I'm scared for my kids...neighbor brought home another pitbull

[Not so Dumbo]

Our neighbor has now had 3 pitbulls. The first one the humane society took away because he wasn't taking care of it. The second one died unexpectedly and he dumped it's body in an empty field near by where all the neighborhood kids play, but that's a whole other rant. And now, he has a new one. He keeps them chained to a tree in the backyard with a bucket of water near by. His house falls in between mine and the house where my 2 DSs play everyday with the neighbor boy. I'm so scared that his pitbull is going to maul one of my kids. Keep in mind that these are not pets, more like abused animals. I feel sad for the dogs, especially the one that died unexpectedly. I can only guess as to why it died. I think it was only like 2 years old. We don't have a dangerous dog ordinance in our township so there's not much the authorities can do. I could report him if I saw that the new dog was being abused but other neighbors have done this and he has retaliated against them. He threatened one of my other neighbors that he was going to break into his house with a baseball bat and kill his dog. I don't need that either. Arrgh, I'm just so mad that he got another one. I was at least relieved when the other one died because I didn't have to worry about my kids going across the street to play anymore.

 

[Sheree Bobbins]

Oh, how frightening for you and your family. What could you do to bring a vicious dog ordinance into being in your town? I'm sorry this happened again.

 

[twinklebug]

Call the humane society again - if his first dog were removed under court order he may not be allowed to keep any more dogs, no matter what breed.

 

[pkasbohm]

Call the humane society again - if his first dog were removed under court order he may not be allowed to keep any more dogs, no matter what breed.

I agree with this.

Check it out and how did he find out that your neighbor reported him? Can't you do it without giving your name?

 

[agnes!]

Yikes. Some thoughts and here's a .

Here are my thoughts.
NEVER let your children play outside unless they are supervised.
Put up a *heavy* chain-link fence, at *least* 6 feet tall, around your entire yard. (Advise the other family to do the same.)
Keep a metal baseball bat handy (not to hit the owner with, however much you might want to haha) so you can at least stave off any possible dog attack.
Put "911" AND "Animal Control" on your speed-dial. Make sure your kids know what to do if someone in the neighborhood is attacked.
Talk informally to any discreet friends you or the other family might have on the local police force.
Tell your children they are NEVER to cut though this man's yard to get to their friend's house.
They are NEVER to give the dog any attention AT ALL. No treats, no kind words, no walking towards him, NO getting near this dog AT ALL. Advise the other family to do the same.
Keep track in a journal of any and all threats, strange behaviors, etc. from this crazy neighbor. All the other/sane neighbors should do the same, you all should be watching this loon's house like hawks. Any sort of documentation might unfortunately come in handy.
Does he own the house? Is he renting? If he's a renter, the owner might be interested in knowing that this bullying jerk is driving down the value of the house.
Move.

Your problem is not with the poor dog, but with the nasty owner. Any animal will snap if abused enough plus God only knows what kind of breeding/bloodlines this poor animal has.

agnes!

 

[PrincessTiff]

How scary! That's very good advice Agnes.

 

[alliecats]

I am scared for your kids and this poor dog. I don't get the attraction to this particular breed at all (to each his own, not trying to start a debate here, just I don't like them AT ALL) but I can't stand to hear of any animal being chained to a tree in all kinds of weather with an owner who sounds like a real pig of a person.
Kids should be able to play outside without worry of MAULING, for God's sake. Good luck to you, I hope it all works out!!

 

[golfgal]

Our neighbor has 2 Rottweilers and I feel your pain. At first they just barked, all the time. Then, one day one of them got out and ran straight for a couple walking their small dog (schitzu I think--had to spell it that way for the censors) across the street and about 1/2 block down from the neighbors house, so not threatening at ALL. The dog went straight for the little dog and the man was kicking the crap out of the rottie trying to get it away from his dog. The owner finally came out and got the mutt. We hadn't heard the dogs for about 2 weeks so we thought they got rid of them but they are back. This couple with the rotties have a small child too. I don't know how they could keep these dogs with a child around when they have shown aggressive tendencies. Our little 10 pound dog would be a goner if they ever got under the fence, wooden privacy fence.

