Terrible tragedy, impressive response

[BuddysMom]

I was suprised to see a focus from the police on the dog's breeding and history. Seems beyond the usual intelligence of the law (and the media) in such cases.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2005/05/10/5_10_1a_dog_death.html

Police look at dog

[xavierandrea]

So sad that a life is lost. Regardless. I wish adult would proper supervise their pets. It is good to see the police taking interest in the "breeding"

[Crystal]

OH that is so sad. Why do people not realize they must supervise there children and dogs at play? :cry:

[BuddysMom]

It is really sad. According to another article the mother was out in the yard with her making mud pies and just went in to go to the bathroom when it happened.

[Canis erectus]

It's nice that the PD is taking the animals' biological history into consideration, but that doesn't really do anyone any good now, especially not the little girl. Also even though they're willing take breeding into consideration I seriously doubt that it can be applied to dog bite cases in the future.

[b]

[BuddysMom]

Gppd points above.

[JackieMaya]

I agree, K. When will people learn? You don't leave a child alone with a dog, ESPECIALLY new dogs! Such a sad, sad thing to happen.

[BuddysMom]

I really think most parents are clueless about this! It should be common knowledge and common sense, as well known as never leaving a child alone by a pool even for 5 seconds.

More today:

http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2005/05/11/5_11_dog_death_WWW.html

Dog that killed 7-year-old girl came from kennel with questionable reputation

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

By EMILY MORRIS
The Daily Sentinel


Dog pedigrees can be a confusing and murky area that experts recommend researching thoroughly.

The 6-year-old Alaskan Malamute, Wakon

[DogPaddle]

She said the breed is typically very gentle with humans, but breeding and experiences the dog had when young can be a very important factor.

Yeah I don't care for this remark either, she sounds like a breeder who is saying what needs to be said about a breed just to divert any malignant media attention

Her statement is quite true. Malamutes are derived from a very old working breed from. They were traditionally raised as freight dogs in far northern communities. It was very common practice to cull ANY dog that showed ANY sort of human aggression. From what I know the dogs were quite often loose in the community, frequently in the company of unnattended children.

From the ACK site:

Temperament
The Alaskan Malamute is an affectionate, friendly dog, not a "one man" dog. He is a loyal, devoted companion, playful in invitation, but generally impressive by his dignity after maturity.

From Animal Planet's site:

It is family-oriented, and as long as it is given daily exercise, it is well-mannered in the home. Without proper exercise, it can become frustrated and destructive. It is friendly and sociable toward people, but it may be aggressive toward strange dogs, pets or livestock

I also think her explanation of hereditary temperment problems was a good analogy without getting into the issue in complexity.

Both articles are great and I am very impressed with the newssource and the Fruita PD. Note that not leaving a dog and child alone together was touched on, another thing that impresses me.

It is very sad that that little girl lost her life.

[courtnek]

ok, flame away if necessary. if you own ONE dog, its less likely to attack anyone because its "pack space" is limited. you own MULTIPLE dogs and pack rules come into play. and they WILL divert to pack rules if the owners are not careful...the more dogs you have, the more pack rules come into play, and the stricter you have to be. ask K, ask HF...their dogs are well behaved because the RULES HAVE BEEN LAID DOWN. from the beginning...

[Cairn6]

Poor baby all I can think about is her final moments and how scared she must have been.