DOG OWNERS and make them more responsible for the pets they are responsible for....people shouldnt be afraid to go to their mailbox or walk their pets or ride a bike or walk their neighborhold...
Click to expand...

....

K9 attack dogs are attack dogs. I hardly think that an attack dog that does its job is a fair representative of the canine species as a whole, in terms of willingness to attack humans.
 
lardbeetle said:
....

K9 attack dogs are attack dogs. I hardly think that an attack dog that does its job is a fair representative of the canine species as a whole, in terms of willingness to attack humans.
Click to expand...

even K9 attack dogs will not attack without reason. either they are told to do so by the trainer or the person exhibits behavior that the dog has been trained to interpret as threatening or dangerous.
 
OscarB63 said:
yeah and the punk kid who was throwing rocks at my neighbor's dog swore up and down that the dog attacked him for no reason too. easy to claim "the dog attacked for no reason" since the dog can't give its side of the story.
Click to expand...

I dont deny things like that occur...but when you get nailed at your mailbox by two pitbulls and the attack continues long enough for your wife to hear you yells and call 911 and when the sheriff deputies arrive they have to shoot and kill both dogs after they attacked them...its not hard to see that a kid throwing rocks wasnt the cause....that incident with that man being attacked going to his mailbox happened and was reported less than two weeks ago here....
 
lpast said:
I dont deny things like that occur...but when you get nailed at your mailbox by two pitbulls and the attack continues long enough for your wife to hear you yells and call 911 and when the sheriff deputies arrive they have to shoot and kill both dogs after they attacked them...its not hard to see that a kid throwing rocks wasnt the cause....that incident with that man being attacked going to his mailbox happened and was reported less than two weeks ago here....
Click to expand...

I have had a lot of dogs over the years, I trained every one of them NOT to bite,dogs need to be controlled by thier owner if not the owner should be held liable for what every the dog does. I live in a neighbor hood where dog owners think that just having a dog on a leash means the dog is controlled, I have had large dogs drag thier owners when they wanted to get to me and or my dog, I now carry an emergency boat horn, a can of pepper spray and an aluminum bat. I use the horn to turn an attacking dog,if it does not stop I would use the pepper spray and if that fails I would use the bat first on the dog but the real problem is not the dog it is the owner, a dog in the wrong hands is just as bad as a gun in the wrong hands. Owners should be held liable and suffer the consequences of thier actions
 
I can't answer the question because, as previously stated, we don't know all the circumstances. Was the dog trained for violence? Did the owner make reasonable attempts to constrain the dog? Had the owners of the home ever provoked the dog? Has this dog ever been reported for inappropriate behavior?

There are just too many questions about this case to be certain as to the proper penalty. However, I would say, that in general you are responsible for your pets. ALL ANIMALS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE VIOLENT! They are, after all, animals. They have instincts and those instincts can and do over power even the best training. Dogs are very good at escaping confinement and it is unfortunate that someone lost their life, but as a dog owner your responsibility is to keep your dog confined so as to prevent a situation where instincts take over and the unthinkable happens. Most likely this owner should face a charge equal to or similar to involuntary man slaughter.
 
ksu_aviator said:
I can't answer the question because, as previously stated, we don't know all the circumstances. Was the dog trained for violence? Did the owner make reasonable attempts to constrain the dog? Had the owners of the home ever provoked the dog? Has this dog ever been reported for inappropriate behavior?

There are just too many questions about this case to be certain as to the proper penalty. However, I would say, that in general you are responsible for your pets. ALL ANIMALS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE VIOLENT! They are, after all, animals. They have instincts and those instincts can and do over power even the best training. Dogs are very good at escaping confinement and it is unfortunate that someone lost their life, but as a dog owner your responsibility is to keep your dog confined so as to prevent a situation where instincts take over and the unthinkable happens. Most likely this owner should face a charge equal to or similar to involuntary man slaughter.
Click to expand...

Theres alot of common sense in this post...and each case has to be thoroughly investigated and there shouldnt be a cut and dried law t hat says any dog that hurts a person the owner gets shafted...there are mitigating circumstances in all cases....
 
I hate dogs... truly hate them....

I hate them when I see them walking/running loose when I am on my bike... I hate them when people are walking them unleashed around the park (illegal where I live) and getting in the way where I and others are running... I hate the dogs on the floor below mine that bark during the night... I truly hate and loathe the creatures...

If your dog does something to harm another person, you have responsibility for that harm done... end of story...
 
ludahai said:
I hate dogs... truly hate them....

I hate them when I see them walking/running loose when I am on my bike... I hate them when people are walking them unleashed around the park (illegal where I live) and getting in the way where I and others are running... I hate the dogs on the floor below mine that bark during the night... I truly hate and loathe the creatures...

If your dog does something to harm another person, you have responsibility for that harm done... end of story...
Click to expand...

I promise to never ask you to puppy sit for me ;)
 
Labrodor Retriever Attacks Boy

I have kids, and I have always had dogs - nice, friendly, family dogs. But, dogs of any kind can and will hurt people given the right set of circumstances. It may vary dog-to-dog, but if they are cornered, if their "pack" is threatened, or, if like many people over the years they just "snap", they can do some serious damage. When I was a kid, a great dane in our neighborhood put an adult former football player in the hospital. We all used to pet that dog all the time.

Personal responsibility is rapidly becoming an antiquated idea in our country. Should dog owners be held responsible for their dogs? Of course! The government doesn't force you to own a dog. Should it be criminal? - good question. It depends on degrees of intent, negligence, etc. But, given a certain degree of intent and negligence, jailtime should be on the table.

