Rottweiler and Staffie Injure 2 Year Old

[Vallhala]

.... with their claws, ever so sightly, as they dragged the toddler out of a dam and saved his life.

[[http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/dogs-save-toddlers-life/story-e6freoof-1111115106703 Isn't it time we got rid of breed specific legislation and accepted that breed is irrelevant in the same way that race or colour is?]

[Vallhala]

Oh bugger, that wasn't very smart of me, was it?

Let's try again.

gs-save-toddlers-life/story-e6freoof-1111115106703 Isn't it time we got rid of breed specific legislation and accepted that breed is irrelevant in the same way that race or colour is?

[Vallhala]

Dammit! I give up! That'll have to do!

[4andnotout]

Phew was about to get all indignant but it's a good story for a change :)

[Goblinchild]

It's good to have a positive story.
When I was a child, a Newfoundland puppy rescued a teenager from a reservoir in a freezing cold March. I remember the owner saying he'd just yelled 'Fetch' or some such, and that the dog couldn't believe his luck at being allowed to play in the water.

[Vallhala]

:o So my ploy worked then 4andnotout. :o

For every horror story I can provide scores of positive ones... and for every tale of dog attacks on humans I can bring you 100 of human abuse of dogs. :(

[gemmummy]

val could you relink? it is telling me the page not available and I love stories like this!

[gemmummy]

and if you're not too busy val because I know you're one of the dog people on here, I'd like to pick your brains. I'll start a new thread if you like.

[Vallhala]

I'kk try, but you've seen the hash I made of it already!! :o

Trying yet again

[Vallhala]

Go for it gem. I'm on strike today, bar animal care, the DC have pushed their luck too far so I have plenty of time.

[gemmummy]

lol ok, not sure if you remember but I posted on here a while ago when I found out my lab had hip dysplasia. We've been doing great, the food the vet recommended seems to have worked really well, as has the more controlled walks rather than hours running around like a loony. BUT, recently she has been limping a little bit again, when it had stopped altogether and I'm wondering if the cold might be affecting her (soft dog owner emoticon and was thinking of getting her a coat. Really loathe to get her xrayed again cos it will be her third General anasthetic in 2 years.

[redflag]

The only thing i am annoyed about by this story is the strong implication is still there that this is out of character for these dogs. I am not a rottie owner, but i know a staff would lay down his life for his owner.

When my staffy was a pup we were walking in the park with a few dogs (man walking them was an rspca man) And two uncontrolled rotties came over and a fight broke out between the dogs (one was an Irish ratting dog, so about the size of my foot, but she was the aggressor).
My then 15 week old staffy, stood all puffed up in front of the rotties protecting my son in his buggy. When the fight broke up and the other dogs went, he got in the shopping bag holder under the buggy and shock for about 45 mins.

That is not unusual for a staff! They are great dogs.

[tegan]

we had a staffy for 9 years and he was the best companion and potector in the world. he was 5 months younger than my oldest dc so they grew up as siblings and everything she did he followed.

I have a 2 yr old ds at the mo but when he is older i have agreed with dh that we can have another staffy but couldn't cope at the mo with a lo and a puppy

[spikeycow]

There I was ready all get all defensive andmad Nice one Val

[edam]

aw, what a lovely story. Hope the dogs do get their bravery award.

My sister's rescue mongrel once came to her rescue when she was attacked on the street - when she screamed, he came bounding round the corner, knocked the man over, and stood on his body, pinning him down (and slavering just to really put the wind up him). Turned out to be A Good Thing that he had been a stray and we couldn't break him of straying (he could leap six foot walls from a standing start). Incredibly friendly gentle animal who never ever threatened anyone apart from that one time. (And used to be bullied by the cat.)

Staffordshires aren't universally lovely, though. I was chased by a Staffordshire bull terrier once. Very scary. Only left me alone when it spotted an elderly lady it could harass, then when I went to her rescue it spotted a child and started on her. Someone opened their front door to see what all the fuss was about and it ran inside, up the stairs, and went for their dd. Father managed to drag it off.

