[55TRATTERENRY]

I was going to post a glowering thread on the PSPCA.

Then the pit mix that we adopted went bezerk and broke my cats jaw.

Now I think that Michael Vick should be treated as a folk hero for all the pit bulls he killed.

PSPCA probably still deserves some praise, but the fact that they didn't immediately euthanize this dog to make room for a friendlier and more deserving dog loses some of my respect.

[megatrendsZ]

I was going to post a glowering thread on the PSPCA.

Then the pit mix that we adopted went bezerk and broke my cats jaw.

Now I think that Michael Vick should be treated as a folk hero for all the pit bulls he killed.

PSPCA probably still deserves some praise, but the fact that they didn't immediately euthanize this dog to make room for a friendlier and more deserving dog loses some of my respect.

i do not think it is inhumane to euthanize dangerous/unadoptable dogs. BUT, you lose a lot of respect/credence when you suggest that Michael Vick's actions were in any way justified. he tortured dogs, that is a far cry from euthanasia.

Maybe the dog you adopted should have been euthanized or maybe it should not have been adopted by someone who had a cat. not blaming you here, the PSPCA is responsible or confirming a dog is cat friendly before allowing someone who has a cat to adopt it. so unless you failed to tell them you had a cat or failed to properly introduce the dog and cat to ensure the dog was cat friendly before you left them alone together, i do hold them responsible for this.

i'm sorry about your cat. that is very unfortunate. but hundreds of people adopt pits and never have a problem.

[everlastinge]

Yeah, I'm joking with the Vick comment. Still, it would have been extra horrible if he'd been doing it to golden retrievers or beagles.

PSPCA did the cat test and passed. I had to sign something that it "showed interest" in cats, to which I was like "uh yeah, it's a dog".

Makes me wonder about the dogs that they list as "not good with cats" or "other dogs". I used to interpret those warnings as "would chase cats" or "will fight with other dogs". I never thought they were an indication of the level of violence I saw because I never thought they'd allow a dog capable of that level of violence live.

[yazetaw]

both my dogs (a pit mix and a lab mix) will kill a cat given the opportunity - wild america has taken place in my back yard and it isn't pretty. lots of different breeds of dogs have high prey drives and would see a cat as prey and this attack/kill it given the opportunity. this doesn't mean they shouldn't be alive, it means they shoudln't be in a home that has cats. if i had a cat and saw "showed interest in cats" i would have asked for clarification and possibly asked if i could bring my cat in for a controlled introduction to see for myself what that meant.

[rXpX]

My girl's dog will kill your cat and it's a 20lbs cocker spaniel. It's just a baby, but still...it's stronger and more able than your cat but doesn't have the sense not to kill a cat. It's a dog.

[TriammaMade]

If we euthanize certain dogs for following an instinct that's been selectively bred into them, than what punishment do we reserve for people who make the conscious choice to put said dog in close quarters with a cat?

[Enfotanab]

Ugh...well I hope your kitty recovers.

[Stengapsept]

both my dogs (a pit mix and a lab mix) will kill a cat given the opportunity - wild america has taken place in my back yard and it isn't pretty. lots of different breeds of dogs have high prey drives and would see a cat as prey and this attack/kill it given the opportunity. this doesn't mean they shouldn't be alive, it means they shoudln't be in a home that has cats.

Yes. I used to have a Lab/Shepherd mix and that dog went after every cat that he encountered.

Once, if it had not been for the agility and quickness of a cat walking across the top of my yard fence, I am certain that dog would have grabbed the cat by the tail and mauled it.

[Tjfyojlg]

Yes. I used to have a Lab/Shepherd mix and that dog went after every cat that he encountered.

Once, if it had not been for the agility and quickness of a cat walking across the top of my yard fence, I am certain that dog would have grabbed the cat by the tail and mauled it.

in his younger years my lab would snatch cats off the top of the 6' high privacy fence surrounding my yard. the pit has never actually caught a cat, but once the lab had one she would join in. she's also really dumb and tries to eat things through the chain link. she'll stick her nose in the fence and then try to open her mouth which causes the top of her snout to get all cut up. since i moved to philly and have a chain link i have not had to deal with wild america happening, thank goodness.

[topbonusescod]

If we euthanize certain dogs for following an instinct that's been selectively bred into them, than what punishment do we reserve for people who make the conscious choice to put said dog in close quarters with a cat?

