Pitbulls & dog parks (poem)

[Kaybie's Mom]

I came across this poem and it really made me think. I've seen a few pitbull owners on this board that have stated that even their own pitbull should never be at a dog park. Now I understand why.

A Day At The Park

He is just like other dogs I would always say; He loves to go to the dog park to play every day

Everyone loves him there, so it's ok; My dog won't fight--he wasn't raised that way

But then one day, right before dark, A troubled young man came into the park

He had by his side the biggest dog I'd ever seen, And unfortunately for us, both were quite mean

We asked very nicely if they would just go; The dog answered with a snarl and the man with a harsh "NO!"

Well his dog was a terror, threatening to all; Then he started a fight with a Lab over a ball

They fought pretty hard and the man would not intervene; Then here comes my dog and pushes right in between

He grabbed that big dog and thrashed him around; And with one quick jerk threw him down on the ground

The Lab was able to escape; I heard everyone cheer; But my dog was now in a frenzy and would not let me near

When he finally let go, what I saw stopped my heart; That big mean dog had been torn apart

The authorities were called, the big dog was now dead; But they didn't take the big dog; they took my dog instead

We all tried to explain that my dog saved the day; But because of his breed he was taken away

You see my dog was a Pitbull and they don't get any breaks; One small incident is all that it takes

A dog had died; And though he hadn't started the fight, My dog was held responsible for what happened that night

He was deemed a danger to all and sentenced to death; And I hold him now as he takes his last breath

It's my fault that my dog is being killed today; Please listen for a moment to what I am going to say

Everyone warned me about his potential to fight; I said it won't happen, I am raising him right

And now my dog is paying the ultimate price; Because I was stubborn and wouldn't take the advice

He only did what he was bred to do; Learn from our story; don't let it happen to you.

[garvinsmum]

That was so sad.

There is certainly a lesson there. It is just not worth the risk to your dog to put them in that situation if they have so many years of breeding behind them to fight. Being protective doesn't make you mean, but when one has a much greater capacity to fight (even if thats never exercised) in the event a problem occurs the result is likely to be like in that poem.

[StormKatz]

This is exactly why I no longer take my dogs to the dog park... a while back Johnny got into a fight with a Bloodhound (totally the fault of & started by the Bloodhound) Johnny was only protecting himself, but because he is a Boxer & the other dog was a "Just a harmless Bloodhound" it was automatically Johnny's fault in everyone's eye's.... even though they both had marks I might add.

We hightailed it out of there... I wasn't about to wait for someone to take my boy away, & we have never taken him back to that kind of dog park.

Now while we prefer hiking, we will on occasion take the boys to the park right up the street & walk them around the track... but no where near the dog runs.