“I took my dog to Magnuson this morning, and these signs were up around the park,” writes Slog tipper Josh, who goes on to say:
Could this story fit the negative stereotype about pit bulls and their owners more perfectly? That’s because it’s largely true. Not entirely true, of course — I have some friends who take care of foster dogs, and they have kept several wonderful pit bulls. But we’ve all seen the hyper-macho douchebags with their pit bulls that look like they’re ready to rip your throat out. It’s unfortunate that this culture exists around these dogs, but it does, and it ruins pit bulls for everyone else. Just like a high school can tell their students they can’t wear all red or blue colors, even though there’s nothing intrinsically wrong about wearing all red and blue, it still seems perfectly justified: young men wearing all red and blue has come to signify specific gang allegiance.
That number again, in case you saw something around noon on Saturday at the park: 437-7410. There’s some more info on KOMO’s site. (Thanks for that tip, Vanessa.)
That would be an apt analogy if the color red or the color blue occasionally ripped a person’s throat out for no reason whatsoever.
This is what happens when people decide that their pet’s should not be trained as a pet, instead treating them like “little people”.
I seriously think this is part of the problem.
Dogs need to be trained like a dog. And that means discipline as well as love.
Could it be that the sign is a hoax perpetuated by Dan Savage?
It constantly amazes me that Seattle, the “ban everything” capital of the world, has not yet joined the rest of the civilized world in banning these vicious animals.
people who need to own dogs that can accidentally kill you or other dogs are first rate douchebags. They have so many stories about blah blahblah it was the first time..the owner not the blah blahblah. Enough. When we see you, we know that you are the kind of person who does not give a shit about other people. Period. Euthazie these people.
if people are claiming these dogs are trained to protect their homes, then the dogs belong AT HOME, not out in public where they can oops accidentally kill other dogs or humans.
THREE pits? how hard can this be, animal control? you found me when i allowed my dog off-leash in an empty magnusson wetlands in a driving rainstorm in february.
@2 we handle our cat like a little person, and she’s perfectly tolerable. She even lets us out sometimes.
“people who need to own dogs that can accidentally kill you or other dogs are first rate douchebags.”
In other words, all dog owners. (?) How do I know if my dog can accidentally kill? Is there a test for that?
All (non-teacup) dogs are capable of killing. Hell, all animals are capable of killing.
Also, in case anyone cares here, boxers like the one that was killed are also traditionally fighting dogs. So, should we find the owner of that boxer and taunt him for having a dog that needed to be euthanized? Why the sympathy for the boxer?
This also confirms that stereotype that some pit bull owners are chicken shit cowards who get these dogs to overcompensate for being whimps.
the KOMO link says that no one’s contacted animal control to complain that their dog got killed. “too upset” is not a good reason. other dogs could get killed in the meantime.
why am i picturing a douche in all black with a tilted ball cap and skater shoes?
@8 Sight unseen, I seriously doubt that your cat could inflict the kind of physical damage that an unrestrained pit bull could, so I think you’re OK.
@5 – Most dogs over, say, 60 lbs are physically capable of killing an adult int he right situation (and if we’re talking babies or kids, smaller dogs could be included). We are pretty puny animals, really. So, it doesn’t have anything to do with owning a dog that’s capable of killing, it’s more about what you train and do not train your dog to do.
I’m opposed to a breed ban, but would definitely support measures like stricter/more expensive licensing, mandatory spaying/neutering without a breeder’s license, steeper fines for no license or having dogs off leash, etc. Of course all that requires enforcement, but so does a breed ban….
ummmm…what dog owner doesn’t notice that their 2 large dogs are being torn apart by a pack of pit bulls? the beach access area isn’t that big, it’d be hard not to see/hear this happening…
i smell agitprop/hoax.
Leave the dogs alone. Start shooting the fucking owners. These fuckers are human vermin.
