How awful! I feel for you. I would be out for blood. Screw having the dog put down, where are your kids? (That is pretty much tongue in cheek…mostly)
My dog was a golden retriever, so while he was a big galoot he was never violent, clumsy, but not violent. And he was big enough other big dogs would ignore him. He was also pretty indestructable.
I hope everything works out with minimal pain, the other owners are at least reasonable.
Big Hugs dan.
Yes, indeed, make sure the police and dog warden are aware of this. Sometimes, unless authorities are involved, people will act differently.
My grandma, for instance. She was walking her dog on a leash, and was attacked by the neighbor’s dog, resulting in a severly broken pinkie finger. The owners agreed to pay her medical expenses, but as the expenses grew higher, they balked. She has required extensive therapy as the nerves have been damaged. She no longer has feeling in the finger.
After this happened, the first thing that went sour is that the neighbors refused to restrain the dog. Grandma wasn’t asking that the animal be killed, or given away, only that they tie, or pen the dog. They refused, saying that this was “the country” and dogs should run free. Grandma spent weeks in her house, terrified to leave because the big Saint Bernard sat outside like Cujo waiting for her to come out. She called them time and time again, and asked nicely if they would get the dog out of her yard. She didn’t want to call the Dog Catcher out of fear of angering the neighbors. She even shot the dog with a BB gun, hoping that would make him flee, but he always came back. Sometimes, he would hide in a ditch until she came out and spring at her. I told her out of frustration that if the neighbors refused to leash the dog and she wouldn’t call anyone just to shoot the damn thing and dispose of the body. She gave in and called the Dog Catcher. The neighbors were cited, and came to Grandma’s in a rage. They told her that they would pay no more bills, and they wished they could go back in time and see to it that she didn’t get one red cent, since this was all HER fault anyway for keeping her dog leashed. Had her dog not been leashed, they claimed, it would have acted more “naturally” when the other dog jumped on it, and she would not have been injured in the first place.
Needless to say, she had to sue to get the rest of her bills paid. Last I heard, they had offered her a ten thousand dollar settlement, which Grandma, out of pique, refused. Had they acted decently about it, she told me in dark tones, she wouldn’t have dreamed of suing them, but after the neighbor acted so nastily the gloves came off.
The dog that attacked her was killed on the road. We rejoiced . . . and then they got another Saint Bernard. They do not pen this dog either. Every time it comes in our yard, she calls the Dog Catcher, and then is subject to the rants of the neighbor.
The point of all this is that you should make sure that there are authorities involved. You may want to speak to an attorney, as well. Things could get nasty. People are funny sometimes. They promise to pay for the bills in the heat of the moment, and then reconsider once they’re back home. Hopefully, they’re not that type of people, and my advice will not be needed. Just be careful.
I am so sorry for the loss of your dog. I can’t imagine your grief.
It’s not a meaningless or pointless post at all. I am sorry about your doggie friend. My golden retriever wandered off for a few hours to play with some neighbor kids and I was in worried sick til I found him. He is a typical golden, big, dumb and friendly, no threat to anything but a jar of peanut butter. I think of him as my furry kid.
The pit bull should be put down, IMHO. I feel for the owners, but, if that pit bull attacked your beagle with no more provocation than a couple of barks, what would it do to a child who is screaming and running around?
That is horrible… horrible.
Its also scary to think that it could just as easily have been a toddler playing in his front yard as it could have been another dog.
I have nothing against pit bulls… they can be loving animals. They CAN be in the right hands… often enough I don’t think those hands exist. This goes for other breeds with the History bred to be “baited” and fighting dogs as well. Its instinct.
…and trust me… I am definatly NOT a dog hater… I own three at the present time.
At a minimum that dog should NOT be allowed outside of a secured inclosure.
…and probably should be put down… I know I would want that had it been my pup that was killed. …and again… I think it could just have easily been a small child.
I know it seems cruel, but I think you have the right to shoot a dog that comes on your property. Your grandmother should consider that.
“The point of all this is that you should make sure that there are authorities involved. You may want to speak to an attorney, as well. Things could get nasty. People are funny sometimes. They promise to pay for the bills in the heat of the moment, and then reconsider once they’re back home. Hopefully, they’re not that type of people, and my advice will not be needed. Just be careful.”
