Animals like unborn children “don’t” have a voice. Animals are God’s creatures born on earth too. No animal deserves pain and suffering because of humans with no conscience.
Everyone should fight for what they believe in and help others “no matter what.”
Life begins when the organism can reasonably be expected to support itself (though doesn’t necessarily end when that condition is no longer met – the perils of being sentient).
Since humans are sentient and have risen above the biological imperitive to procreate we do have a choice in the matter. We do experience sex as a pleasure and can (and should) have the expectation of being able to control when and how we generate our offspring. Since I don’t think life begins until the organism has a reasonble chance of surviving on its own, I don’t see anything wrong with controlling the creation of life.
With that being said, once life has been created it should be protected. That is especially true for life that has no voice of its own.
OK lastbat, do you mean self-support or automated support?
One of the shortest gestation periods on record is 22 weeks – live birth, baby lived.
I had a CSR that delivered 2 months early – first days were by life support, but all fine now – happy healthy 7 year old.
Oh, and by the way – not even a full-term baby can “support itself.” It must be fed by mom, dad or someone, or it will die.
Some kids can’t “support themselves” until well into their 20’s (I’m obviously being facetious).
“Controlling the creation of life.” I agree, you can control it by not creating it in the first place – once it’s created, you must protect it.
Our second child was a complete and total surprise and truly not planned – however ending the life growing inside my wife NEVER was a consideration. My daughter is the puzzle piece that we didn’t know was missing.
The growing baby is not inorganic, thus it has to be classified as life. And it does sense pain, light and hunger.
I’m not on a “high horse,” as you so eloquently put it. I’m simply expressing my opinion, which is what this “Post a Comment” section if for.
It’s for those intelligent enough to construct an argument as opposed to those who can only construct an attack against those with whom they don’t agree.
Anyone who disagrees with me is OK by me; they are free to post such. And I’m happy to read their comments.
It doesn’t matter if I agree or disagree, only that we can have a constructive “conversation.”
I feel that with every action there is an equal or greater reaction. For instance, if you smoke you don’t get to say, hey I am NOT going to get cancer. Cancer, stay away from me. It could or could not happen. If you have sex, you could or could not have a child. I am not trying to equate a child with getting cancer, but to me if you are going to have sex, there are certain “consequences” or outcomes that can occur. I certainly don’t think I am morally superior for thinking that abortion is just a way to avoid taking responsibility for ones action. I just think, I hear a lot of people on here talk a big game about taking responsibility for your actions. Not having an abortion when you chose to have sex is one way of taking responsibility.
I am one of the animal lovers that spent over $6000 for chemo for my cat. I had 6 months with her that I wouldn’t have had. (and no, she didn’t suffer until the last few days- she had no ill effects from the chemo or I would have stopped) I also adopted two very sick cats from the Humane Society that I spent another $2000 getting back to health. I still owe about $500 on the bills. I would do it again tomorrow if I had to.
I’d like to see the Humane Society sue Michael Vick for the money that has been spent trying to rehabilitate the dogs that he kept caged and trained to fight.
I agree with Amazed. It kills me too how high and mighty people get concerning animals. I don’t see people applying the same passion to the genocide occurring in Darfur or violent activity across the globe in general. Animals are the lowest priority in my opinion and I regard protecting other human life to be a better goal.
And also, it is so much more easy to fight for animals than it is for other humans. PEOPLE need to control the pet population for one thing.I am a dog lover as much as the next person but I’ll be doggone (no pun intended) if I’ll be crazy enough to leave money to it. A child and a dog/cat/whatever are two TOTALLY different sets of beings. The quote Dustin made can be applied to animal owners too. if you can’t pay for the offspring of lower animals then you need to spade of neuter them (also goes for pedophiles). If you want to pay for chemo as you consider this as a child to you – fine. But I have seen people regard children and their pets to be on the same level and that’s ridiculous. I’ll save my child BEFORE I save a pet. You get over them. Children you don’t just get over. I also am NOT a PETA fan as these people have WAY TOO MUCH time on their hands to fly about the country protesting and have states change laws where injury, molesting, murdering children penalities are the same as hurting/killing an animal.
