hburgnews.com

Comment from Bubby
Time: August 3, 2007, 9:33 am

That web page is completely Boortzed! I want my bad dog news!

Comment from kai
Time: August 3, 2007, 9:33 am

My dog gets out a lot. He’s not dangerous, but he is lucky. Is there a registry for that?

Comment from Tim
Time: August 3, 2007, 9:37 am

I hope dogs don’t end up as victims of non-canine related neighbor disputes.

Comment from Christa Gitchell
Time: August 3, 2007, 10:52 am

Where is King Edwards Way?

Comment from finnegan
Time: August 3, 2007, 12:29 pm

Christa, I don’t know, but apparently it’s right near a lot of cats.

Comment from Dave Briggman
Time: August 3, 2007, 12:39 pm

It’s off of Port Republic, east of I-81.

Comment from Dave Briggman
Time: August 3, 2007, 12:41 pm

I guess dogs like the one who bit Bucky Berry and the others who have munched on people within the past year are not eligible for listing (or have they been killed by court order)?

Comment from finnegan
Time: August 3, 2007, 12:43 pm

I think that dog was already put down.

Comment from David
Time: August 3, 2007, 1:09 pm

I really fear for my dogs. They get bored, dig holes and get away. I installed a 6 foot fence because my big boy was jumping the 5 footer for fun (he was actually showing off and playing with me by doing so, it was really hilarious). Anyway

My dogs are great, they are loving cuddle bugs. But, they love to chase cats. They are dogs! My dog has killed cats that have gotten into the yard before (suicidal cats in my opinion). I’m nervous for their safety if they should get out.

Comment from Christa Gitchell
Time: August 3, 2007, 1:32 pm

I have 2 labs and a boxer, but like David says…they’re dogs! Dogs chase cats. I keep mine in the house all day. We have a pet door that goes out to a pen where they use the bathroom during the day. We built it like Fort Knox, because we have one dog that is like Hudini. You can’t put a dog down or even characterize him as a danger if he kills a cat.

Comment from David Miller
Time: August 3, 2007, 1:43 pm

I get weirded out by dogs that don’t chase cats. What are the specific designations for labeling a dog a danger?

Comment from Del Marvel
Time: August 3, 2007, 1:47 pm

Sorry, a dog large enough and aggressive enough to kill a cat is dangerous and shouldn’t be running loose. Period.

Comment from Tina
Time: August 3, 2007, 2:36 pm

It’s one thing for a dog to chase cats; it’s another for the dog to kill them. I would consider a dog “dangerous” if it killed a cat.

Comment from Tina
Time: August 3, 2007, 2:54 pm

Here’s the official definition:

“Dangerous dog” means a canine or canine crossbreed that has bitten, attacked, or inflicted injury on a person or companion animal that is a dog or cat, or killed a companion animal that is a dog or cat. However, when a dog attacks or bites a companion animal that is a dog or cat, the attacking or biting dog shall not be deemed dangerous (i) if no serious physical injury as determined by a licensed veterinarian has occurred to the dog or cat as a result of the attack or bite, (ii) if both animals are owned by the same person, (iii) if such attack occurs on the property of the attacking or biting dog’s owner or custodian, or (iv) for other good cause as determined by the court. No dog shall be found to be a dangerous dog as a result of biting, attacking, or inflicting injury on a dog or cat while engaged with an owner or custodian as part of lawful hunting or participating in an organized, lawful dog handling event.

Comment from Bubby
Time: August 3, 2007, 2:55 pm

Can’t we all just get along?

Comment from Christa Gitchell
Time: August 3, 2007, 3:05 pm

That is too cute, Bubby

Comment from Frank J WItt
Time: August 3, 2007, 3:14 pm

Those nasty rodents are dominating that cat which in turn is commandeering that poor defenseless dog. How dare that owner enslave that doggie! And to make it wear a back pack…almost too much to stand!

LOL !

Comment from David Miller
Time: August 3, 2007, 3:35 pm

Del Marvel

I respect your statement “Sorry, a dog large enough and aggressive enough to kill a cat is dangerous and shouldn’t be running loose. Period.”