Very true, Lissa. Human nature being what it is, you would have reason to be leery of them following through with their pledge to pay the bills. However, the owner of the other dog signed all the forms when he dropped ours off at the hospital. I know that’s not an ironclad agreement, but all of the bills WILL go to him. Whether he pays them, of course, will be seen. If he does not, legal action will be taken. And when you have a case like this that’s basically open-and-shut, he would stand to lose a lot more money than if he just paid the bills. If he lost a court case, he’d have to pay for the medical bills, emotional damages, and court costs.
I also agree with Badtz Maru that you should have every right to shoot a dog that comes onto your property. However, that’s not a blanket statement. I applaud your grandmother for trying every other means to reason with her neighbors. But the bottom line is that one should never, ever feel like a prisoner in her house.
Thanks, Medea’s Child. Luckily, the only kid at the old homestead is 15 years old, and I don’t think there are many kids in the neighborhood on the whole. But the danger’s still there, isn’t it? If a dog’s in the right frame of mind, you don’t have to be a small child to be in danger.
Retrievers are generally among the friendliest dogs in the universe! And big, like yours - so you see the effect. They’re nice to other dogs, nice to people, and no one messes with them because they are big! 
The issue of dog laws is a murky one, and it varies from township to township. I believe that the more rural you get, the more lax these rules are (if they even exist). To my knowledge, there are very few pets laws in our area. You do have to have your animals leashed, of course, so that’s a trangression right there. But as far as pet liability, it’s at best subjective. If the dog had killed a human, I’m sure the issue would be more cut and dry. We’ll just wait and see what they do before pressing the issue. Yes, you want justice. But you do have to live near these people, and if you act hastily, they might wind up making your life a little more troubled.
BTW, I forget if I mentioned this earlier, but we decided to have him cremated. I believe they give you back the collar and tags, and we’ll bury that in the backyard with the door to his old house acting as the headstone.
(I hope no one thinks I’m trying to boost my tiny post count with these last posts - I just wanted to avoid one long, rambling post.)
I’m very sorry for your loss, and for your distance from the homestead, also. That does make it much harder.
I firmly second the thoughts of muzzle requirements for this dog, plus the other they have if it has similar traits. I love animals, so I not-quite-so-firmly second the idea of putting it down, but if it were my dog I think I would be pleased to do it myself.
I assumed the dog was leashed as it was being walked and got away (bolted and leash slipped out of her hand or broke). I may be wrong. The owners may be both unfit to have dogs, AND unfit to walk them.
The prong collars are good at what they do, better than the choker collars for bad dogs. The ASPCA may be a venue for good (free) information regarding the legal options in your area. Preventing Cruelty to Animals should not be just targeting humans.
I am so sorry to hear about the death of your beloved pet, dantheman. Here is a poem that I found at a thread here a few months ago (not in line with everyone’s beliefs, but I liked it anyway).
We had a cat that had been injured and we were caring for it. I loved that cat, and had to put it down because one day it attacked me without provocation (our theory is that an abcess from a fight may have been too close to its brain). If I had been able to guarantee that it would never have hurt anyone else, we would have tried to keep the cat. But it would have had to be confined to one room in the house (it attacked all the other animals in the house also) and may have escaped and hurt someone else. Also, although we had had the animal vaccinated for rabies, we wanted to be sure that it had not contracted rabies before we had it vaccinated; apparently the only way to do this is to dissect the brain.
My point about all this is that if these people can guarantee that their animal will never hurt anyone else, then maybe they shouldn’t have to put it down (I myself am not in favor of revenge). Otherwise, if they can’t control it, it would probably be best for them to have it euthanized.
It’s always tough to put down a pet. We had to do it to ours many years ago when he was in such bad shape physically that it would have been torture to let him live. I would think the two main criteria for that decision would be whether the animal was in severe pain and whether the animal could be dangerous to itself, other animals, and/or people.
I don’t know how the owners of this dog could possibly convince me that their dogs could never harm another animal again (or a human). The older dog has been there for years and had attacked our dog on a few occasions. They knew how bad that one was, and still got a pit bull terrier, knowing how viscious those animals can be. Since they have had minimal success in controlling their animals, there’s really nothing they could say or do to make me think the future would bring more control. What would they do, lock the dog in a room 24 hours a day? Not good for the dog, and he’ll get antsy and want to escape. And when one human either feels bad for him or lets his or her guard down, he’s outta there. No, I know in some cases the owners’ word will suffice, but the history of this family - and, although I have no solid proof, I suspect they’re not exactly diligent pet owners, either - would compel me to think they wouldn’t be much more careful in the future.
