Originally Posted by
Witterings
Whilst a dog lover and someone who looks after dogs being training to be assistance dogs at the weekend, I personally couldn't keep a dog that I thought was vicious or likely to hurt someone I'd hate the constant worry.
I also think that punishment is limp .... they should make it a huge fine so it really hurts the owners, especially if it's a repeat offender as ignoring it offers no incentive for the owner to do anything about it, in the UK there's a level where the courts will commit the dog to be be destroyed but I'm not sure how far they have to go.
I would have thought if someone wrote to the animal control saying you have been notified on several occasions that this dog is a threat and you've failed to act so if someone gets hurt you will be assuming liability for negligence if they'd get someone to investigate it pretty sharpish.
Animal control in the counties are generally very good. In this particular county they are very responsive.
The last time I reported an aggressive dog they drove out to the location that day. The officer called me from the owners front porch. They can't bust into people's homes or issue citations if they don't see the loose dog. If someone is bitten then they are allowed to enter property or even arrest the owner if they refuse to hand over the dog. They can only do what they are allowed to do.
In this case the animal control officer was great. "The dog is getting impounded if I see it." and so forth. County police responded as well.
The problem is that there are so many dogs, many inbred.