Dog attacks are on the rise in Coconut Grove
I was walking my German shepherd as always on Hibiscus, near Day and Oak, when a reddish brown pit bull and a black lab attacked out of nowhere. The pit bull was extremely vicious and would not let go of my dog's hind quarters. It took a car pulling up for the dogs to run away. They had collars and tags and were well fed and groomed. They appeared to be trained to attack and fight. Especially as my German shepherd is tall and 85-90 pounds, these dogs were half her size and relentless. They showed no fear, and appeared to be out to kill her.
I've attached a photo of just some of my dog's injuries. She's been to the vet twice and will likely need surgery next week. The police refuse to investigate because I cannot tell them the precise house the dogs are from (although I told them it is one of the streets East of Oak, as the dogs approached from and ran away to the same street). A simple old fashioned police work and knocking on doors will lead them to these dogs.
What scares me the most is not just the viciousness of these dogs, but what if a child was walking his/her dog and these dogs attacked?
Everyone needs to be on the lookout for these dangerous dogs, and we all need to pressure the police to investigate. I would hate for someone else to go through what we have.
posted by Tom Falco at 5:00 AM
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21 Comments:
Sorry about your pet & family member, however, I would put my pet in the house and return to the closest proximity you have described, I would go back again and again and again- - - - - - and again until I could identify where these dogs live, I would then call the police AND animal control, secure a report, present the owners with the vet bill and prepare for some trouble from the owners of these animals since most pets mimic their masters. To one degree or another you'll bear some responsible for the child you made reference to should some child, adult or another animal be harmed or killed. Writing a POSTCARD FROM A FRIEND to the Grape simply isn't adequate!? Stand tall, take a stand and do your duty. I live in the area you've described; on Hibiscus, near Day & Oak, I'll do my part and I'll begin going to this area daily, to HELP YOU, but I'm more concerned with someone walking a child or pushing a baby carriage. In my opinion you should have post your name. However, I understand and will remain anon since I don't want their kind coming by my home either.
That's why I walk with pepper spray and a stun gun in the Grove.there is no kind of safety here in the Grove.SCARY!!!
I absolutely understand how frightening this must have been, and I am no apologist for vicious dogs. However it is important to realize an important characteristic about pits: dog aggressiveness is part of their genetics, but human aggressiveness is not. Granted, a bad dog is a bad dog, and animal control needs to figure out where these dogs came from and why they weren't fenced, but the chance of them grabbing a child from a stroller is slim to none.
Carrying a stun gun and pepper spray is a good way to get your own dog hurt - a better idea is a thick, large walking stick that you can use to pry them off.
I too will watch for these dogs on my daily walks. Absolutely unacceptable and the owners should pay for your vet bills, no questions asked.
How about all pet owners keep their pets on their own property and don't impose them on the rest of us. There is no reason why all of us taxpayers have to be burdened with building Dog Parks for you to socialize, and walking in public spaces where your pet has pooped or urinated. Keep your dog at home or in your backyard. If you don't have a backyard then you don't deserve to even have a dog. And if you are so emotionally unstable that you require the unrequited love of a dog, then please find a better shrink or better meds or don't leave the house.
Anon @ 9:51, the same could be said for people with annoying children. Replace 'dog' with 'kids' in your comment.
I had just returned from Shell Lumber and just happened to have several 2 x 2's within reach in my van. I had just removed my key, the engine was off, I reached down to remove the 2 x 2's and went up-right to open the door. My cat always hears my van and as usual was just outside the door. I noticed a man standing just in front my van, to the right. He was smiling FROM EAR TO EAR and in his hand was a leash. I couldn't hear what he said to his dog, but his lips were moving and he appeared to be having an orgasm by the great big grin on his face - - - - he stooped slowly, still smiling from ear to ear, placed his hand on the park holding his collar to the leash and removed it and his dog produced sparks like some car being chased by the police after his tires wore down to the rims, as that dog tried to gain momentum to get at my cat. I slammed my door into the dog violently getting out at the same time and wracked him as hard as humanly possible as the owner moved towards me. The bastard called the police on me, but my cat was fine.
Tom, your statement below "leave your comment" is obviously not true. If I were you, I'd take it down or live up to it.
As for 10:11 am - your animal is not a person, does not have the rights of person, does not equal a person, and you are mentally ill to make such a comparison. It's absurd.
To the original author of this post - the police are required to investigate this crime. Go speak with the chief, and insist. This is a crime - it's a dangerous and violent crime, and it needs to be prosecuted. The owner of these dogs deserves JAILTIME. That's in addition to probation, and never being allowed to come into contact with dogs ever again.
Anon at 11:52, calling someone mentally ill is rude not only to the person who happens to have a different opinion than you, but also to anyone who has developmental disabilities. Take your own advice on that one.
Also, no this incident does not deserve jailtime and is not a violent crime. It is still sad though for the poor dog that got bit, but in reality this is more of a "leash and secure your dog" issue than anything else.