 

[klmall]

Not so Dumbo - Your post and others like this always worry me so much! People should have to live the way they treat their animals and pay severe penalties for posing risks to others as your neighbor is in your case.

When I was growing up our next door neighbors raised weimaraners and they would wildly chase their own children even as they played. These dogs tore the backs off of everyone's jackets and dug their teeth into everyone's arms "playfully" according to their owners. I was very afraid of them despite their claims of friendliness.

Then at age 20 I was camping with my family and some of their friends had a rottweiler chained on a leash camping with them (and with their 2 toddlers). Everytime I walked by I called out first, smiled and gently petted him as I walked to the restroom. He seemed friendly enough until the third or fourth trip when I bent down to pet him (I'm tall) and he grabbed my face and partially tore off my lower lip. Thankfully I don't remember much of what happened next except that someone ran over with a towel and screamed for my Mom to come over.

After two plastic surgeries and much family anguish I healed well but my Mom and the mother of the family with the rottweiler required sedation! The dog was tested for rabies and killed. No one knows exactly what happened; perhaps he was bitten by a bug at the same time or heard something else in the woods. I've been told that I'm alive today only because I bent down; that he was going for my throat - for the kill!

My husband and I will never own a dog, no matter what size and I never go near large dogs of ANY type. I share my story with anyone who has children and attack/defense-type dogs. You cannot predict what a dog of that type will do. The owners of the dog that bit me had raised their dog with their toddlers for several years and taken it places many times before. They were shocked and horrified and could not believe their adorable pet could do such a thing so I understand what your worries are!

I hope you find a way to protect your children and the children of your neighborhood!

 

[RitaZ.]

The owner sounds like a thug. I can understand why the neighborhood is afraid, I would be. When you are dealing with such an unstable person, you can't expect them to care for his dog or anyone else. His history with dogs speaks for itself. A lot of thugs use these dogs to protect themselves from other thugs, that's probably the reason behind him choosing this breed. Combine that with no proper training and care and you've got a killer dog.

I really do believe that "dogs' problems" stem from their owners. I was bit by a dog earlier this year and I didn't blame the dog for any of it, the problem was his owners. In situations like that, the dogs aren't allowed to have a normal dog life. That's really sad.

You've been given some really good advice by agnes!. As for the dog, if you see the neighbor hitting him or not feeding him, then make an anonymous call to your local animal control. I would call and ask to see if there is anything they can do, since he already had one of the dogs taken away. Good luck!

 

[Banshee]

I thought Michigan had a law on the books banning the ownership of pittbulls? I would definately be on the phone with the humane society and remind them of the first dog tell them what happened with the second dog and how he disposed of the body and inform them he now has another chained to a tree.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

I think I will see if I can contact the Humane Society anonymously. I definetely don't want them to find out that it was me who called. I don't trust this "kid" at all. He's 21 still lives with his mom and who ever else decides to live there for the time being. His mom is no help. Hardly ever home, and has no control over what goes on there. Our neighbor where our kids play witnessed what happened to the 2nd dog but was too scared of the neighbor to call the police. I really wish she would have. I'm sure he would be in jail instead of bringing home another Pit right now. We have a chain link fence in our backyard but local ordinance won't allow us to put one up in the front. Funny huh, no dangerous dog ordinance but yet one about where we can have a fence? I am going to have another talk with the kids about not going near the Pit. I told them about the last one that it was dangerous and not to go by it. We have a shot gun in the house and if the situation should warrant, I won't hessitate to use it. This neighbor figured out who had called the first time because one of the other neighbors is a dog trainer and he just figured that it must have been him. Normally, I don't let the kids play in the front yard unsupervised, but if they are playing outside at their friends house or going to or from their friends house it's hard for me to be there to protect them.

 

[Mono~rail]

Our next door neighbors at our house we just sold yesterday have pit bulls. The female they have had for a while, and she seemed friendly enough. Recently, they bought a male puppy pit bull. I saw them building a new dog pen one day. . . for the purpose of breeding pit bulls! Backyard breeders of any type of dog really burn my cookies, but to backyard breed pit bulls is just irresponsible. I was glad we had already decided to relocate.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

I thought Michigan had a law on the books banning the ownership of pittbulls? I would definately be on the phone with the humane society and remind them of the first dog tell them what happened with the second dog and how he disposed of the body and inform them he now has another chained to a tree.