It was bad owners - apparently it didn't get enough exercise, the parents were out at work all day and their teenagers were supposed to look after the dog but weren't doing a good job and had chucked it into the garden which was not secure.

BUT that information is no sodding use at all when you are being chased.

[Vallhala]

Back having done some asking if the man who knows about your Lab Gemmummy (rescue owner, "poacher turned gamekeeper" as many years ago he used to breed Labs).

It's well worth trying a coat imho - certainly my 10 yo Lab x will be wearing one this year - but there are other recommendations too. One is regular hydropathy, which is a bit pricey but can be very effective although you must get your vet's approval first (many pools will only accept dogs WITH a vet's referral) and the other is a supplement which many swear by, Glyco-Flex II.

It's sold here, by Petmeds. They are normally very good on prices and are extremely good wrt speed of delivery, reliability and customer service ime (best price I can find for Frontline too, btw), and are used by a lot of people I know/know of in rescue.

[Vallhala]

PS Spikey... gotcha! :o

edam, no, Staffies aren't universally lovely... and neither are men, women, Catholics, Canadians, nurses, redheads, Asians, those with blue eyes or black people but would we be right to discriminate against them all because of the behaviour of the few?

Thankfully our laws don't say "You must be treated differently to other people and imprisoned, to await a death sentence, because you are a black Jamaican".

Dogs don't have the luxury of such rational, humane thinking or legislation.

Sadly this dog may die ONLY because he looks like a "pit bull type". The court case to decide his fate is on the 23rd November.

Now try to imagine a person, your friend or neighbour, your husband or son, being snatched from his famly, put in a cell for months without even proper bedding and tried under threat of the death penalty just because he is a black man... a trial where the onus is on HIM to prove that he is not the type of black man the court accuses him of being, where DNA testing is considered in law to be unreliable.

That's what Lennox and his family face.

[FairyArmadillo]

Great story, Valhalla. And there I was going to come on and say that the last rotweiller attack story resulted in a horrible thread I had to eventually hide (Think you were on that one!).

You make a very good point, a dog racism does exist. People are assessed and considered individually, not as a race stereotype (well, in an ideal world, they all would). Should apply to dogs too.

[Vallhala]

Ahem, Fairy, I think I kicked ass on the last Rott story on here (and quite rightly too imho!).

I'm not normally a petition type of person, far more likely to act than to just sign, but here there is little else I can do... yet I must do something, so sign the petition to demonstrate my support for Lennox's family I did.

Perhaps you would too please? Even pass it on/put it on Facebook or whatever?

Lennox is the treasured pet of a disabled 12 year old girl called Brooke and lived until he was snatched by a dog warden with 2 smaller pet dogs.

Lennox has never hurt a soul, man or beast, and his family have gone over and above following every dog law to the letter all his life. He's being condemned to death in Belfast as a result of measurements of his legs and muzzle, which according to Belfast City Council make him a Pit Bull Type.

Lennox's Mum was a pedigree American Bulldog and his Dad a pedigree Labrador cross pedigree Labrador.

The court case is on Tuesday and the Petition is here

[FairyArmadillo]

Signed it. (You were kicking ass as I "left" I think, Valhalla!)

[magnolia74]

Have signed petition

[DooinMeCleanin]

See absolute proof they are savage beasts, They could have at least put gloves on first

[Vallhala]

Mittens, Dooin, mittens. Far more approachable when wearing mittens. :o

THANK YOU so much for signing. :)

[2shoes]

lovely story
love stafs, I know mine(sadly gone now) would have laid down their lives for me.

[edam]

Valhalla - I think you are going off into la-la land when you try to compare racism against human beings to prejudice against dog breeds. That kind of extremism is unlikely to persuade anyone who doesn't already share your views.

I was posting about a Staffordshire bull terrier, btw, not a prohibited breed - AFAIK no-one is seizing Staffies and sentencing them to death.

V. sorry for the poor dog who has been seized, though. Assuming the family are correct about his origins.

[faverolles]

Haha! I saw the title and my first thought was "I wonder if Val has seen this, wouldn't want to be in the op's shoes right now" :o

Thankyou for posting this!