[Cheryl Barrios]

I think the problem here is the owner not having the dog on a leash. If you are walking your dog or letting your dog outside for any reason, they should be leashed and controlled by the owner or inside a fenced yard. Can dogs be vicious? Yes. Will they attack other dogs, other animals, and humans? Yes. Simple control would have prevented the smaller dog from being hurt. I would personally hold the owner of the attacking dog responsible and provide them with a letter from the vet, a bill, and possibly a letter from an attorney letting them know they are responsible for all medical bills. I would also make a police report, as someone suggested, if a human was hurt during the situation, and animal control if the dog was the only one hurt.

[Skunky1]

I am thinking a smart lawyer can make this right.

[Stnkydogs]

Pit Bulls are not a dangerous breed. Like any dog training and treatment are important. I'm more afraid of Chihuahua's which are listed most dangerous on many lists. Would you ban that breed as well? Breed banning is not the answer. It starts with the owner.

[Syd2008]

Do not understand owners having dogs off leash big or small. Sets dogs up for failure. Had a small dog head toward me and my dog while off leash fast as a bullet. It was aggressive but all owner did was chuckle.
Dog typically not the issue. Owner behavior is.

[Rosie1950]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Why is The villages not enforcing the deed restrictions? If it is true, then are the restrictions enforced Willy nilly? I like this one, that one not so much.... then based on no enforcement of one item, any resident can plead that they can break any restriction since this one is not enforced so then none should be. The restrictions are not weighed, ie. this one is more important, this one is less/not important, on my document.

Like I said, when was the last time a white cross or yard ornaments left the property and attacked a passerby. The Villages will take people to court over those restrictions.
Makes u wonder about the mentality of those enforcing restrictions.
ALL DOGS NEED TO BE LEASHED.

[Rosie1950]

The story of Diane Whipple and what happened here is mixing Apple and oranges.
Diane was killed by presa canarios and the owner was a white nationalist. Presa’s make pits look like puppies, the incident was ruled an intentional murder because Diane was gay.
Some Presa’s can weigh upwards of 190+ lbs how many of us villagers can control that. AND there was 2 not 1 dog attacking. The dogs were intentionally set on her, hence the murder conviction.
Hopefully there are no white nationalists living in the Villages, they wouldn’t like any of us.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Your argument is invalid. You're saying that it's okay for people to live here because you can put them in jail if they hurt other people.

But you can do the exact same thing with a pit bull if a pit bull becomes aggressive. And in fact, typically if a pit bull becomes aggressive and bites someone, that dog is euthanized. We don't typically put people to death when they attack other people.

People hurt and kill other people. We have laws to punish offenders, and we do NOT tell people they're not allowed to live in a particular neighborhood just in case they happen to end up becoming offenders.

If a pit bull has no "record" of attacking anyone, it is no more guilty than any PERSON who has no "record" of attacking anyone.

And to whoever said it was the pit bull and not the owner - no. Pit bulls are not naturally aggressive. They are TRAINED to be aggressive. They are naturally strong. What happens with that strength is up to whoever is training it.

You’re opinion, that’s it.

[Travelhunter123]

Originally Posted by lawgolfer

For 40 years I defended hundreds of homeowners/dog owners by appointment of their insurers. Included were three death claims. In every case the dog owners never failed to tell me, at length, how their dog was the most wonderful, gentle pet and that they could not imagine what the victim did to provoke their dog. The next thing I usually heard was how the dog slept with their children and they would never have allowed this had the dog been vicious.

From this, I learned four things:

1. All owners love their dogs and believe their dogs are harmless;

2. All owners are blind to reality and fail to appreciate the danger their dogs pose to others;

3. Any dog can bite at any time or attack another dog at any time;

4. Large dogs bite harder, do more damage, and pose a greater danger than small dogs.

As a final observation, my clients who owned pit bulls were the worst offenders and failed to have any insight into the danger their dogs posed to others. Frankly, most of them were flaming as ....oles who should have been locked in a cage with someone else's pit bull!

Thank you
It all makes sense

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Stnkydogs

Pit Bulls are not a dangerous breed. Like any dog training and treatment are important. I'm more afraid of Chihuahua's which are listed most dangerous on many lists. Would you ban that breed as well? Breed banning is not the answer. It starts with the owner.