In Michigan it's up to the local government to decide if it wants to ban a certain breed of dog. Ours unfortunetly doesn't. DH has a friend who is with our county's sheriff's dept. and we've already asked him if there was anything he could do. He said there's not, because of the lack of a township ordinance.

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

Our old neighbors had two pits bulls. One went after our dog, who'd gone outside with DH to go potty. I heard the squealing and opened my front door to find my dog running straight through my legs with the pit on her heels. The pit wasn't aggressive though...I think he just wanted to play with our dog, but you never know. I screamed at the neighbor in a fit of panic and ended up baking cookies and taking them over to him because I felt bad...

Here, though, you can't chain a dog to a fixed spot, and they have to have food and shelter at all times. The have to be able to run on a wire. The Humane Society ended up taking the dogs one day when our neighbors weren't home because they were chained to one spot. You might want to check what kind of rules you have locally in your town. And just don't use your name -- I'm not sure how your neighbor found out who called the first time...

 

[beck0321]

Ok I agree with other posters, that you need to call the Humane Society immediately! Tell them the neighbor has threatened others for doing the same thing, so you would like to remain anonymous. If the neighbor DOES threaten you, you need to call the police immediately!
This neighbor sounds like a horrible, cruel and EVIL person!

 

[beck0321]

I think I will see if I can contact the Humane Society anonymously. I definetely don't want them to find out that it was me who called. I don't trust this "kid" at all. He's 21 still lives with his mom and who ever else decides to live there for the time being. His mom is no help. Hardly ever home, and has no control over what goes on there. Our neighbor where our kids play witnessed what happened to the 2nd dog but was too scared of the neighbor to call the police. I really wish she would have. I'm sure he would be in jail instead of bringing home another Pit right now. We have a chain link fence in our backyard but local ordinance won't allow us to put one up in the front. Funny huh, no dangerous dog ordinance but yet one about where we can have a fence? I am going to have another talk with the kids about not going near the Pit. I told them about the last one that it was dangerous and not to go by it. We have a shot gun in the house and if the situation should warrant, I won't hessitate to use it. This neighbor figured out who had called the first time because one of the other neighbors is a dog trainer and he just figured that it must have been him. Normally, I don't let the kids play in the front yard unsupervised, but if they are playing outside at their friends house or going to or from their friends house it's hard for me to be there to protect them.

You might want to inform your neighbors who called before and were threatened that you are putting in an anonymous call. That way they can be on the lookout for crazy neighbor coming to harass them (since I'm sure he'll think it was them again). Suggest to your friendly neighbors that if they are harassed again to call the police and inform them of the two times this guy has harrassed them. Maybe they can get a restraining order against him.

Also to the poster who was bit on the face, the same thing happened to me! But it was with a smaller dog so I didn't get stitches. I still have a scar on my lip that I absolutely HATE! I really don't want to get a dog, but DH wants one when we get a house. It is very hard for me to trust dogs now. When we do get one, we are going to do some extensive obedience training and socializing.

 

[eclectics]

I would call a "neighborhood" meeting and have all of you band together. There is strength in numbers. Call the Humane Society as a group and inform the police of this jerks past threats. Tell the jerk the entire neighborhood is keeping an eye on him and if anything "happens" to anybody, the police know exactly who to talk to first! I'll bet the dog will miraculously get to go live inside and your kids can finally play in peace.

 

[snickerharley]

Pit Bulls are not as dangerous as people may think, often if treated right they are great pets, unfortunately your neighbor sounds like an animal abuser- so there is some cause for concern. I would call the humane society at the first sign of something funny or concerning. Just a suggestion though, maybe you should move, by your description of your neighbor it sounds like you don't live in the best neighborhood.

 

[Jennasis]

Other than being a breed of dog you object to, what has this dog done that makes you think he's dangerous? It sounds like this clown shouldn't own ANY breed of dog...or any living creature for that matter. But just because it's a pit bull doesn't make it a threat. I would be trying to get the humane society to address this bozo's inability to care for his animals. The dog should be placed in a loving home.