Dogs, guns, and cops

A woman in Arizona was mauled and killed by three pitbulls owned by a neighbor.

Response in fatal dog mauling case questioned

This one article brings up several issues for me.

• Once again, the cops usually can't protect you at the time you are in danger. It took an hour and ten minutes for a sheriff's deputy to get there and, by that time, it was already far too late. It doesn't matter if your assailant is human or animal, a gun is still the most effective form of personal defense that currently exists.


• What is it with people who own animals like this? What do they get out of it? On the way to work yesterday, I was sitting at an intersection where I watched a man and his dog cross the street. The dog looked kind of like a pit bull, but I don't think it was, the head wasn't shaped right. It had bobbed ears and a pair as big as mine hanging down between his legs. I watched this guy and his non-neutered dog walk by and wondered why he had that particular dog. If I had to guess, I'd say a big reason was machismo. He had this very "masculine" dog because he wanted to show the world how manly he is, or compensate for a sense of inadequacy in that department. Oh, I'm sure the dog is friendly and he cares about it, but this particular type of dog provides him with something he wouldn't get from a small dog or a cat. Contrast that with the reasons Ali and I have our cat. We don't have him to show off and impress people. We have him because he's a sweet little guy who brings pleasure and a sense of fulfillment to our lives. It's our relationship with Calvin that's important. What other people think about him is not important. (Of course we want people to like him, but that's not a necessary factor.) This, of course, is not to say that he doesn't have the right to have that dog. However, in the case of this article, the dogs in question were actual pit bulls, which are known to be potentially dangerous. Which brings me to my next point.


• The woman whose dogs killed the victim should be charged, tried, and sent to jail. She is responsible for the actions of her dogs, even more so than the actions of her children should she have any. It's her responsibility to control the dogs and she let them get away. It's like having a trio of guns that can move around and shoot people on their own. This, by extension, makes these dogs far more dangerous than any actual gun. I don't know if she should be charged with murder, but at least manslaughter or negligent homicide.