As far as I know, yes, the dog was on a leash. But you have to know your dog! Our dog, while small, was tough to walk because he’d pull you every which way, sniffing everything he could find. But you expected this, and you were able to react accordingly. I’m sorry, if you are walking a pit bull terrier and he begins to bark at another dog, you should be prepared for your dog to pull - or make a run for it. If you’re not prepared for that, then I’m not so sure you deserve to have that particular dog. That’s just irresponsible behavior.
… that if the owner did have it on a leash and it bolted, then she is not fit to walk the dog. I completely agree you have to know your dog and take appropriate measures to control them if they need controlling. Those measures obviously were not taken sufficiently, with tragic result.
Dan,
Your post brought tears to my eyes. My heart goes out to you for your loss. I’ve been there. When I was eight, our German Shepherd was killed by an alligator. It’s not something you get over very easily.
Since then, my family (and now me) never let our dogs off the leash when they’re anywhere but in the house or the back yard. It was a painful lesson to learn.
Once again, I’m very sorry for your loss.
MH
Sorry to hear about the dog. Just about everything that I could say has been mntioned in previous threads, so I’ll just leave this as a virtual sympathy card.
I completely agree, too. Sorry if my post made it seem like I was irked by your comments; I surely wasn’t. It bothers me a little that a family would not be accustomed to the dog. It’s not as if it was a newfound pet, after all.
Thanks, Mars. An alligator?? That’s horrible. You have my deepest sympathies as well. 
Again, thanks for all the kind words, people. I think one reason I originated this thread here was that I didn’t think we’d be coming up with information that would be useful to the board as a whole (you know, that whole Fighting Ignorance thing), but I figured some of you might be able to relate to the issue athand, which you did. I’ll keep you all updated on the situation, if you’d like. I can do this either here or directly via e-mail. I don’t mind posting here at all (obviously!), but if the mods feel this might be taxing on the SDMB server, I’d be happy to bring it to mail.
I’m the proud owner of a dangerous pit bull.
When I got her, she was less than six months old, and showed scarring indicating she had been in fights with other dogs. The vet told me she had probably been on the streets for some time.
Once I’d decided to keep her, I found out more about her temperament. She loves humans, and is the sweetest dog in the world to people. (Honorary title: “World’s Snuggliest Pit Bull”) But she thinks all dogs (with the lucky exception of my German Shepherd) are adversaries.
Didn’t take me long to figure that one out. No-one got hurt in the process. Since then I’ve devoted a lot of time, effort, and money to building an outdoor space that was totally pit-bull-proof, have invested in a good sturdy leash and a secure collar, and have made sure she can’t hurt anyone. I love her dearly, and it’s my duty to make sure she’s safe, even from her own instincts.
The only problems I’ve ever had are when I’m out walking my dogs, and someone else has left their dog off a leash. Nothing like hearing some naive soul say “Don’t worry, he’s harmless” about their cute little pup, as my dog is obviously struggling to get away from me, and enjoy their pet as a snack.
The moral of the story: Everyone needs to be responsible for their pets’ behaviour. Leash them. Period. For their own safety, if nothing else.
An update for the kind folks who offered their thoughts in this thread:
My family called the vet yesterday to make sure the bills had been paid by the other family. They have been. (The vet said he was waiting for us to call, too… Rather odd.) The vet will be sending to us our dog’s collar and his ashes. I didn’t expect this, because when we put our dog down about 13 years ago, the ashes weren’t an option (we buried just the collar). Anyway, we’ll soon be getting both, and when we do we’ll conduct a little burial ceremony in the backyard.
So I have a bit of closure - the bills are paid, which to me means no trouble with the other owners. Of course, there is one little bit of unfinished business, and that’s the plight of the other dog. That family has not contacted us, but we’re a little reluctant to go banging on their door, demanding to know about their dog. [We kind of like to avoid confrontation :(] Anyway, at this point it’s more important to us to simply bury ours and see what happens with the other dog.
Thanks again for everyone’s support!