I just got back from Magnuson too and saw this.PLEASE note:
1)The dogs that attacked were UNALTERED
In 2007 33 people died in dog attacks…26 of 33 involved INTACT/ UNALTERED dogs
2)These A-hole owners had had problems with these dogs at the park previously…The owners were a tall skinny white dude with tats, a big black guy and a heavy-set brunette female..If ANYONE has info on these a-hole..PLEASE REPORT THEM!!! They should be charged, lose their dogs. be severely punished
3)This attack was tragic and preventable
No, I am not excusing this attack…It shouldn’t have happened…but the fact that pits were involved speaks not to their breed, but to the ASSOHLES who owned them and fled the scene
When @ Golden Doodles killed a small dog at the same park..about 2 years ago…did we see that covered by the media?
Wigga alert….
@1: Gangs. That’s the analogy. They cause violence, and are primarily funded by crime. There is nothing wrong with the colors red and blue, in fact your eyes are adapted to see the colors red and blue specifically. They are wonderful colors. But they have become associated across the U.S. with gangs, because gangs use those as identifying colors. I have never desired to wear an all blue or red suit track suit with matching bandana, but if I did, I would not be shocked and horrified if people looked at me like I’m a gang member.
Same with pit bulls. Most of them are sweet, loyal, and affectionate dogs. But a small core of pit bull owners ruin their reputation, and how can we, as the general public, know which dogs are safe?
#13, this is true, but google “Dog Attack Deaths and Maimings Sept 1982-November 2006,” and you’ll note that with the exception of Rottweillers, the dog attacks by breed causing bodily harm were in the double digits for all breeds except for Pit Bulls, whose numbers were over 1,000. This was even more than double the number of attacks by Rottweillers.
The number of deaths caused by pit bulls was 104. The second highest fatality rate was 58, caused by Rotts.
That is a significant difference.
The report also states that pit bulls are also notorious for attacking seemingly without warning. I’ve had this happen to me twice in Seattle. Both times the dogs got loose and ran at me as I was walking down the street, but luckily for me the owners were close by in each case.
Same with pit bulls. Most of them are sweet, loyal, and affectionate dogs. But a small core of pit bull owners ruin their reputation, and how can we, as the general public, know which dogs are safe?
The dead ones are safe.
All others are suspect.
@20, I say the same thing about blacks. Stereotypes are useful aren’t they? Please wait while I go look up crime statistics and cite them as undeniable proof that black people are inherently dangerous and vicious.
@19..That info is from a FALSIFIED STUDY by Merrit Clifton In Animal People News.
The CDC reported 477 fatal dog attacks from 1982-2006
Clifton reports 264 from 1982-2006…and concludes that 60 % were by Pit bulls.
A discrepancy of more than 200 fatal attacks leave A LOT of question marks…WE DON’T KNOW what breeds were responsible for the unreported 200+ fatalities.
Unfortunately there is not a lot of accurate data on this…PLUS you have to factor in that pits make up a greater percentage of the dog population than is reported…Data is often obtained through AKC registries and Pitbulls are unrecognized by the AKC….
Just look in any shelter and you will see that pit bulls are likely the most common/ 2nd most common dog in a given area…though the stats won’t say this directly
I recommend pit bull triggered land mines.
That or attack squirrels.
Whichever is easier.
@20: I’m suspecting you mean this ironically, but they’re just fucking dogs. And I say that as a dog owner. Americans give dogs a special pass over other animals: when a bear bumbles into town looking for trash, people freak the fuck out, and animal control quickly devotes a lot of resources to finding the animal and either euthanizing it or releasing it in a safe environment. The latter is always preferable, but very few scream murder when the former takes place.
But the animal associated with the most attacks in the US? Dogs, of course. And as #19 points out, pit bulls make up an enormous number of these attacks. As #16 points out, lots of other dogs attack and kill other dogs and even people, but when you look at the big picture, it’s a disproportionate amount of pit bulls and rotts that are attacking.
@4 – that’s cause we need opportunities for our cops to get target practice.
@24 – oh come on, if that were true we wouldn’t arrest them for pooing on our front lawns ….