BUT, this is a world where some babies are better off not being born. Too many kids actually kill their newborn babies because they couldn’t get an abortion. (parental consent or couldn’t afford, about an even split)
Drug addicts that refuse to give up the drugs- what child deserves those kind of defects? People that have been convicted of abusing or killing their children. Let’s just give them another one? (I’d prefer sterilization for that, but the ACLU has an issue with that)
You can fight for the rights of an unborn baby till you’re blue in the face. Guess that’s easier then fighting for the ones already here and suffering. I don’t see any of the so-called ‘pro-lifers’ offering to take any drug addict born, AIDS infected, or otherwise ‘NOT’ perfect babies home to raise. There will be thousands more of them if Roe V Wade is ever overturned.
I’d rather see the effort and the money go to fight for the ones that are already here and need it more.
I would say that abusing an animal is nearly as bad as abusing a child for 2 reasons. I believe that studies have shown where abuse of animals leads to other worse acts of violence (presumably against humans). 2nd, animals are defenseless against a person who is abusing them. I fight it heartbreaking what people will do to dogs. I am a huge dog lover. I have 2, and I am currently doing physical therapy with one to avoid an expensive surgery on her ACL’s. Both were deteriorated and through 3 months of rehab one is much better and the other is healing. Not having children, I can’t speak to that aspect. My heart hurts when I think about life without Peaches and Peyton.
Vick has already paid $1MM dollars for that. He isn’t and won’t be the last person to participate in the illicit dog fighting business. Now if they prosecute more of the rednecks who really started this “sport” in the first place I would really appreciate it. There people of all persuasion that are involved so get off Vick – that’s old news and I am sick and tired of people jumping on the wagon. I haven’t seen where the regular jo-smo has been thrown to the wolves as much as he has. He’s lost alot already, thank you very much. Doesn’t excuse him but really I think this country has been screwed royally by the current administration than worrying about an NFL player.
I love animals too, but they are NOT on the same level as human being. Abuse against them is horrible, but NOT the same as abuse of a human being. For those of you who say animals and humans ARE on the same level, where do you draw the line? Abusing dogs & cats is unacceptable, but chicken and beef are mighty tasty? I really hope you aren’t that hypocritical!
It is a proven fact that most murderers started out with animals. 98% of serial killers did. So for that reason, I do agree with making the laws against animal cruelty as severe as murder. One does lead to another in a very large percent of cases. Most domestic abuse victims testify that the spouse began abusing the animals before their wives.
And as far as I’m concerned, anyone that could torture any weaker creature- pet, child, wife, elderly- has absolutely no positive value to the Earth.
GO PETA!
Nevermind ‘Planet Apes’- It will be renamed ‘Planet Dogs’. Animal rights vs Human rights, we could go on forever with the argument. Dustin, by saying that Children and Dogs are nearly in the same category but yet you don’t have any children makes me laugh (at you).
That is certainly not what I meant. My apologies for not being clearer. They are not in the same category. I feel that abusing either is dispicable because they are both POWERLESS. Since, historically, it has been shown that those who abuse animals can lead to abuse of people we should take it seriously. HOWEVER, I don’t think that dogs and kids are equal. Please feel free to laugh at me though, there are plenty of other good reasons to!
Sorry Dustin. To warp the argument further- would you say that Pitbulls are the same a Unruly Humans? Do you cringe with you hear people defend Pitbulls and blame it on their owners for gnawing off a childs face?
Are these lawyers going to start defending Pitbull owners in courts saying the act of the dog was only a victim of the environment. Who takes care of the dogs when they misbehave. If you want to get on the topic of PETA, there are a lot of topics PETA is nuts about. Meaning they are crazy, out of their minds.
Amazed, I mean self-supporting given the natural inputs. Since most mammals (and other animals) have a suckling period one cannot expect them to survive without feeding. However there is a point in gestation that, past that point, the fetus can generally be determined to be independently viable and before that point the fetus is not independently viable. It is at that point in gestation that I determine human life to begin.
I distinguish between the beginnings of human life over other life because humans are sentient. I place us above other animals because we have greater control and choice over our actions and the consequences of those actions. We are no longer slaves to our biology. Heck, if we wanted to break out a dictionary we would be correct in classifying a fetus as a parasite. It’s much easier to make the call when you’re wondering whether to get rid of a parasite than getting rid of a baby. Semantics are important in this argument. My take is that since we have overcome our biology in so many ways, we need to take that responsibility into our own hands and determine our own reproductive destinies – independant of our sexual activities.
