Pets MEGA Cats VS Dogs - POLL!

[pennywise]

I don't know where you live, but where I live it's illegal to deny someone rent due to a pet. It's a form of discrimination and taken seriously if renters try to enforce a 'no pet' policy.

Most applications still ask whether you have pets, I just say "no" and bring my cats anyways. They can't do anything about it, and all 'no pets' contracts are void by default.

Is this true? What about places that prohibit smoking? If telling people they can't have pets is discrimination, I would have to imagine that telling people they can't smoke would have to be as well.

 

[bRoken&foRgoTTen]

Don't forget they're very sociable animals, and if you've got one... what extra work is two? I think just one could get very lonely, and its very sweet when you have two - they have squeaky conversations with eachother.

I was thinking about that ... waiting a month or so to make sure I am totally up for wanting to take on another GP ... I would hate to go out and buy all new cages, and the littles stuff they'd need, and turns out that I am overwhelmed. I dont realistically seeing that happen, but I'm going to take it slow. Gotta remember this is my first GP ever

 

[bRoken&foRgoTTen]

I don't know where you live, but where I live it's illegal to deny someone rent due to a pet. It's a form of discrimination and taken seriously if renters try to enforce a 'no pet' policy.

Most applications still ask whether you have pets, I just say "no" and bring my cats anyways. They can't do anything about it, and all 'no pets' contracts are void by default.

I wish that was the law here ... I would be so happy to have my cat back ... she was by far the best pet I have ever had my whole life.

 

[QuestionEverything]

It looks like you found a great substitute that you and your landlord can both live with. Great name too.

RE: legality of no pet policies - In my area most of the rental properties don't flat out deny rent to petowners, instead they charge enormous, non-refundable 'pet deposits' ($300+) in addition to the regular deposit AND $50 - $100 extra per month tacked onto the rent. THAT, imho, should be illegal.

 

[alicat72]

my labrador bit my 8 month old baby today...not sure what to do with him...

not sure if this goes in SLR or SO....please do what you will...

my six year old lab bit my 8 month old baby this morning. he has never offered to do anything aggressive to anyone, especially children. he loves kids and is very submissive....

i was sitting on the couch reading while she crawled around. he was laying a few feet away and she crawled up next to him. then i heard that knashing sound you hear when dogs fight each other...luckily i was only a few feet away and i pulled him away quickly. she was screaming bloody murder and blood was dripping everywhere....

i rushed amelie to the urgent care and they said to take her to the children's hospital....so, on the road for half an hour while she bled profusely from her head.

i am so glad i went to the children's hospital. i do not think any other doctor would have ordered a head x-ray....hers' did and they found that her skull was punctured and depressed and that the dura (lining of the brain) was also punctured.....

so, off to the neurosurgeon......she had the depression relieved and the dura repaired......they also found another fracture during the surgery and had to make another incision to repair it......

she is doing fine now. quite high on the morphine and being silly. i am so lucky to have such a great doctor....

so......the main objective here is to figure out what i should do with this dog. i love him immensely (not so much today) but i do not know what to do now. i came home and he was all tail wagging and excited to see me. i could not even look at him. his behaviour was totally unacceptable.....normally he is such a good dog...listens well, does not need a leash, acts as if he understands every word you say......and then this happened....

maybe i should just keep him separated from her forever. or maybe find another home for him, but who wants a dog that has even the slightest chance of biting a child????

opinions and suggestions please.....

 

[Chaos Butterfly]

shifting to SO.

 

[ladyinthesky]

well where i am from sadly if that happened here, they usually put the dog down. i am surprised that the doc didnt call animal control or whoever takes care of situations like this.

Anyways...IMO it is going to be really hard for you to get rid of the dog i have one and no matter what i would never be able to give him away. maybe you could give it to a family member for a little or give it to a friend that will take care of it until the baby is a little older. i dont really know what else to say but i dont think you should get rid of it.

Good Luck and I hope your little girl is doing ok

 

[pennywise]

Dogs and small children don't mix. You really can't let one near the other and turn your back for even a second. I would suggest either finding the dog a new home (a real home with a caring family, not leaving it at an animal shelter to be gassed), or taking steps to keep the dog and the kid separate. It's not the animal's fault, it just acts on instinct.

 

[vibr8tor]

is it possible that your dog is injured or sick in any way? and did you see exactly what happened before the bite occurred? i'm guessing that even the most gentle dog can react unintentionally with a bite if caught off guard or if a really sore spot is handled.

even so, your child comes first, and the punctured skull part seems pretty extreme and disturbing. if i was in your situation, first thing i'd do is take the dog to the absolute best and highest recommended vet in your area, and explain what happened. see what they suggest, make sure there's nothing going on physically that you aren't aware of, and then start looking for a really good home for the pooch. don't let them be in the same room together unless you're holding the baby and there's no opportunity for the same situation to arise.

