A four year old child was attacked by two of the family's 'pit bulls' yesterday near Tacoma, WA. And the News Tribune wanted to be sure you knew pit bull were responsible by placing it in the headline. Because we want to be sure the dogs are held accountable after all.
If you follow along in the story, you find out that the girl was outside the home alone. The girl's father, and her 5 year old brother were both inside the home -- the father was sound asleep on the couch and only awoke after police arrived and yelled at the father to wake up. Apparently the girl's step mom was not at home because she had gone out to get a tatoo.
Meanwhile, if you caught KIRO TV, they at least eventually get to a bit more information. Apparently the father has a bit of a track record and is both a registered sex offender and having been convicted of animal cruelty three years ago. I'm not saying this immediately makes him a bad person, I don't know him. But it does at least let us know that he's prone to make a bit of bad judgment in his life -- like letting his four year old play in the yard with two dogs unattended while he sleeps (apparently quite soundly), on the couch.
But no, by all means, let's make this about the dogs. Because if these people owned another breed of dog, I'm sure they would have been completely responsible owners....whatever.
The girl was taken to the hospital with only minor injuries (thanks to the neighbors stepping in). The children have been removed from the home and are with child services until the case is investigated.
Until we get at the heart of the dog bite problem, we will NOT make headway in protecting people from dog bites (which are, overall, quite rare). We must focus on the issue of responsible dog ownership if we are going to make it work.
What frustrates me is that the girl didn't suffer any bite wounds. She had bruising and a minor cut on the inside of her mouth.
The real story is the father and his negligence. I guess stupid parenting just isn't quite so sexy as pit bulls not mauling someone.
Posted by: Rinalia | February 03, 2009 at 09:28 PM
Exactly, Rinalia.
As Marjorie said so well, "When it's another kind of dog, it's anything but the breed. When it's a 'pit bull', it's nothing but the breed."
Usually when these media stories start piling up, especially when they are trivial in terms of the dogs, a ban is in the works. It's a good leading indicator that somebody has been lobbying.
It also happens when a lawsuit is underway.
Or, the scheduled Fear O' the Day hasn't come down the newswire yet and it's press time.
Yes, media guys, you are very predictable.
Posted by: Selma | February 04, 2009 at 06:00 AM