And I agree with Dustin – abuse is a power issue and in so much that it gives us a window into the future proclivities of a person animal cruelty should be treated as harshly as cruelty toward children.
I do feel that certain dogs have a propensity to violence. I also feel that dogs can be trained and changed. Are all pitbulls inherently vicious dogs, looking to attack a human? I think not. Would I purchase a pitbull if I had a child? Probably not, because there is a risk. No matter the training a dog is still an animal; however, I do think that training can be effective. My neighbors have a Westie who was abused. He was bred continuously, kept caged, and generally abused. A year ago, the dog was very apprehensive and sometimes agressive if cornered. Now, after they have worked with him for a year he is a different dog. I don’t think we can say either nature, or nurture as it is a combination of the 2. To blame all pitbulls for the actions of some bad ones would be like saying everyone of a certain race is a criminal because we have several in prison. I am not trying to equate humans and animals, simply trying to make an analogy the best I can.
Dustin: research the stats on which breed is responsible for the majority of dog “attacks, maulings, and human fatalities” and Pit Bulls are #1. by a very wide margin over every other dog in the world. With all the breeds to choose from, there is no intelligent or legitimate reason to have one in an urban area. People who own them probably thing it’s OK to own an assault rifle too. Nobody needs one nor should they be allowed to have one. Personal safety arguments don’t support an automatic assault weapon that will deliver 20-40 rounds in under 30 seconds.
I’ve handled and seen too many cases involving this breed. They have an inherent, genetic, propensity not just to bite…..they attack, maul, and kill. No human should be subjected to that risk. Human life trumps the right to own a dog everytime. Unfortunately, we have idiots in this country who like “rights” but won’t accept the “responsibility” that goes with them”. If there was a database of Pit Bull owners I think we’d see some very revealing trends. Many people who own them don’t have liability insurance. That’s not the point either. If everyone had the opportunity to see the horrific injuries these animals can cause there would be no argument. The last attack I handled involved a 12 year old girl. It took over 400 stitches to close her upper body wounds. Even with the best plastic surgery she’ll be scarred for life, physically and emotionally. Anyone who attempts to put animal rights ahead of humans doesn’t belong on the planet.
I think another common element to these attacks is the fact that these people have no business owning a dog, much less one that requires attention and training. Do you find most of these people whose dogs attack have them chained in the back yard? Of course, at the time of the attack they probably aren’t, but keeping any animal chained like that can turn it pretty vicious. The thing with pits is the fact that they have such a strong bite and can latch. I don’t disagree there. I just feel if someone must own a pitbull they need to be responsible.
Dogs and Cats are disposable. There are far to many of them on the Earth to put thousands of dollars into. I love both, but if my pets suffer to the extent where they start to put a crunch on my wallet, I put them out of their misery and get another from the pound. I can’t say that it isn’t sad or that I don’t shed a few tears over them, but I can think of a lot better ways to spend my money than to try to prolong the life of an animal with a 15 yr max life expectancy anyway.
We’re on same page with this. Most of the situations I’ve encountered involved dogs being walked on leash and breaking free, or simply roaming free in the neighborhood. “Responsibility” is not a word in the vocabulary of a lot of people. They know there’s no consequence to their negligence so they simply don’t care. Until we wake up and realize that the root cause needs to be addressed, we’ll continue to hear about the maulings. People used to think that German Shepards and Dobermans were nasty. They pale in comparison to the Pit. There’s a huge difference between a “dog bite” and an “attack, mauling, and fatality”. The Pit has the corner on that market.
I do take a lot of things into consideration. We just put a 19 year old cat to sleep – NOT due to money. She was old, had a urinary tract infection, and treatment would have been more torture then we were willing to put her through.
IF my cat with cancer had shown any signs she was suffering, I would have put her to sleep. We did the feline diabetes with insulin shots for 3 years before that. A lot of time and love.
The rest? Just money. I put off some things I really wanted. Paid a bit in interest. (okay, more then a bit) And the new cats that were sick when I got them? 15lbs and 25lbs of fur and purrs. Worth every penny.
