Why Do People Keep Aggressive Dogs?

Today I was sitting on a park bench with a high school friend visiting from Texas. You know the scenario - beautiful September day; talking about high school, kids, and dogs; and resting Alvin, Simon, and me.

A young man asked us if his 3-year old daughter could pet the puppies. The man started talking about tennis. Then Alvin starting barking. He didn't move, but he was unhappy about something. I automatically shortened his leash in case he was barking at the little girl, but I was wrong.

There was a leashed (thank you god) Rottweiler walking toward us. Either his owner or the rot decided it would be fun to join the petting party.

The rot looked at Alvin and you could see the rot's aggression level rising. The hairs on his back were standing up. Apparently the owner saw the same thing, because he pulled the dog back - out of the group.

Now - this known aggressive dog is walking toward 2 small dogs and a young child. Would you let him try and join the group?

To owners of known aggressive dogs: Keep your big, ugly, nasty dog away from other dogs and children. You are crazy to even think about approaching a small child!

If Alvin was attacked by this rot, it would have been a nightmare - the little girl was between the rot and Alvin. The rot was big; Alvin is 15 pounds. Could have been quite a headline - Little Girl Injured in Fight Between David and Goliath!

Did Alvin provoke the attack - no - he was doing his job by warning us.

I'm not likely to take 2 small dogs to this park again. By the way, Simon slept through this incident - under the park bench.

valmillsy