Dog Problems
Ever since my daughter rescued Sheba, an injured pit bull and her three mixed breed puppies a year and a half ago, I knew that sooner or later the tribal elders who run this Indian horse camp where we live would tell her she has to get rid of them. Sheba had been hit by a truck and her leg had been mangled so bad the vet wanted to take it off. My daughter wouldn't let that happen and spent hundreds of hours and upward of $2000 she couldn't afford to heal Sheba. We have a lot of time, money, and love invested in the dog, and Sheba has been wonderfully patient and appreciative through it all. But she is a pit bull and will attack other dogs. She seems to be OK with people, but you never really know with a pit bull. I had urged my daughter from the beginning to get rid of the young male pups even if they had be killed. Then we would see how Sheba and the female puppy worked out.
Yesterday while there were no people camped here, and no one else in sight, she took three of the dogs walking: Sheba, and her inoffensive daughter Bebe were on leashes and Bob Barker, a brother of Bebe, ran wildly in joyous circles around them. Bob has managed to avoid collars and leashes by never allowing himself to be caught, so he is not neutered nor had his shots. He is a slippery little rascal who has convinced me he will bite if he is grabbed. He accepts his chain link kennel, and loves his flat-roofed dog-house, but the closest he will come to people, is when he brushes by my daughter allowing her to pet him on his back briefly. That has become more and more frequent over time. My daughter spends quite a bit of her precious time throwing a frisbee to the dogs within their fenced yard, or throwing a ball to them, and she keeps their quarters clean and comfortable. They are all too fat.
Anyhow, yesterday while on a walk, Sheba and Bebe on leashes and Bob Barker running loose, an Indian on a horse appeared and stopped within view of Bob who barked and ran toward the horse, until my daughter called him back and he retreated back to the other dogs. It almost seems like a set-up to me. I think campers have complained about the dogs barking and some campers have general unease about camping near a pack of pit bulls, even double-caged ones. I feel sure Mr. Elliott, the tribal leader, wants them gone, but wants to allow my daughter and me to stay.
Bob didn't chase or try to bite the horse, but the dogs on the whole are bad for this camp. They bark too much at strangers, passing vehicles, horses, my cats and dogs, and especially at visiting dogs. If they got loose they would attack other dogs. In fact once they did attack my big black and peaceful Smokey Joe, and would have killed him if I hadn't beaten them off with a mop and a loud threatening voice. Smokey suffered extensive injuries costing me over $700 because he couldn't defend himself against three dogs at once - Sheba and the two male pups. Bebe wasn't involved, but if she had been loose, she would probably have been close to her mother, Sheba, whom my daughter and pulled out of the fray and sat on. Sheba was strong enough to get away from my daughter, and the fact that she allowed herself to be controlled is very much in her favor. But she is probably a purebred pit bull and you never know when training will give way to basic in-bred instinct. Pit bulls were bred for dog fighting.
My daughter told me all this in an e-mail last night. I haven't talked to her in person yet. I have told her long ago what I think, and what I would have done early on, which is get rid of the male pups before they did damage, and before we got too fond of them. In fact I had my lovely dog Rocky put down for being aggressive and uncontrollable. Rocky bit my daughter twice, so she should understand. It broke my heart to do it. I had given Rocky more than three happy years, but could never control her if she got loose. Twice she attacked small dogs belonging to campers and often growled at people. I am surprised I wasn't told to move. Rocky loved me very much, but off-leash she was a menace and when she did attack calves on an adjacent ranch I had to have her killed.
I've had to dispose of a lot of pet cats during my life as a rootless navy wife. Life can be hard and sometimes you have to do heartless things. My daughter doesn't agree. She always thinks she can find another way. I don't want to get into an argument with her, so I will try to keep quiet. She says she will move before killing those pit bulls. She hasn't been able to get any assistance from the pit bull association. They only help in getting them neutered. She can't afford to move, and besides that she shares my car. I had her name put on it so if I die suddenly it will be hers without difficulty. Besides, where will she find another trailer park that will allow eight dogs and eight cats? She has four other nice dogs, and her cats all stay in the house. She is dreaming!
So we've got problems. I think I will escape into a good book. I can't solve this one. My daughter will ultimately have to decide for herself. Tell me if I'm wrong.
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Comments: 16
She bit off a very big chunk of responsibility there... you advised her, and I'm sure, helped her to realize the risks... (I don't mean of the dogs hurting someone so much as I do of becoming attached, etc) .... that's really all you could do.
Unfortunately you are right concerning the horrific abuse pit bulls have endured. I hope your daughter will be able to figure out something but many communities ban these poor creatures out of fear. I, too, would stay out of this but I think I would just mention that people carry guns and rarely ask questions before using them.
Good luck to all of you.
We animal lovers have to learn that we can only rescue so many per human. Personally, I would never trust a Pit Bull, let alone several at one time. They are pack animals. The woman who delivered Senior Meals on Wheels to the reservation here was attacked one day (by a pit bull she knew) as she stepped out of the car with her foil wrapped trays. Luckily, she stayed on her feet and managed to get back into the car or the dog would have killed her. She is permanently disabled by the leg muscle being ripped apart and her hand and chin was also permanently damaged. To make matters worse the owner refused to give up the dog for rabbies tests (on the reservation the county sheriff has no say.) and so the woman had to undergo the painful series of shots. The owner said he had not fed the dog that day.
Sandy - When my daughter decides to come over and talk to me in person, I can quote your pit bull horror story.
My daughter often works into the wee hours of the morning. She is a medical transcriptionist who works at home for companies far away. Her odd sleeping hours mean that when the dogs start barking, I am the one who tries to make them be quiet. I do that by threatening them with getting sprayed with a hose. Just saying HOSE usually makes them be quiet. But it ruins my friendly relationship with them. Lately Sheba barks and looks at me in a way that tells me not to trust her. I have a problem with dizziness and balance and if they knocked me down, I'd be a goner. I have told my daughter I will no longer go into their enclosure.
Jennifer - The first pair of cats I rescued were homeless. They were tame but their 4 kittens were very wild. The one male kitten grew up too wild to catch. I tamed the others, but he impregnated one sister before I asked my husband to shoot him as he slept. One shot and he never knew what hit him. After the sister's four kittens were born, I put one in a pen and captured the mama when she tried to take it back, She eventually became a tame cat who went in and out with the rest of the cats. I still have one of the kittens who is now over 14 years old and she is sick. The vet says it's because of her teeth as well as other serious ailments. I had another much younger male cat who was really suffering with bad teeth, and I had to choose which cat to have treated. I couldn't afford to have both of them treated. He is well now and so grateful he is with me most of the time. She is going to die, or I will have to have her put down. I had a Sophie's Choice situation, and I chose the younger, healthier cat.
ALL dogs are pack animals. Pit bulls, however, need additional disciplined exercise. They aren't a basset hound, content with a few games of "catch" a week in the back yard.