After reading comments from others, I am saddened. Some of you people are just plain mean! I have a dog and a cat and I would do whatever necessary to keep them well…to make sure they have healthy, happy lives! They have both given me more pleasure and companionship than most husbands do and they are a lot nicer to be around!!! This article is about PETS, not kids!
I can be woman enough and say yes the “Vick” issue is a sore one with me. Not doubt about it. He’s sick and so were his actions but there are plenty of others who need to be thrown in the slammer.
I take umbrage at your last sentence. How dare you, Miss Thang! I am a married woman with a HUSBAND and child so no I don’t HAVE a wife, moron. My dog is WELL taken care and knows his place – in the garage, not at the kitchen table with my family where probably your animals have their own special seats. I owned a dog that saw me from middle school to college so believe me when he died the loss was sad but I moved on. A miscarriage (child) is more palpable and something you don’t just get over – therefore AGAIN human life is more precious. Dogs are great as comfort and more especially as seeing eye dogs and police dogs. Any stray that messes with me or my child or husband gets SHOT! No questions. No mediation.
Also to have animal law – PLEASe! We have enough attorneys trying to find the next Holy Grail of making more money and tying up the court system.
I’m with Dustin in that people need to be responsible and held accountable for their animals. It is a combination of nature and nurturing, not one or the other alone, that causes these attacks. Saying nobody should own a pit bull just because they, by nature, need more nurturing is sticking a regulatory nose where it doesn’t belong.
*side note* Same thing goes for assault rifles. It’s all about being responsible and accountable.
I think with the expansion of animal law programs we’ll see more definition and clarity worked into liability laws regarding animals and their actions. I think we’ll stop seeing the disparity between species (cat vs dog) and we’ll start putting responsibility where it belongs – on the owner. I also think we’ll see a lot more development of inheritence laws the more millions get left to animals.
I didn’t think I was that rude to you Petlover. I do know who Dr. Schweitzer is however there are many theologians and philsophers to quote. There are plenty of exerpts from the bible that someone as passionate as you could quote. I just found it odd to choose that one. Although we could try very hard to treat all living things as equal, that just isn’t so. Do you step on ants? Sorry, I have to go drown some humans. I find them more fun than kittens and puppies. But according to Dawn, there isn’t really a difference. They should be treated all the same.
My exact comment was that “people who would torture weaker creatures”.
Doesn’t sound like the Orkin man to me.
People who start by drowning kittens have a much higher risk of ending by killing humans. That’s a fact. And I could say most of all people who have killed humans killed animals first.
There is a direct correlation. Ask any behaviour analyst. It’s been published in FBI BAU journals. I post a lot that is simply my opinion, and I state it as such. This is not.
As I said, this is a site for those that can post intelligent comments, not those that can only call others names.
If you have an intelligent position, please post it – otherwise, I’m not the fool.
Any statement made by you will, however, be tainted with the fact that you couldn’t come up with any ideas of your own other than to call me a fool.
I don’t take it personally, and I hope you don’t either. We don’t have to agree to have a rational, intelligent discussion – just add “rational and intelligent” to yours and we’ll be good to go.
Who was talking to you specifically? I have wonderful relationships with humans, however, I find animals to be much kinder and you are the perfect example!!!!
Agreed Jimbo. It’s disgusting that Amazed takes an interesting article about pets and steers it towards his own anti-choice/ anti-american tirade about abortion. what a fool.
I find it ironic and sad that animals are gaining more legal standing than unborn babies.
Don’t hit me with “choice.” Choice began in the bedroom (with rare exceptions).
All life must be precious, else this rise in legal standing for animals wouldn’t be occurring.
Before you argue with me, define “life,” then make your argument.
Animals like unborn children “don’t” have a voice. Animals are God’s creatures born on earth too. No animal deserves pain and suffering because of humans with no conscience.
Everyone should fight for what they believe in and help others “no matter what.”
I’ll take the bait.
Life begins when the organism can reasonably be expected to support itself (though doesn’t necessarily end when that condition is no longer met – the perils of being sentient).
Since humans are sentient and have risen above the biological imperitive to procreate we do have a choice in the matter. We do experience sex as a pleasure and can (and should) have the expectation of being able to control when and how we generate our offspring. Since I don’t think life begins until the organism has a reasonble chance of surviving on its own, I don’t see anything wrong with controlling the creation of life.
With that being said, once life has been created it should be protected. That is especially true for life that has no voice of its own.
