[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by RedChariot

Or been an RN in an ICU unit caring for a 12 year old boy mauled by dog. I was with him for 2 nights as his nurse until he was transferred to a specialty medical center. I doubt he ever got over that experience emotionally.

Aggressive large dogs just don't belong in a retirement community. Too many possibilities for injury or death. The fact we would have to carry pepper spray just to take a walk around the community is absurd.

There are many reasons to carry mace in the Villages, 4 legged and others.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by lisarenee523

I 1000% agree with you. When I walk my two dogs, 100lb each, it's always the little dogs that want to attack / bark at my dogs. Mine don't bark or do anything.

There are other dogs that are more "aggressive" than pits, and have stronger jaws than pits. Pitties are great dogs. Super sweet.

Statistically an N of 1. Do NOT buy a Pit Bull puppy based on 1 outlier that has YET to have a bad experience. The RISK is NOT worth it.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Fore!

We had a signed agreement with the rescue to return him for any reason as they are a no kill shelter.

A no-kill shelter sounds sssoooo liberating and thoughtful. But, it just as often recycles bad animals that give dogs a bad reputation. Sure there are some success stories and perfect matches. But, the average owner is MUCH better off starting with a clean slate - a well-bred puppy. In the long term, they cost the same, but the puppy gives a greater guarantee of satisfaction.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Use a 9 iron or wedge------cuts better

The iron of choice to walk with would depend on your height.

[Taltarzac725]

Animal Services | Marion County, FL

I looked at the 68 dogs up for adoption at the Marion County Animal Services website and pretty much all but a few are "pit bull" or mixes that look like pit bulls.

Judge each dog by its own characteristics-- breed, temperament, personality, wounds, etc.

When we went looking for a pet in November of 2006 up in Marion County then too it was mostly "pit bull" mixes. My parents did not want anything that looked like a "pit bull".

We finally got a pet in late 2006 via the Sumter County Animal Services after many e-mails exchanged. It was a gentle chihuahua/terrier who loved to dig up moles, voles and gophers.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by 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.

Sometimes people laugh or "chuckle" to cover up their embarrassment, it is like Psy 101.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

The iron of choice to walk with would depend on your height.

I use a five iron because it fits in my hand like a handle. It makes a good cane.

[Dgizzi]

Shoot the owner. The dog is mean cause of how it is treated. Put all dogs on a leash and keep them at home instead of bringing them EVERYWHERE! I love dogs, but am tired of tripping over them at the square or having to eat my meal with a dog sitting next to me. Why do people have to bring them everywhere? Dogs want to stay home and lay on a rug or their bed not cement. And they don’t need to be in a stroller. Just saying!

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Small dogs nip at your ankle. Large dogs that are bred to help hunters kill bears will go for your head and throat. I know which one I would prefer to attack me!

A small dog's bite can sever an artery and cause you to bleed to death. A small dog can also jump on you, causing you to fall and break your neck and die. A small dog can also jump at you, causing you to step back and get run over by a car and die.

A small dog can also yap and yip every moment of every day that its owner isn't at home, causing you to become miserable, because there's no rule against dogs barking during the daytime. A medium-sized dog can knock over someone who has problems with their balance. A small dog can become aggressive toward a large dog, causing the large dog to defend itself. A small dog can become aggressive toward a person who has a large dog as a companion animal, causing the large dog to defend its human.

As has already been said - MANY of these so-called pitbull attacks weren't even pitbulls. People tend to confuse a number of different breeds with each other. Does it mean pitbulls aren't dangerous and even deadly when they bite? No, it doesn't mean that.

But this isn't about whether or not one breed or another is dangerous when it bites, is it? It's about singling out and vilifying one breed of dog, and completely dismissing the fact that EVERY dog has the potential to kill a person - if its owner is not responsible.

The threat of harm is exclusively within the dog-owner's control. If he has control over his pet, his pet will not cause harm. If he loses that control, the pet might cause harm. The same can be said for someone with a bottle of scotch and a gun.

[Bertram00]

I don't believe the covenants cannot be enforced. I think they just don't want to. They don't want to alienate anyone, including the substantial population of Villagers who like to complain about other things that are against the covenants but feel they are entitled to ignore the one limiting size and/or quantity of pets. Why would they want possible bad press which might harm the reputation of Florida's Friendliest Home Town?

[Pairadocs]

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.

I agree with you, but.... someone has to be the one who allows people to adopt grey hounds and keep them, while knocks on the door of others telling them they, or their pet pit-bull or malamute must go ? How can they go by weight anyway ? That would mean if YOU allow your standard dachshund (maybe 25 #) to accompany you on your nightly run to Culver's, well,: do you throw out the owners who let him/her get obese, throw out the dog or make owners sell him or give them a certain period of time get get him on a diet and get back to 40# ? Or, just throw all of them out of the house they own ? We were told because we asked and were told: "we have a STRICT rule of not more than two dogs or cats per household... what a joke that was !

There is a bad trend starting compared to years ago, more every year. So many more people letting their dogs out without a leash, and many many people who allow their dogs to eliminate on the property of OTHER people, not their own lawn. Also the filth at some mail stations where people take their dogs to "eliminate". Why does the Villages designate areas right next to pools as "dog exercise areas" ? We have a miniature doxie and were shown our mail station and told it was an exercise area for dogs. I was a little skeptical, it was right next to a pool. I was right, the smell in summer, of the _____ some people do not want to take home, or they do pick up what they can but put it in the trash can by the postal station to "mature" in the sun...... ? Go figure

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by Skunky1

I am thinking a smart lawyer can make this right.

Agreed, but like all law suits, how can you ever make up for a pet or the human owner being hurt, scarred, pain. I wonder if attorneys consider this an "accident" ? Seems far from an "accident" ! !

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by 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.

Owner just laughs at you, well, I can't remember a week when a dog didn't come after me (some, yes, little things) and the owner just laughs when I run to get away. That never use to happen once a YEAR, yet alone once or twice a week while on walks !

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by vintageogauge

There are tons of cases reported where calm and relaxed pit bulls just like yours suddenly flip out and attack people and dogs, even infants in their own homes. That has nothing to do with their environment, it is in there genes and these dogs can cause crippling injuries and even death. I stay away from anything that even slightly resembles a pit bull as no one knows when they are going to attack someone.

You are telling the facts, and many people do not care for facts, they are attached to their emotions. Sadly it is not even rare to have a family "pet" attack a small child, even a baby in the crib. The same inerrant genetics that owners will deny to the end even in the face or horror; Roy in Las Vegas, the tigers all bred by them at home, and lived IN their home, like humans..... they kissed, hugged, and then Roy, after that tragic night that left him so permanently altered mentally and physically, continued to insist "he didn't mean it, he only meant to help me". It's tragic when people loose their own child to their "pet", how do they ever get over that, or do they ?

[Taltarzac725]

Village Community Development Districts

Check the dog restrictions in your Village and/or District.