You can argue about statistics, but a lot of it comes down to using your eyes + brain. Pit bulls are fucking huge and muscular. Are there gentle bears, lions, and elephants out there? Of course. Turn on Animal Planet for more than a few hours and you’ll see a clip of that beardy guy who frenches his pet bear all day. But this does not mean we should integrate them into everyday society, taking them to parks and walking them down the street. If someone wants to raise pit bulls specifically for fighting, I do not give a shit, so long as they keep them in a secluded area away from humans and other dogs. When you’re talking about bringing them into public space, it becomes a whole other issue.
You can argue about statistics, but a lot of it comes down to using your eyes + brain. Pit bulls are fucking huge and muscular. Are there gentle bears, lions, and elephants out there? Of course. Turn on Animal Planet for more than a few hours and you’ll see a clip of that beardy guy who frenches his pet bear all day. But this does not mean we should integrate them into everyday society, taking them to parks and walking them down the street. If someone wants to raise pit bulls specifically for fighting, I do not give a shit, so long as they keep them in a secluded area away from humans and other dogs. When you’re talking about bringing them into public space, it becomes a whole other issue.
TruthMovement- show me where dogsbite cites factual studies for the dates you describe? Guess what you can search their whole website for citations and you won’t find them. The CDC on the other hand had a study that was based off of media articles from 1979 to 1998 that states similar facts to the one you show. This report has since been considered flawed and the CDC does not report on these bites anymore. http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSa…
We as a soceity have been pushed into beleiving we can show prejudice against a specific breed (which actually encompasses 36 breeds and many mutts), cite partial facts, and twist things around for scare tactic purposes. The truth though is most intact males of any dog breed do not like other dogs. Then add a female to the mix and you get a pack that suddenly is protecting their territory. Stupid owners bring them back not one but twice. These dogs are probably cooped up all day, taunted and only get their free time to run when the owners drive their lazy butts to the off leash park. These dogs, if you look at some of the other posts, have been a menace for a while. Now when they act up, the whole breed gets called out for them.
I’m tired of people talking about how kind their pit bull is. The bottom line is, if I could choose which dog I was to be attacked by, pit bulls would be on the bottom of the list.
@amillan: I have, a number of times, stated or implied that pit bulls are not bound to wreak evil upon the planet. For instance:
“Most of them are sweet, loyal, and affectionate dogs. But a small core of pit bull owners ruin their reputation, and how can we, as the general public, know which dogs are safe?”
… is what i said at post #18. If you want to claim that pit bulls are causing more physical damage (notice i said ‘causing more phsyical damage’ rather than just ‘attacks’) than let’s say pomerarians, dachsunds, or hell, labradoodles, then I would very much like to sell you some waterfront property in Kansas.
We can argue stats and figures and culture… None of it will change the experiences that I’ve had with pitbulls and irresponsible dog owners. In *every* *ugly* *incident* that I’ve witnessed at Belltown (Regrade) dog park over the last three years that I’ve been a dog owner, it’s been a pitbull or pit mix.
I don’t know what the best plan to deal with pit bulls is. If it was obvious, it would be implemented somewhere. But my guess is the solution may be somewhat similar to gun control: we need to loosen policies in rural areas, allowing people the most freedom, and crack down in urban areas, where pit bulls are surrounded by a lot of people and other dogs.
The owner of a pit bull tells to the world “I need to compensate for my inadequacy.”
It’s like a Hummer that way.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_DNayDWGsrns/Sj…
@32: In-fucking-deed. I used to live at 4th and Bell, and this dog park is completely ruined by the pit bulls/shitbrained owners. I would love to hear from someone who lives nearby and/or takes their dog to Regrade Dog Park that disagrees.
@27/28…
I would like to be able to find the reason in your argument. I have been on both sides of this issue…growing up afraid of pitbulls, now understanding/ adoring them…but I truly believe your bias is a product of false info that has been thrown at you via the media for decades…
(have to say the Stranger posted it well this time…it’s about the a-hole owners…)YAY! Progress!