OK lastbat, do you mean self-support or automated support?
One of the shortest gestation periods on record is 22 weeks – live birth, baby lived.
I had a CSR that delivered 2 months early – first days were by life support, but all fine now – happy healthy 7 year old.
Oh, and by the way – not even a full-term baby can “support itself.” It must be fed by mom, dad or someone, or it will die.
Some kids can’t “support themselves” until well into their 20’s (I’m obviously being facetious).
“Controlling the creation of life.” I agree, you can control it by not creating it in the first place – once it’s created, you must protect it.
Our second child was a complete and total surprise and truly not planned – however ending the life growing inside my wife NEVER was a consideration. My daughter is the puzzle piece that we didn’t know was missing.
The growing baby is not inorganic, thus it has to be classified as life. And it does sense pain, light and hunger.
Amazed,
Get off you high horse and get a life!!
Jimbo,
I have a life, ’cause my parents allowed me one.
I’m not on a “high horse,” as you so eloquently put it. I’m simply expressing my opinion, which is what this “Post a Comment” section if for.
It’s for those intelligent enough to construct an argument as opposed to those who can only construct an attack against those with whom they don’t agree.
Anyone who disagrees with me is OK by me; they are free to post such. And I’m happy to read their comments.
It doesn’t matter if I agree or disagree, only that we can have a constructive “conversation.”
Now, back to my life.
I feel that with every action there is an equal or greater reaction. For instance, if you smoke you don’t get to say, hey I am NOT going to get cancer. Cancer, stay away from me. It could or could not happen. If you have sex, you could or could not have a child. I am not trying to equate a child with getting cancer, but to me if you are going to have sex, there are certain “consequences” or outcomes that can occur. I certainly don’t think I am morally superior for thinking that abortion is just a way to avoid taking responsibility for ones action. I just think, I hear a lot of people on here talk a big game about taking responsibility for your actions. Not having an abortion when you chose to have sex is one way of taking responsibility.
Wow! Maybe pretty soon pet will allow to have social security number.
As my mom would say….”keep it in your pants til you can pay for it!”
I am one of the animal lovers that spent over $6000 for chemo for my cat. I had 6 months with her that I wouldn’t have had. (and no, she didn’t suffer until the last few days- she had no ill effects from the chemo or I would have stopped) I also adopted two very sick cats from the Humane Society that I spent another $2000 getting back to health. I still owe about $500 on the bills. I would do it again tomorrow if I had to.
I’d like to see the Humane Society sue Michael Vick for the money that has been spent trying to rehabilitate the dogs that he kept caged and trained to fight.
I agree with Amazed. It kills me too how high and mighty people get concerning animals. I don’t see people applying the same passion to the genocide occurring in Darfur or violent activity across the globe in general. Animals are the lowest priority in my opinion and I regard protecting other human life to be a better goal.
And also, it is so much more easy to fight for animals than it is for other humans. PEOPLE need to control the pet population for one thing.I am a dog lover as much as the next person but I’ll be doggone (no pun intended) if I’ll be crazy enough to leave money to it. A child and a dog/cat/whatever are two TOTALLY different sets of beings. The quote Dustin made can be applied to animal owners too. if you can’t pay for the offspring of lower animals then you need to spade of neuter them (also goes for pedophiles). If you want to pay for chemo as you consider this as a child to you – fine. But I have seen people regard children and their pets to be on the same level and that’s ridiculous. I’ll save my child BEFORE I save a pet. You get over them. Children you don’t just get over. I also am NOT a PETA fan as these people have WAY TOO MUCH time on their hands to fly about the country protesting and have states change laws where injury, molesting, murdering children penalities are the same as hurting/killing an animal.
In a perfect world, yes.
BUT, this is a world where some babies are better off not being born. Too many kids actually kill their newborn babies because they couldn’t get an abortion. (parental consent or couldn’t afford, about an even split)
Drug addicts that refuse to give up the drugs- what child deserves those kind of defects? People that have been convicted of abusing or killing their children. Let’s just give them another one? (I’d prefer sterilization for that, but the ACLU has an issue with that)
You can fight for the rights of an unborn baby till you’re blue in the face. Guess that’s easier then fighting for the ones already here and suffering. I don’t see any of the so-called ‘pro-lifers’ offering to take any drug addict born, AIDS infected, or otherwise ‘NOT’ perfect babies home to raise. There will be thousands more of them if Roe V Wade is ever overturned.