At the same time, accidents happen. Not to sound too heartless, but what if a raccoon had "broken" into the house and mauled the child to death? The existence of dogs lowers the chance of other types of tragedies from happening. Of course, so does shutting the door to your house before you go to sleep. Should a parent be held negligent for not reasonably protecting their child against animals? Details matter on both sides. What happens if a farmer's cow walks into the road in front of oncoming traffic? Was there a fence? Was the driver drunk? All punishment (civil and criminal) should be on the table, but reason has to be applied to the facts as they can be determined.
 
ludahai said:
I hate dogs... truly hate them....

I hate them when I see them walking/running loose when I am on my bike... I hate them when people are walking them unleashed around the park (illegal where I live) and getting in the way where I and others are running... I hate the dogs on the floor below mine that bark during the night... I truly hate and loathe the creatures...

If your dog does something to harm another person, you have responsibility for that harm done... end of story...
Click to expand...

What do you have against dogs?
 
First off, this dog was "part pit bull terrier". Funny how they don't mention what the other parts were. The sensationalistic media isn't interested in golden retriever attacks.

Secondly, the worst thing you can do is run from a dog you think may be aggressive. You should stand still. Any movement may trigger the dog's prey drive or be seen as threatening to the dog.

Lastly, unless the dog's owner sent the dog out to attack, they should not serve jail time. I think fines should suffice. No one owns a dog with the intent of the dog killing children.
 
Thorgasm said:
First off, this dog was "part pit bull terrier". Funny how they don't mention what the other parts were. The sensationalistic media isn't interested in golden retriever attacks.

Secondly, the worst thing you can do is run from a dog you think may be aggressive. You should stand still. Any movement may trigger the dog's prey drive or be seen as threatening to the dog.

Lastly, unless the dog's owner sent the dog out to attack, they should not serve jail time. I think fines should suffice. No one owns a dog with the intent of the dog killing children.
Click to expand...

I sorta' understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure why anyone has a responsibility to know how to act around your dog? Do you know how to act around my crocodile? He's very friendly to my family ...

And, I'm also not sure why jailtime would have to only occur if someone intended to cause others suffering. Do you think that drunk drivers should only be guilty of a crime only if they intended to drive into someone? People should really know how to react to a drunk driver.

Should an arson only serve time if they deliberately set a person on fire or is setting the fire enough if it causes someone to burn? Stop, drop, and roll you fool!

I got thrown out of a bar one night, so I went out to my car, got my gun, and fired it into the front door in protest - I wasn't aiming for anyone, it just hit them. Man am I sorry - how about I buy a round for everyone?

If you'll look at a previous post of mine you'll see I'm not against dogs at all. But, all punishment should be on the table and distributed justly. Dogs are not a necessity - you don't have to have one. And, yes, I think if it can be proved that a certain breed is more likely to cause injury to people, the owner should be held to a higher standard of accountability. If you have a toy poodle and I have a mountain lion and they both attack someone - yours gets laughed at and mine kills its victim, I deserve a much harsher punishment. Afterall, I knew my mountain lion was more dangerous than your toy poodle when I decided to get it.
 
I'm going to have to disagree with you. I think having a dog is for some a necessity.
 
GreenvilleGrows said:
I sorta' understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure why anyone has a responsibility to know how to act around your dog? Do you know how to act around my crocodile? He's very friendly to my family ...
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to shift blame to the victim. I'm just educating people on what they should do when they encounter a dog that is aggressive. It may help keep them from being attacked. If there is a way to prevent an attack wouldn't you want to know how?

GreenvilleGrows said:
And, I'm also not sure why jailtime would have to only occur if someone intended to cause others suffering. Do you think that drunk drivers should only be guilty of a crime only if they intended to drive into someone? People should really know how to react to a drunk driver.
Click to expand...

Owning a dog is not like making a decision to drive under the influence of alcohol.

GreenvilleGrows said:
Should an arson only serve time if they deliberately set a person on fire or is setting the fire enough if it causes someone to burn? Stop, drop, and roll you fool!
Click to expand...

Owning a dog is not like committing arson.

GreenvilleGrows said:
I got thrown out of a bar one night, so I went out to my car, got my gun, and fired it into the front door in protest - I wasn't aiming for anyone, it just hit them. Man am I sorry - how about I buy a round for everyone?
Click to expand...

Owning a dog is not like illegally firing a gun into a bar.

GreenvilleGrows said:
If you'll look at a previous post of mine you'll see I'm not against dogs at all. But, all punishment should be on the table and distributed justly. Dogs are not a necessity - you don't have to have one. And, yes, I think if it can be proved that a certain breed is more likely to cause injury to people, the owner should be held to a higher standard of accountability. If you have a toy poodle and I have a mountain lion and they both attack someone - yours gets laughed at and mine kills its victim, I deserve a much harsher punishment. Afterall, I knew my mountain lion was more dangerous than your toy poodle when I decided to get it.
Click to expand...

Dogs are domesticated animals. They are not like crocodiles or mountain lions. The fear of them is due to media sensationalism. It's an incredibly small minority that cause this hysteria. People should not expect their dogs to go next door and kill a child. That's why as long as the owner took reasonable measures to contain their dog, this is not negligence. Sometimes dogs do get out and alterations to structures need to be made. Unless the owner fails to make necessary alterations, I don't see it as negligence.
 
They do? What "service" would this be?
 
I know what a service dog is. I've never seen a pit in service, though, only German shepherds.
 
nota bene said:
I know what a service dog is. I've never seen a pit in service, though, only German shepherds.
Click to expand...

Cesar Milan and Shorty Rossi both have pit bulls that are service dog certified.
 
nota bene said:
I know what a service dog is. I've never seen a pit in service, though, only German shepherds.
Click to expand...

Cesar Milan and Shorty Rossi both have pit bulls that are service dog certified.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom