Pit bull kills deer in Michigan
I use a service called Google alerts to inform me anytime a pit bull attack news report is published. Most of the attacks follow one of several patterns. Most of the attacks that I read about are either caused by dogs running at large, poorly socialized dogs, or people who take unfamiliar dogs into their homes. A recent story in Michigan doesn’t fit any of the above categories. In fact, this story defies even the most convoluted logic.
I have quoted the story in its entirety below including a link to the original article.
Dog was running loose, may be euthanized.
Police and animal control officials must decide whether to euthanize a pit bull after it apparently attacked and mortally injured a deer in Macomb Township on Thursday, officials said.
Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said the incident occurred just north of Hall Road (M-59) shortly after 10:30 a.m.
Officers responding to a call of a pit bull running loose found the dog and the fallen doe. As officers approached, the dog fled, but police were able to capture it, the sheriff said. A police officer shot and killed the deer, which was dying from its injuries.
The dog was taken into custody by officials from the Macomb County Animal Shelter. Shelter officials were unavailable for comment.
“Right now, the question is (whether to) put the animal down,” said Hackel.
The dog is licensed, Hackel said, but officers were unable to locate its owner. Allowing a dog to run at large — even a licensed animal — violates ordinances in most communities, the sheriff said.
“Obviously, nobody was watching the dog,” Hackel said.
Hackel was not certain what other possible charges the dog’s owner might face.
The sheriff also said representatives of the Department of Natural Resources contacted his department and have joined the investigation.
Pit bull terriers have come under increased scrutiny in recent months in the wake of highly publicized attacks on humans and other animals.
In the most noteworthy case, a pit bull that was the pet of an Eastpointe family attacked and killed an 11-month-old baby as the child lay on a bed. The baby’s father then shot the dog. Eastpointe is about to finalize a vicious-dog ordinance.
Other Macomb County communities, including Mount Clemens and Center Line, have taken action on ordinances aimed at combating vicious animals.
In Oakland County, Royal Oak officials this week directed their attorney to research an animal ordinance after dogs attacked other animals in that community. In one case, a pit bull killed a sleeping cat.
http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2009/09/25/news/srv0000006478968.txt#blogcomments
We have humanized these dogs to the point where we expect normal prey drive to disappear. I have read two stories about the same incident and I am appalled by the fact that people expect dogs to behave as something other than dogs simply because they live in an urban environment. I am also appalled by the fact that news reporters are allowed too much creative license when reporting the news.
Here is an example:
“When one of the officers called the dog, he came. He even sat on command.”
This is a quote taken from another website reporting the same story here is the link to that story: http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2009/9-23-09/Macomb-pit-bull-deer.asp
“As officers approached, the dog fled, but police were able to capture it, the sheriff said.”
This quote is taken from a story on this page.
Which is it? Did the dog flea and was captured, or was the dog obedient and following commands?
The greater question here is why would a community, animal control officer, or Sheriff’s Department even be considering euthanizing a dog of any breed for doing what dogs do naturally; chase prey.
Ungulates are prey animals to every breed of dog and prey drive aggression is in a completely different category than any type of human focused aggression. As is evidenced by the fact that the dog showed no signs of aggression toward the officers, there was no risk to any of the residents in this neighborhood. To euthanize this dog for chasing and capturing prey would not only be a miscarriage of justice but it would also indicate that the departments involved are acting based on ignorance and fueled by the media’s presentation of pit bulls as marauding killing machines.