I’d rather see the effort and the money go to fight for the ones that are already here and need it more.
I would say that abusing an animal is nearly as bad as abusing a child for 2 reasons. I believe that studies have shown where abuse of animals leads to other worse acts of violence (presumably against humans). 2nd, animals are defenseless against a person who is abusing them. I fight it heartbreaking what people will do to dogs. I am a huge dog lover. I have 2, and I am currently doing physical therapy with one to avoid an expensive surgery on her ACL’s. Both were deteriorated and through 3 months of rehab one is much better and the other is healing. Not having children, I can’t speak to that aspect. My heart hurts when I think about life without Peaches and Peyton.
Vick has already paid $1MM dollars for that. He isn’t and won’t be the last person to participate in the illicit dog fighting business. Now if they prosecute more of the rednecks who really started this “sport” in the first place I would really appreciate it. There people of all persuasion that are involved so get off Vick – that’s old news and I am sick and tired of people jumping on the wagon. I haven’t seen where the regular jo-smo has been thrown to the wolves as much as he has. He’s lost alot already, thank you very much. Doesn’t excuse him but really I think this country has been screwed royally by the current administration than worrying about an NFL player.
I love animals too, but they are NOT on the same level as human being. Abuse against them is horrible, but NOT the same as abuse of a human being. For those of you who say animals and humans ARE on the same level, where do you draw the line? Abusing dogs & cats is unacceptable, but chicken and beef are mighty tasty? I really hope you aren’t that hypocritical!
It is a proven fact that most murderers started out with animals. 98% of serial killers did. So for that reason, I do agree with making the laws against animal cruelty as severe as murder. One does lead to another in a very large percent of cases. Most domestic abuse victims testify that the spouse began abusing the animals before their wives.
And as far as I’m concerned, anyone that could torture any weaker creature- pet, child, wife, elderly- has absolutely no positive value to the Earth.
GO PETA!
Nevermind ‘Planet Apes’- It will be renamed ‘Planet Dogs’. Animal rights vs Human rights, we could go on forever with the argument. Dustin, by saying that Children and Dogs are nearly in the same category but yet you don’t have any children makes me laugh (at you).
Dawn,
You suck! Get back to work and get a life!
That is certainly not what I meant. My apologies for not being clearer. They are not in the same category. I feel that abusing either is dispicable because they are both POWERLESS. Since, historically, it has been shown that those who abuse animals can lead to abuse of people we should take it seriously. HOWEVER, I don’t think that dogs and kids are equal. Please feel free to laugh at me though, there are plenty of other good reasons to!
Sorry Dustin. To warp the argument further- would you say that Pitbulls are the same a Unruly Humans? Do you cringe with you hear people defend Pitbulls and blame it on their owners for gnawing off a childs face?
Are these lawyers going to start defending Pitbull owners in courts saying the act of the dog was only a victim of the environment. Who takes care of the dogs when they misbehave. If you want to get on the topic of PETA, there are a lot of topics PETA is nuts about. Meaning they are crazy, out of their minds.
Amazed, I mean self-supporting given the natural inputs. Since most mammals (and other animals) have a suckling period one cannot expect them to survive without feeding. However there is a point in gestation that, past that point, the fetus can generally be determined to be independently viable and before that point the fetus is not independently viable. It is at that point in gestation that I determine human life to begin.
I distinguish between the beginnings of human life over other life because humans are sentient. I place us above other animals because we have greater control and choice over our actions and the consequences of those actions. We are no longer slaves to our biology. Heck, if we wanted to break out a dictionary we would be correct in classifying a fetus as a parasite. It’s much easier to make the call when you’re wondering whether to get rid of a parasite than getting rid of a baby. Semantics are important in this argument. My take is that since we have overcome our biology in so many ways, we need to take that responsibility into our own hands and determine our own reproductive destinies – independant of our sexual activities.
And I agree with Dustin – abuse is a power issue and in so much that it gives us a window into the future proclivities of a person animal cruelty should be treated as harshly as cruelty toward children.