My research shows that pit bulls and similar dogs are NOT allowed in Miami Dade County.Look it up to see if this is correct and follow what the law says for you - the victim can and should do !! End of argument..It's illegal !!
There's two gentlemen in this area, both smoke cigars and both carry carefully crafted
long & heavy tree branches, about 2" round and about 4/5 long as they walk their dogs who are always on a leash.
Anon 9:51 - You are a mean-spirited, nasty person. How dare you insinuate 1.) that a pet cannot be walked in their neighborhood (though all dogs should be walked on-leash) 2.) that someone who doesn't have a yard should not be able to own a dog and 3.)that people who crave love from their pets need a "shrink" and/or meds. You will most likely grow old alone (or at the very least lonely). Keep your rude anti-animal sentiments to yourself.
Pit bulls and their near relatives seem to be proliferating here in the Grove. They are illegal but the police just seem uninterested in writing up the owners. Maybe a big stick is becoming necessary but it's also a quality of life issue.
Aside from the clear danger these dogs posed to the writer, I would just be pleased if dog owners followed the leash laws and used them, especially after having had to clean up two large piles of poop in my backyard this very morning which obviously is not the first time. I feel like I need a poop detector when I walk around my own yard bc many dog owners don't use leashes and let their dogs run wild (witnessed just yesterday on my front lawn). I'm one of those old Groveites who doesn't want to put up a big fence so we can all share in the greenery and beauty in the Grove without fencing ourselves in, but sometimes I think about it. I've also lived in another state (yeah west coast people) where dog owners actually pick up the poop as if it were second nature, because that is the right thing to do if you are a responsible dog owner and care about others, including your neighbors and fellow citizens.
Anon 6:01 is spot on. I can't get over the number of rude, irresponsible dog owners in the Grove who let their dogs shit all over without picking it up. I regularly see it in Kennedy Park, on Bayshore and Tigertail all around Grosvenor and Grove Hill, and on Florida Avenue by Mayfair Lofts. Pick up after your dogs people!! While you're at it, pick up after yourselves as well. There is way too much litter being thrown all over the Grove. There are trash cans everywhere!
Wont be too long before the majority of the public and the authorities get fed up with Dog Owners and mandate they use "Doggy Diapers". Perhaps that will motivate folks to be more responsible. It might even reduce the amount of dogs on our public streets. Lets see Doggy Diapers on the next Election Ballot and it will be overwhelmingly approved.
Doggie Diapers? YES
First of all not picking up your dogs crap is disgusting, inconsiderate and damn lazy!! Second i noticed that a lot of people are not even paying attention to their dogs because they are looking at their cell phones or talking on them so they doesn't even notice that their dog is crapping!! Be a responsible dog owner and pay attention and take pride in your community and help out with this ugly problem!
Unfortunately, those people who comment negatively about this issue and the dog owners are those same dog owners who in the past allowed their dogs to disrupt their neighbors and neighborhood by the endless barking of their dogs. For one neighbor I purchased 15 roosters & 1 hen - - - talk about some noise!? I didn't know the roosters had been partially trained for fighting and when the dogs barked the 1st night the roosters kicked their asses. I sued second inconsiderate bastard, who used his home owners insurance to defend against my complaint. His dogs were bad asses, which he wouldn't train, his insurance put him on a list as high risk, his insurance was cancelled, his loan called in, he couldn't pay and lost his home. When the 3'd neighbor heard of all this, she moved away & sold her home. The moral of this story is; these people are very pleased with themselves by your comments, we're making their day, they love expressing their contempt for humanity through their dogs. It's a hard nut to crack!? You're nothing compared to their dogs. Jobie Steppe
Doggy Diapers available at Pet Smart and Pet Supermarket. Be a responsible pet owner and help keep our parks and public swales clean and germ free.
@12:40, I was not "calling someone mentally ill", like you would call someone a jerk. it's not name calling, it is a diagnosis. To attempt to humanize a non-human is a clear and consistent sign.
As for the rest of your comment, you're flatly wrong. If you don't know the law, don't speak to it. This was a violent crime. An animal is no different than any other weapon in this particular regard. The police swore an oath to enforce the law, sometimes they need a bit of nudging to remember it.
A very, very long time ago, human history bonded humanity with dogs, why? The time it took to catch and/or entice a dog to stay and create a territorial imperative, i.e., stay, get fed and sleep and become familiar with all the sounds and scents of everyone in that tribe/community, so, when a stranger got within scent or sound of that/those dogs, a sound different than all the footsteps of every tribal member, said dogs would bark, bark and bark some more to warn the tribal members stranger(s) were about - - - - a warning system. That reality is alive and well, here, now, today. The real problem is over-population, i.e., so many people, so many dogs, so many everything and so little space. It's all natural, so I guess, carry a big stick!
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