Pet owners, take responsibility

Published 8:50 am Thursday, April 12, 2012

 

After reading the story last week about Cuddles the cat being attacked and killed by one or both of these dogs I felt bad for the owner.

I have been an animal lover ever since I got my first dog when I was a kid, and I understand the hurt you feel when you lose your beloved friend. I am a proud owner of a cat and a German shepherd, and we do a lot of walking all over town. I have a lot of concern for my dog when other dogs are left running loose. My dog has been attacked several times while walking and I have had to walk my dog in circles to keep the other dog away while kicking that dog.

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I have encountered one of those dogs pulling its owner down the street and the owner having a hard time hanging on to the dog so it wouldn’t attack us as we passed each other. I do have to say that although it came close, so far we have not been attacked by a pit bull, a pit bull mix, a Rottweiler or a Rottweiler mix (although the first sighting of those dogs that day were in my neighborhood around the time of day I walk my dog) — but a large boxer, a black Labrador and. believe it or not, the smaller dogs that think they are giants.

I have seen several of these powerful dogs being walked by their owners — or should I say the owner being pulled down the street by the dog? — and having very little control of them. I am appalled at the owners of these animals that have no clue what they are doing and have no idea how to raise a powerful dog or really any dog. We are so fast at blaming the dog when it comes down to the owner who is to blame.

The ones that walk around with these dogs want to act like they’re a tough guy or cool going down the street with them and having chains hanging on the dog. Yes, some say that it’s the breed, but it really goes back to the owners. I feel sorry for these animals being raised by these idiots as the years of life for these dogs aren’t good. It makes me sick to see how many of these animals end up being put down because of this. And some of this pertains to just anyone getting a pet and not taking care of it.

So what do we do about it? Yes, we can ban these powerful breed of dogs, or let’s put the blame where it belongs. There are several of us powerful dog owners (I do consider my German shepherd to be a powerful breed) who have them as loving family pets. So what happens to our family pets if we banned these powerful breeds? Maybe stiffer penalties for the owners should be enforced besides taking the dog away. So if you want to be a pet owner, step up to the plate and take care of them, know what you’re doing and treat them with love. When it comes down to it, I myself would take my beloved four-legged friends over most people.

 

Cheryl Sailor-Hatle

Albert Lea