I do feel that certain dogs have a propensity to violence. I also feel that dogs can be trained and changed. Are all pitbulls inherently vicious dogs, looking to attack a human? I think not. Would I purchase a pitbull if I had a child? Probably not, because there is a risk. No matter the training a dog is still an animal; however, I do think that training can be effective. My neighbors have a Westie who was abused. He was bred continuously, kept caged, and generally abused. A year ago, the dog was very apprehensive and sometimes agressive if cornered. Now, after they have worked with him for a year he is a different dog. I don’t think we can say either nature, or nurture as it is a combination of the 2. To blame all pitbulls for the actions of some bad ones would be like saying everyone of a certain race is a criminal because we have several in prison. I am not trying to equate humans and animals, simply trying to make an analogy the best I can.
To invoke such a vicious response, I must have touched a nerve.
Did you start with beating your dog and move up to your wife and child?
Dustin: research the stats on which breed is responsible for the majority of dog “attacks, maulings, and human fatalities” and Pit Bulls are #1. by a very wide margin over every other dog in the world. With all the breeds to choose from, there is no intelligent or legitimate reason to have one in an urban area. People who own them probably thing it’s OK to own an assault rifle too. Nobody needs one nor should they be allowed to have one. Personal safety arguments don’t support an automatic assault weapon that will deliver 20-40 rounds in under 30 seconds.
I’ve handled and seen too many cases involving this breed. They have an inherent, genetic, propensity not just to bite…..they attack, maul, and kill. No human should be subjected to that risk. Human life trumps the right to own a dog everytime. Unfortunately, we have idiots in this country who like “rights” but won’t accept the “responsibility” that goes with them”. If there was a database of Pit Bull owners I think we’d see some very revealing trends. Many people who own them don’t have liability insurance. That’s not the point either. If everyone had the opportunity to see the horrific injuries these animals can cause there would be no argument. The last attack I handled involved a 12 year old girl. It took over 400 stitches to close her upper body wounds. Even with the best plastic surgery she’ll be scarred for life, physically and emotionally. Anyone who attempts to put animal rights ahead of humans doesn’t belong on the planet.
I think another common element to these attacks is the fact that these people have no business owning a dog, much less one that requires attention and training. Do you find most of these people whose dogs attack have them chained in the back yard? Of course, at the time of the attack they probably aren’t, but keeping any animal chained like that can turn it pretty vicious. The thing with pits is the fact that they have such a strong bite and can latch. I don’t disagree there. I just feel if someone must own a pitbull they need to be responsible.
Um, Dawn,
Dogs and Cats are disposable. There are far to many of them on the Earth to put thousands of dollars into. I love both, but if my pets suffer to the extent where they start to put a crunch on my wallet, I put them out of their misery and get another from the pound. I can’t say that it isn’t sad or that I don’t shed a few tears over them, but I can think of a lot better ways to spend my money than to try to prolong the life of an animal with a 15 yr max life expectancy anyway.
We’re on same page with this. Most of the situations I’ve encountered involved dogs being walked on leash and breaking free, or simply roaming free in the neighborhood. “Responsibility” is not a word in the vocabulary of a lot of people. They know there’s no consequence to their negligence so they simply don’t care. Until we wake up and realize that the root cause needs to be addressed, we’ll continue to hear about the maulings. People used to think that German Shepards and Dobermans were nasty. They pale in comparison to the Pit. There’s a huge difference between a “dog bite” and an “attack, mauling, and fatality”. The Pit has the corner on that market.
I do take a lot of things into consideration. We just put a 19 year old cat to sleep – NOT due to money. She was old, had a urinary tract infection, and treatment would have been more torture then we were willing to put her through.
IF my cat with cancer had shown any signs she was suffering, I would have put her to sleep. We did the feline diabetes with insulin shots for 3 years before that. A lot of time and love.
The rest? Just money. I put off some things I really wanted. Paid a bit in interest. (okay, more then a bit) And the new cats that were sick when I got them? 15lbs and 25lbs of fur and purrs. Worth every penny.
After reading comments from others, I am saddened. Some of you people are just plain mean! I have a dog and a cat and I would do whatever necessary to keep them well…to make sure they have healthy, happy lives! They have both given me more pleasure and companionship than most husbands do and they are a lot nicer to be around!!! This article is about PETS, not kids!
No need to be angry just because you find it easier to have relationships with animals over humans.