Let’s see how many Chili’s have causes deaths and near deaths? Zero, any animal can bit, but only few have the jaw power to break and sever limbs, I agree it not just pit bulls mixes, but they are at top of the danger list.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Rosie1950

The story of Diane Whipple and what happened here is mixing Apple and oranges.
Diane was killed by presa canarios and the owner was a white nationalist. Presa’s make pits look like puppies, the incident was ruled an intentional murder because Diane was gay.
Some Presa’s can weigh upwards of 190+ lbs how many of us villagers can control that. AND there was 2 not 1 dog attacking. The dogs were intentionally set on her, hence the murder conviction.
Hopefully there are no white nationalists living in the Villages, they wouldn’t like any of us.

Similar breeds, chip, off the same block, just like bears and horses. They are still bears and horses regardless of size.

You might want to read the whole article to who was the white nationals
Indictment Charges Pair With Murder in Mauling - The New York Times

[Taltarzac725]

Spanish Mastiff - Wikipedia

A home owner's son up my street had one of these and I always avoided walking my chihuahua/terrier when he/she was out on the lawn. It was 120 lbs and a puppy and its poop was massive but all in their yard.

I did like to drive by a get a good look at the pooch though.

When we lived in Palm Harbor, FL our neighbor was renting from a criminal defense lawyer. This was one of a series of renters in the house who from their behavior seemed like they could have been past clients of the defense lawyer. The renter in this story was raising two pit bulls which he kept in cages in the garage. One day he took these two for a walk but did it by walking both of them from leashes hanging out of his car door which he drove around the neighborhood. One of these dog's paws were rubbed raw and a boy called the cops after seeing this. The cops followed the blood trail to the house next door to us.

The media got involved with all the major broadcasters covering the story and PETA and activists also got centered on this.

Just saying that there are some pretty bad "pit bull" owners out there. These two dogs seemed quite gentle when I would see them out of their cages.

A TRAIL OF BLOODY PAW PRINTS // 2 dogs dragged by car, 1 hurt

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by dwhite5773

A chihuahua can be as aggressive as a German Shepherd. ITS NOT THE BREED!

[Spalumbos62]

Originally Posted by Cheryl Barrios

I think the problem here is the owner not having the dog on a leash. If you are walking your dog or letting your dog outside for any reason, they should be leashed and controlled by the owner or inside a fencedTV yard. Can dogs be vicious? Yes. Will they attack other dogs, other animals, and humans? Yes. Simple control would have prevented the smaller dog from being hurt. I would personally hold the owner of the attacking dog responsible and provide them with a letter from the vet, a bill, and possibly a letter from an attorney letting them know they are responsible for all medical bills. I would also make a police report, as someone suggested, if a human was hurt during the situation, and animal control if the dog was the only one hurt.

I'm sorry, but I think the small dog owner is a fault here ...now. because they are not doing anything about it!
Obviously the pit needs to be handled, whatever way authority's feel fit. Once a bitter, always a bitter...you figure it out. But if this doesn't get reported...it will happen again, another little dog, at the very least, will be hurt. Good luck neighbors of this dog....I suggest you don't walk your dog, don't have your grand children visit and allow them to be outside. This dog has tasted blood....he will do it again.

[westernrider75]

40#? I only see 100# mentioned.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Piedmonter

A small (10 lb.) dog was attacked in our neighborhood the other night by an a large pit bull off leash. The small dog was very badly injured and only saved by his owner being willing to wrestle with the pit bull. The covenant restrictions of the Villages clearly do not allow dogs over 40 lbs. I am not necessarily in favor of that since there are many very nice, friendly labs, goldens etc. However, I do think that action should be taken when a larger dog shows itself to be dangerously aggressive. The Villages says that they cannot enforce the covenant. All they can do is send the owner of the pit bull a letter that when the dog passes away not to get another one like it. I am now very nervous when I walk my small dog at night. Perhaps the developer should consider amending the covenants to prohibit specific breeds known to be aggressive. For example, many campgrounds prohibit pit bulls and rotweillers.

Pit bulls should be prohibited everywhere in the US. They are a disaster and a lawsuit waiting to happen.