Things that make me angry...

I just read a story about a five year old boy that was mauled by a Pit Bull yesterday. The boy was playing in his own fenced in yard. The dog dug under the fence and attacked the boy. His arm was mangled and the dog literally chewed his face off. The boy was flown by a Flight for Life helicopter to Denver, where he has had two surgeries, and has many, many surgeries in his future over a number of years. He has to have a new nose constructed via plastic surgery because his is completely gone. This dog had already killed three pets in the neighborhood, and was known to be aggressive, and was known to dig under his fence and get loose regularly. The owner didn't care, and Animal Control did not take any enforcement action against this owner and dog.

Ethan (our youngest son) was bitten by our neighbor's Pit Bull when he was three. The dog was in his own yard and Ethan had stuck his hand through a hole in the fence to pet the other dog (a nice dog). The single mom who lives there had her boyfriend move in and he brought his Pit Bull with him (it was the first day the dog was there). I can't even say how lucky we are that Ethan pulled his hand back before the dog was able to bite down on it. It ripped his hand open and he had to get stitches, but it could have been really bad. If the dog had clamped down and shaken, it would have broken Ethan's arm, which was wedged between two fence boards.
I called the ER before bringing Ethan in and they said to contact the owner and get the dog's city license number and the rabies tag number. I rang the door bell four or five times before anyone answered. Finally, a young boy answered the door. I asked to speak with his parents and he said they were sleeping because they had a hangover (4:00pm). I told him their dog bit my son and that we had to go to the hospital, and I need to speak with his parents. He went to wake them up, but came back and told me they don't want to talk to me. I told him to go get his parents or I was calling the police. The mom finally came to the door and said the dog belonged to her boyfriend who had just moved in the night before. Her other son (about 8 or 9 years old said "I hate that dog... it keeps biting me." She smacked him and told him to shut up. She went to get the boyfriend and he finally wandered out into the hallway, but would not come to the door. I told him I need the dog's information from the tags. He said the dog is not registered or licensed, and did not have any shots. I said it bit Ethan and he needs stitches. He said he didn't care and that he was going back to bed. Tracy took Ethan to the hospital and got him taken care of, and I had to meet with an Animal Control Officer. He took a report, and indicated that they would quarantine the dog for 30 days due to the lack of a rabies shot. He also issued a citation for the neighbors to fix their fence, which was in disrepair.
The neighbor's never did fix their fence, but I don't allow my kids to go near their fence anymore. Over the next couple of years, their fence continued to degrade and a fence post finally broke. This allowed the Pit Bull to stick his head between two fence panels that were falling down. I called Animal Control and they indicated that they had no record of the first citation. I gave them the exact date, the original Animal Control Officer's name, a report number, etc... They said they had recently been awarded the Animal Control contract by the city, and they had discarded all previous records when they took over. I told them I wanted to file a new report then. They asked me if the dog was in my yard. I said no, but that it could be in a matter of seconds if it wanted to. They refused to come and take a report, and said the neighbor's were not violating any laws if the dog was not in my yard. I told him that they had been given a citation to keep their fence in good repair and that they were in violation of that original citation. They said the original citation did not exist as far as they were concerned, and suggested that I pursue civil litigation if I was unhappy with my neighbor.
It got to the point that the Pit Bull would poke its head in the opening and bark and growl at us if we were in the backyard. I tried to speak with the neighbors, but they refused to come to the door and talk to me.
The Pit Bull eventually figured out that it could get out, and did. I got all of the kids in the house and called Animal Control. By the time they showed up, the dog was no longer loose. They took a report, but would not take any action because they did not observe the dog on the loose. I showed them the broken fence, and they said it is not against the law to have a broken fence. I reminded them of the original citation requiring them to keep the fence fixed, and they refused to discuss it. I told them it was their job to take care of a dangerous situation regarding this dog. I told them that if they did not do something about it, that I would be forced to do something about it. They asked what that meant, and I told them I would shoot the dog before I would allow it to attack my kids, or other kids/people in the neighborhood. They immediately informed me that I would go to jail if I were to do so, and said they were going to document my comments. I told them I would rather go to jail than to have my kids get mauled. The guy was a jerk and really only cared about the dog. He didn't care about me, or the dog's owner, really...
I decided to call Animal Control every time I saw their dog out, even if it was every few minutes! There were some nights when I called them five or six times in just an hour or two. After a week or so of that, the dogs disappeared. Apparently, the neighbors got tired of being hassled over the ordeal and got rid of both of their dogs (even the nice one).
The end result is that my kids are no longer threatened by a Pit Bull, but I can not believe how difficult it is to have any action taken. They finally voluntarily got rid of the dog, but not as a result of any direct actions by Animal Control.
I can't believe the Animal Control Officer was more upset with me for threatening the dog than they were with my irresponsible dog-owner neighbors!

Our situation had a good ending, but there is a five year old boy in the hospital in Denver who is disfigured for life, and is actually very lucky to be alive. This dog had three documented attacks in its history (on other animals, not people) and nothing was ever done. I am so angry right now that this boy's life is changed forever, for no good reason.

I was intimidated by Animal Control regarding my plan to kill the neighbor's dog before it had a chance to get loose and maul someone in my neighborhood. Not anymore, though. If we wind up with another dangerous animal/irresponsible owner in our neighborhood, I will be adamant that something be done. I will go to the City Council, the Mayor, the DA, the Attorney General, the local news channels, the newspaper, etc. If the officials responsible for these types of things do not take action, I will see to it that the animal 'goes away' in one way or another. I'd rather get arrested for keeping my neighborhood safe than to see one of my kids going to the Denver Children's Hospital in a helicopter...

I was going to talk about other things that make me angry, but I'm out of time. Please keep this five year old boy in your prayers (I don't know his name). He needs your prayers, whether you feel like praying or not.