The trick is in the details. First, my dogs are not aggressive in any circumstances other than hunting mode. They are animals and any opinion to the contrary can be argued but weakly. Second, never would intentionally allow my dogs to “run loose”. The trick here is that dogs have a habit of escaping. If my dog escapes and runs into a vicious cat that has a history of biting dogs and it just happens that my dog wins this one time, please don’t accuse my dog of being vicious.

Example:
If I let my dog run loose in the woods. My dog comes across a bear or a bear comes across my dog. If the bear attacks my dog then I certainly wouldn’t accuse the bear of being vicious. In this circumstance the cat and dog reverse rolls, plus; who let the damn cat out”?

Comment from Dave Briggman
Time: August 3, 2007, 4:01 pm

Or, who let the dog off lease? I hear a number of people calling into WSVA about their lost dogs…as a dog owner, I find it amazing that so many people allow their pets to go around — without their owners.

Comment from Barnabas
Time: August 3, 2007, 4:45 pm

To cat people,
Dogs are smart and escape even some of the most secure yards. I’ve had dogs that also deserved the title of Hudini.
Unless your a crazy cat person you cannot imediatly jump to the conclusion that a dog that harms a cat is dangerous. If a dog kills a racoon or a large rat is it dangerous…? No it’s a freakin dog. Blaming the dog is a cat owners way of shifting there own irrisponsibilty to a being that cannot defend itself. If I hit your cat with my car should my car or I myslef be added to a list.
(My favorite pet ever was a snowshoe cat, so I’m not biased.)

Comment from Tina
Time: August 3, 2007, 5:14 pm

I guess I’m a crazy cat person then! And I am…

I also have a dog, and yes, he gets out on occasion. If I ever found out that, while cruising the neighborhood, he killed a cat, I would go to great lengths to try to make sure it never happened again - more secure fencing, keeping him on a leash even in the yard, finding a new, cat-free home.

There seems to be the expectation that dog owners have more responsibility for keeping their pets secured than cat owners do - fence in the dog, keep it on a leash - while cats often roam free. So if my cat’s sitting outside on the sidewalk and a loose dog kills it, who’s responsible? The dog owner for not having control of the animal? Me for allowing my cat to be out unsupervised? Both? Neither?

Sorry, more questions than answers here.

Comment from David Miller
Time: August 3, 2007, 5:18 pm

Tina

I agree completely, who is responsible. The answer according to this law is the dog and the dog owner. The cat lobby must be gaining strength.

Comment from Del Marvel
Time: August 3, 2007, 5:22 pm

Going back to the original example, if a dog kills a cat on the cat owner’s property, the dog owner should be just as liable as if he or she went into that yard and killed the cat themselves. If you or your car runs over a cat in someone’s yard, yes, you would be judged by the state, fined and your name would be on a “list” which would be consulted in the future should you want insurance or have another moving violation. If the cat is off it’s owner’s property, then the cat owner should be responsible for whatever damage it causes. But that doesn’t justify a violent animal. I mean, who let Bucky loose? What about a kid? They shouldn’t be unsupervised or off their property either, but surely something should be done if one is mauled by a dog.

Comment from ZTH
Time: August 3, 2007, 5:37 pm

pfft. and yet no one says anything about the constant and seemingly unstopable killings committed by cats.

Comment from Christa Gitchell
Time: August 3, 2007, 9:49 pm

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/08/03/people.vingrhames.dogs.reut/index.html

Now, these are vicious dogs.

Comment from David Miller
Time: August 4, 2007, 10:06 am

Christa

I think you (and Ving) nailed the vicious dog thing on the head. I’m pretty sure that those dogs would qualify.

Comment from ZTH
Time: August 9, 2007, 1:17 pm

He died of a heart attack

Pingback from hburgnews.com » dog laws
Time: April 28, 2008, 12:31 pm

[...] suppose this is a continuation of the comments from last summer’s post about dangerous dogs. There’s a story in the News Virginian about a boy that was mauled by his neighbor’s [...]