Again, I was clear with the PSPCA that I had a cat. Also, I asked about "showing interest" and they explained that some dogs ignored cats. Said that in the cat test, this one had ignored one cat and acted scared of another.

I've had dogs that chased squirrels, but they wouldn't know what to do if they caught one. Definitely wouldn't have hurt them.

I should also explain that this wasn't a quick fight. This was what felt like 15 seconds, in which time there was absolutely nothing I could do to get this dog off the cat. Like couldn't pry it's mouth open, hit or yell at it enough that it would stop. It was nuts.

After seeing it, I can't believe, that this dog wouldn't have torn a child's face off if the child jumped on the dog while it was sleeping, or in any other wide variety of scenarios.

[Spisivavona]

just have it put down

[EHjEjdqe]

Again, I was clear with the PSPCA that I had a cat. Also, I asked about "showing interest" and they explained that some dogs ignored cats. Said that in the cat test, this one had ignored one cat and acted scared of another.

I've had dogs that chased squirrels, but they wouldn't know what to do if they caught one. Definitely wouldn't have hurt them.

I should also explain that this wasn't a quick fight. This was what felt like 15 seconds, in which time there was absolutely nothing I could do to get this dog off the cat. Like couldn't pry it's mouth open, hit or yell at it enough that it would stop. It was nuts.

After seeing it, I can't believe, that this dog wouldn't have torn a child's face off if the child jumped on the dog while it was sleeping, or in any other wide variety of scenarios.

You definitely deserve some brownie points for being nice enough to take this dog in, and for being smart enough to get rid of it before it did anything worse. And the PSPCA could probably be clearer about the dangers, and maybe even just not released the dog to you as soon as they learned you had a cat.

But I have to say, you seem much more surprised by the dog's behavior than you should have been. Just the results of the cat test should have told you that every time the dog and your cat encountered each other, there was a 50% chance that the dog would go nuts on your cat. It's like if someone adopted a basset hound, and wondered why he was more interested in sniffing garbage than he was in jogging.

Also, how's your cat doing? Do you think s/he will make a full recovery (mental and physical)?

[DrCeshing]

But I have to say, you seem much more surprised by the dog's behavior than you should have been. Just the results of the cat test should have told you that every time the dog and your cat encountered each other, there was a 50% chance that the dog would go nuts on your cat...

Also, how's your cat doing? Do you think s/he will make a full recovery (mental and physical)?

I guess I started to believe the hype that only abused pit bulls are nuts. My friends have one that is really nice. This one wasn't abused and the old owners had even taught it the basic commands and everything.

It was literally the day before this happened that I told my wife, "I don't think the dog will hurt the cat. I think it will just chase it like (our old dog) used to." Wrong!

Cat is surprising fine. Lower jaw wired shut and doped up. Started eating again today.

Oh yeah, and in that 15 seconds where I couldn't get the dog off it, I actually heard the bone crunch. That took about a day to stop replaying in my ears.

[DrKirkNoliss]

My girl's dog will kill your cat and it's a 20lbs cocker spaniel. It's just a baby, but still...it's stronger and more able than your cat but doesn't have the sense not to kill a cat. It's a dog.

My 18lb cat of pure muscle would eat your girl's dog for a snack. Actually, no he wouldn't, he'd hunt and kill it for sport. He hunts me and I've got a couple hundred pounds on him.

As far as euthanizing pit bulls, it's a good idea. Also should be performed on anyone naive enough to adopt a pit bull from the PSPCA and bring it into a home with other pets.

[VogsHoock]

wild america has taken place in my back yard and it isn't pretty. lots of different breeds of dogs have high prey drives and would see a cat as prey and this attack/kill it given the opportunity. this doesn't mean they shouldn't be alive, it means they shoudln't be in a home that has cats.

I think that's debatable. We're talking about pets, animals that are domesticated (or should be domesticated). No shelter should be placing aggressive animals in homes, whether they have cats, kids, or senior citizens. It is simply too much of a risk.

I confess, I'm 1000% with 6enny on this, and it is based on my personal experience adopting a medium-size terrier mix from a shelter. I was told he was turned in because "the owners weren't able to spend enough time to train him" and that he had passed all the behavior tests. He was very sweet and I fell in love quite quickly, but within a month -- I guess the length of time it took him to become protective of me and my home -- he became a biter. After the second time (the first time didn't draw blood, the second time did), I sent him to 4 weeks of behavior training, then another 4 weeks of lessons, and by the end of 3 months and about $5,000, I gave up and (spent my own money) having him put to sleep.