Lots of dogs are muscular and capable of inflicting great damage…the PROBLEM is that too often, as in this case, the UNSAVORIES want pit bulls for the wrong reasons, mishandle them and viola.. Magnuson incident
THIS is a problem that can be addressed with the use of laws that restrict particular types of felons from owning dogs, incentivized or FREE spay/neuter for low income people with dogs,and most importantly EDUCATION
FABB is actively working with both King County and the City of Seattle for such adaptaions to existing laws
@36: Pit bulls can be wonderful dogs. I have said this 27 different ways, if you read back through the comments. Here’s what you said:
“but I truly believe your bias is a product of false info that has been thrown at you via the media for decades…”
Uhhh… this is definitely one reason people are afraid of pit bulls, and I believe a wrongheaded one, but this is not why I dislike urban pit bull ownership. Do you own a dog? Do you take them to dog parks? With proper training, pit bulls are just as cuddly and adorable as any other dog. Unfortunately, I don’t think your proposal of restricting felons from owning dogs, incentivizing free castration, and (most laughably) eduation will do a lick of good. Do you honestly believe that guys into dogfighting will sign up for a course on resposible dog ownership? Croc-wearing middle-aged women in Wallingford will, but not guys into dog-fighting.
truth- how can a delivery person know which lab, german shepard, pomeranian, jack russell terrier, poodle, chihauhau or pit bull looking dog is going to attack them? The truth is no one knows, so we all should refrain from judgement, and not approach dogs we don’t know. I can tell you there are times I wonder about the pit bulls in my area, but I also am concerned about any of these and other dogs as well.
As for programs that work, you might want to take a minute to look at one that is working. I have attached the bylaws for Calgary Alberta who have had excellent success in improving not only their pet licensing, but reduction in dangerous animals as well. In 2000 their bite and animal calls were approximately 1900+, by last year, only 3 years after enacting and enforcing these new bylaws they have reduced their calls to 385 last year and of those 175 were relating to bites. They accomplished this, while also not enacting breed specific legislation that would have cost the city more money due to lawsuits, as DNA testing is becoming popular with pets as well.
http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/city…
I am a life long dog owner. I say ban pit bulls and have animal control euthanize any pit bulls at the shelter for more than 2 weeks. Nine out of ten pit bulls are sweet dogs. One out of ten are serious threats. That’s the difference between pit bulls and other dogs. That is enough justification for extreme measures.
I agree that individual pet tracking is ideal. Is this cost-effective for most cities? Well… yes, in the big picture, but most Americans cities are too dumb to realize that this will save them money in the long run. Case in point: Seattle — Seattle, the liberal bastion of needle exchanges and low-priority marijuana arrests — turning down the plastic bag fee. If Seattlites overwhelmingly reject a bag fee, I don’t know that we have much hope (within the next few years) of getting this city to track individual dogs, and deal with them on a case by case basis.
To reject a breed ban, then, is to anthropomorphize dogs, to attempt to give them the same level of empathy as humans. By “breed ban,” I don’t mean go out and kill all pit bulls; I just mean that high-risk dogs like pit bulls are required to be fixed, and maybe there’s even a reward for those who report pit bulls that are walking around with big throbbing testicles waiting to procreate more pit bulls. I don’t think that’s a crazy position to take.
@38: If a chihuahua attacks you, you will have minor bruising at most. If a pit bull attacks you, you may lose your life.
If you disagree, please link to a chihuahua-related death report.
Sounds like a great voter referendum.
Option #1 – All pet owners pay higher taxes to track animals.
Option #2 – Ban pit bulls
Let’s put it up for a vote.
Nine out of ten blacks are sweet people. One out of ten are serious threats. That’s the difference between blacks and other people. That is enough justification for extreme measures.
Exactly! This is precisely what I’ve been trying to tell people for years. But people have been telling me ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover.’ Or, ‘how can you possibly want to extend your prejudice into legislation?’
I’m glad you’re following my logic here. It’s good to see there are other people who think like me.
Now, admittedly, you’re going to probably say, ‘hey that’s racist, and not what I said at all.’ But we all know what you really think, since all I’m doing is applying the exact same logic to a different scenario.