I can be woman enough and say yes the “Vick” issue is a sore one with me. Not doubt about it. He’s sick and so were his actions but there are plenty of others who need to be thrown in the slammer.
I take umbrage at your last sentence. How dare you, Miss Thang! I am a married woman with a HUSBAND and child so no I don’t HAVE a wife, moron. My dog is WELL taken care and knows his place – in the garage, not at the kitchen table with my family where probably your animals have their own special seats. I owned a dog that saw me from middle school to college so believe me when he died the loss was sad but I moved on. A miscarriage (child) is more palpable and something you don’t just get over – therefore AGAIN human life is more precious. Dogs are great as comfort and more especially as seeing eye dogs and police dogs. Any stray that messes with me or my child or husband gets SHOT! No questions. No mediation.
Also to have animal law – PLEASe! We have enough attorneys trying to find the next Holy Grail of making more money and tying up the court system.
I’m with Dustin in that people need to be responsible and held accountable for their animals. It is a combination of nature and nurturing, not one or the other alone, that causes these attacks. Saying nobody should own a pit bull just because they, by nature, need more nurturing is sticking a regulatory nose where it doesn’t belong.
*side note* Same thing goes for assault rifles. It’s all about being responsible and accountable.
I think with the expansion of animal law programs we’ll see more definition and clarity worked into liability laws regarding animals and their actions. I think we’ll stop seeing the disparity between species (cat vs dog) and we’ll start putting responsibility where it belongs – on the owner. I also think we’ll see a lot more development of inheritence laws the more millions get left to animals.
Was I NOT supposed to take umbrage at
“Dawn,
You suck! Get back to work and get a life!”
????? WTF???????
If you didn’t post that comment, (no user name to call out) then my reply wasn’t meant for you.
If you did…….. You took the cheap shot first!
That was tasteless.
Funny. But tasteless.
I bet you also use the souls of the homeless as cologne and the cries of hungry children lull you to sleep at night.
“Until he extends his circle of compassion to include ALL living things, man himself will not find peace”
Dr Albert Schweitzer
Who the hell is Dr. Albert Schweitzer? Get back in your winnebago and follow the DR. around.
Nope wasn’t me but I feel your pain. Anyway good night all – this late shift in a pain the butt literally.
RE: Gary’s comments – I rest my case –
I agree with you Gary, Petlover should take another hit of acid. Hope they don’t climb through my window tonight.
Petlover-
wasting your time preaching to the unread.
Better to throw insults then actually read something that might raise some awareness.
You and Gary should definately get together and drown kittens or something – whats wrong with you?
Human life trumps animal life, however with that being said I still have the T-shirt that says “The more people I meet, the better I like my Dog!”
I didn’t think I was that rude to you Petlover. I do know who Dr. Schweitzer is however there are many theologians and philsophers to quote. There are plenty of exerpts from the bible that someone as passionate as you could quote. I just found it odd to choose that one. Although we could try very hard to treat all living things as equal, that just isn’t so. Do you step on ants? Sorry, I have to go drown some humans. I find them more fun than kittens and puppies. But according to Dawn, there isn’t really a difference. They should be treated all the same.
My exact comment was that “people who would torture weaker creatures”.
Doesn’t sound like the Orkin man to me.
People who start by drowning kittens have a much higher risk of ending by killing humans. That’s a fact. And I could say most of all people who have killed humans killed animals first.
There is a direct correlation. Ask any behaviour analyst. It’s been published in FBI BAU journals. I post a lot that is simply my opinion, and I state it as such. This is not.
Johnny,
As I said, this is a site for those that can post intelligent comments, not those that can only call others names.
If you have an intelligent position, please post it – otherwise, I’m not the fool.
Any statement made by you will, however, be tainted with the fact that you couldn’t come up with any ideas of your own other than to call me a fool.
I don’t take it personally, and I hope you don’t either. We don’t have to agree to have a rational, intelligent discussion – just add “rational and intelligent” to yours and we’ll be good to go.
Nancy!
Who was talking to you specifically? I have wonderful relationships with humans, however, I find animals to be much kinder and you are the perfect example!!!!
Agreed Jimbo. It’s disgusting that Amazed takes an interesting article about pets and steers it towards his own anti-choice/ anti-american tirade about abortion. what a fool.