The bottom line is that a good interview with the people who turned him in would have revealed that he was an overly-protective biter, and no matter how many tests he passed, he should never have been listed as adoptable.

I used to say I'd never buy a purebred dog when there are so many available for adoption, but since that experience, I've been a puppy-buyer ever since and frankly, would never recommend to anyone that they adopt a dog that's more than a few months old. The risks -- emotional and physical -- are just too great.

[Mifsnavassy]

I think that's debatable. We're talking about pets, animals that are domesticated (or should be domesticated). No shelter should be placing aggressive animals in homes, whether they have cats, kids, or senior citizens. It is simply too much of a risk.

my dogs are not a risk to children or senior citizens. They are a risk to cats that wander into their yard and any intruder that enters my home without an invite. the pitbull is allowed to be out and abut when i have visitors, the lab is not. the lab bit someone a few weeks after i got him and some work with a trainer identified him as a fear biter. my choice was to make sure he was never in a position to bite a person again. I achieve this by containing him when people visit me and muzzling him when he is out of the house. he has never shown any aggression towards people outside the house, but it is my responsibility to make sure nobody gets hurt, so i do that. he does eventually get used to new people and after several months of careful work, he is now allowed to be out and about when my SO comes over. it has been 13 years and he has had a very happy bite-free life - heck, he has even lived in peace with several rabbits over the year. he apparently finds rabbits to be extremely terrifying and runs and hides from them.

[Izzy]

my dogs are not a risk to children or senior citizens. They are a risk to cats that wander into their yard and any intruder that enters my home without an invite. the pitbull is allowed to be out and abut when i have visitors, the lab is not. the lab bit someone a few weeks after i got him and some work with a trainer identified him as a fear biter. my choice was to make sure he was never in a position to bite a person again. I achieve this by containing him when people visit me and muzzling him when he is out of the house. he has never shown any aggression towards people outside the house, but it is my responsibility to make sure nobody gets hurt, so i do that. he does eventually get used to new people and after several months of careful work, he is now allowed to be out and about when my SO comes over. it has been 13 years and he has had a very happy bite-free life - heck, he has even lived in peace with several rabbits over the year. he apparently finds rabbits to be extremely terrifying and runs and hides from them.

Your lab must have watched this scene with you years ago.

[Intiltern]

I don't like pit bulls, don't trust them, they are KILLERS.Dobermans can become nasty also. Hope your cat gets well.

[swissloveone]

I used to say I'd never buy a purebred dog when there are so many available for adoption, but since that experience, I've been a puppy-buyer ever since and frankly, would never recommend to anyone that they adopt a dog that's more than a few months old. The risks -- emotional and physical -- are just too great.

So just based on that one experience, you will never adopt a shelter dog no matter what breed it is? Good thing everyone doesn't feel like you do, or all of the dogs there would be put to sleep.

All of my dogs have been from the PSPCA and I have yet to experience anything negative happening with them.

[AdobebePhoto]

So just based on that one experience, you will never adopt a shelter dog no matter what breed it is? Good thing everyone doesn't feel like you do, or all of the dogs there would be put to sleep.

All of my dogs have been from the PSPCA and I have yet to experience anything negative happening with them.

Because of that experience, I would not get a shelter dog more than a few months old, yes. Mind you, I had shelter dogs all my life, two dogs in particular that were the most wonderful mutts ever. My aunt had a series of shelter dogs that were remarkable. I know there are wonderful shelter dogs out there. But there is too much emphasis these days on saving all the dogs, on NOT euthanizing them, with platitudes like "he just needs a good home" or "it was all the prior owners' fault." As a result, shelters, to reduce their kill rate to make activists happy, put aggressive and fear biting dogs up for adoption when, in fact, they should never be put up for adoption. Yes, maybe there's 1 home in 100 in which that dog would thrive, but the chances that the dog is going to go to that perfect home are close to nil. Instead, the dog goes to a home where the dog "should be OK."

You've been lucky, and so was I, for a long time. But it only takes one bad experience to realize what the risks are. Living with an aggressive biter for three months was one of the worst experiences I've ever had, and I don't say that lightly. I was constantly terrified for myself, my friends, for other animals, for people in the street (even though, after the biting, I kept the dog muzzled when I walked it), for everyone and everything. It was living in a Stephen King novel. So, until shelters start euthanizing dogs that are unfit for adoption in a traditional home, I will not get another shelter dog.