(and please, please come back with ‘but, but, socio-economic factors!’ because the exact same thing can be said about pit-bulls)
If we’re gonna ban pit-bulls, let’s go all out and ban every statistically ‘dangerous’ thing we can, starting with blacks, and moving our way down to bikes.
@42: Is it really that big of a deal to ban pit bulls? Is this equivalent to a Holocaust?
I really don’t think so. They’re just fucking dogs. It’s just that Americans have a special love affair with dogs.
If there was a strain of cougar that had a taste for human flesh, it would be eliminated with extreme prejudice. Not saying that pit bulls have that instinct, but it’s inarguable that they are attacking and causing severe damage to dogs/people higher than the average dog. If you want to say “oh, but wait, the St. Benedictine Augustshire Lowell-on-Stratford Standard Terrier attacks just as much as the pit bull,” then… ok, let’s ban them too.
Not if the cougar was cute.
Or was named Courtney Cox.
@43: This is exactly what I’m talking about: anthropomorphizing breeds into racial categorization. There is a long history of people trying to analogize breeds into racial categories. The fact is that racial categories are as much a cultural construct as dog breeds are. If anything can be learned, it’s that dogs’ culture and humans’ parellel each other very closely, hence why we fret over dogs so much. If they were jellyfish, it would be a lot easier to talk about them, and analyze them analytically. But dogs are man’s best friend, and it’s as hard to judge them objectively as it is Neanderthals. At the end of the day, does it matter to you that the human fetish of a pit bull breed continues on?
You folks shouldn’t comment until you’ve seen an aggressive pit bull in action. The “nice” owners all swear their pit bulls are sweet ones; the dogs play with their kids, blaa blaa blaa.
I have some nice neighbors like that, really, really nice people and they had what they thought was a really, really nice pit bull pet. One day, off-leash in a local park, unprovoked, that dog raced 50 yards across the park and attacked my on-leash dog as we walked down the adjacent street. He had my dog’s whole hind quarters clamped in his massive jaws. The nice neighbors paid dearly for their nice pet’s violence – $2500 in vet bills to save my dog’s life. Now I never feel safe walking a dog.
There is something seriously wrong with pit bulls – their brain wiring is screwed up. If I ever walk a dog again I’ll be carrying some serious protection.
@37… Sorry I remain optimistic and DO believe education will work :BADRAP’s success in the Bay Area is proof…
And Yes I own dogs..a 9 lb Italian Greyhound, A Chocolate Lab and 2 pit bulls…and a 3 legged cat.
Eww on the Crocs
And NO…It won’t stop dogfighting, but laws against animal abuse will help to stop it.
Change doesn’t happen overnight…but it can happen.
Currently, my personal attempts to stop dogfighting involve infiltrating a clear pro-dog-fighting group on facebook, posing as a shady thug, finding out when and where fights will happen…and siccing police/AC on them…well that or posing as a stripper and busting em up…but frankly even I am not THAT delusional.
@46, no it’s utterly irrelevant to me. I don’t actually like pit-bulls and I don’t let my dogs play with them. But at least I’m comfortable admitting that it’s a byproduct of the same instinct that keeps us socially segregated. It’s the EXACT same impulse that causes ‘white flight’ into the suburbs once blacks move in to town.
Racism can’t just be wrong on a moral level, it has to be wrong on a FACTUAL level, else the morality of it is, well, grey. So if you can tell me that I’m not wrong to stop my dog from playing with pit-bulls, I expect you’ll tell me that I’m not wrong for avoiding interaction with black people.
Can you tell me I’m wrong to do that? Please do so in a way that doesn’t immediately contradict your arguments about pitbulls.
It’s not anthropomorphizing because I’m not arguing for dog rights. I’m arguing for owner’s rights. They can own whatever breed they damn well want to, so long as it’s not demonstrably violent.
It’s unbelievable to me that pitbulls are allowed in dog parks. Badly trained pitbulls, and pitbulls specifically trained to fight, are set off by other dogs for fuck’s sake. Ban them from all parks, period.