 

[ladyinthesky]

It happened to a womans daughter that works with my mom and they found that the dog did not react well to woman but did with gay men so she found a nice gay couple to take him in. But sometimes its not always that easy.
Keep the dog and the baby away from each other

 

[QuestionEverything]

Oh wow. I'm so sorry for your little one's trauma, and the stress I'm sure you're under right now.

You can not keep that dog in the same house as your (or anyone else's) child any longer. It doesn't matter that he never showed any agression toward her before, she just had *major* surgery for an injury that thankfully didn't turn out as badly as it very easily could have.

I would try to find a home for him where children aren't present, but you've got to be honest about what happened.

 

[alicat72]

is it possible that your dog is injured or sick in any way? and did you see exactly what happened before the bite occurred? i'm guessing that even the most gentle dog can react unintentionally with a bite if caught off guard or if a really sore spot is handled.

even so, your child comes first, and the punctured skull part seems pretty extreme and disturbing. if i was in your situation, first thing i'd do is take the dog to the absolute best and highest recommended vet in your area, and explain what happened. see what they suggest, make sure there's nothing going on physically that you aren't aware of, and then start looking for a really good home for the pooch. don't let them be in the same room together unless you're holding the baby and there's no opportunity for the same situation to arise.

i was definatly thinking of taking him to the vet....not sure what test they might run, but it would be nice if they could evaluate his mental state.

about 9 years ago, i had a dog that had a brain tumor and he would become very violent toward my other dog. he would also back himself into a corner and bark uncontrollably like he was hallucinating....i thought of the brain tumor situation today because dogs act out when they are in pain. it's like they don't want anyone near them.....

i was so close and did not see her touch him at all....she was next to him, but did not touch him......she will often crawl up next to him and stop to smile at him....she just loves him so much....i'm sure it was very traumatic for her.

i never ever thought he would do something like this. it's shocking. every doctor and nurse said "a labrador????!!!!!!" like it was impossible for labs to bite......i know they are very gentle, but i won't be trusting him ever again...

 

[SA]

It always pains me to hear of these accounts. I can only try to feel what you are feeling now, alicat72. In many spots around the world, such an incident would mean certain death (backyard home job, or licensed euthanasia). While I do believe that with the proper (baby focused) training, your lab's behaviour can be better tuned for the times when it's around a baby. It is your baby, however, and only you can make the final call here. If your doubt remains, then the welfare of the baby trumps the welfare of the family dog. Otherwise you'd never forgive yourself if anything more serious happened to your baby. Passing the lab on to another caring family in that case would be a reasonable solution. If your doubt dissipates over the next little while, however, and you set up a logical "must do" list of steps to minimise the likelihood of this ever occurring again, then as long as you are unreservedly confident in that decision, the current family set up can proceed as originally planned. It is truly a 50/50 call, in my opinion, but it is *your* call.

(((hugs))) ... as I have little else to offer


edit: wow, no replies in sight when I began writing the above and then the fridge called. lol

 

[alicat72]

thanks to you all for your responses....

amelie is my first priority, but it pains me to think of giving harry away. i found him in the woods on my friends farm....he was such a good boy....seemed to be trained well, but i could not find his owner.....so, i brought him home....now he is very chubby and has always been so obedient....i just cannot wrap my head around the fact that he did this let alone decide what to do about it

 

[Rogue Robot]

has something recently happened to your dog, such as falling, hitting its head hard, etc.? dogs don't generally just gnash and bite a child that they have been around unless a) the child did something to provoke the dog or b) the dog has some sort of hidden problem that you are unaware of.

as many have said, find him a home with people who don't have children, or if they do, make sure they are older. if you take that dog to a shelter, they will most likely euthanize him for the simple fact that he has bit a child.

 

[IAMTHOUGHTS]

a indoor doorway gate?

WOW. maybe an expandable gate/fence to put in the doorway so the dog cant enter the room that the baby is currently in. but you would be moving it around alot... i dont know.
whatever you do dont put the dog to sleep, but i also would never let the dog in the same area with your baby again. the dog has probably never been agressive because it has learned that agression directed at humans is WRONG however, a dog may not 100% see a small(helpless/defenseless) baby as a person.

sometimes dogs get confused when they dont understand something: a sound, an animal, a baby,ect.. and they just snap into pure instintive mode and try to destroy a confusing and not understood "possible threat"

when i was a kid i was swinging around a basketball hoop pole, and my hands were making a high pitched squeel from friction. my aunts dog (normally nice) who i played with all day freaked out. and instantly attacked me with the most primal intensity.
i escaped, but it would have hurt me bad.

never did it before, and nver again. it was just confused and snapped. dont know why.

 

[alicat72]

i would never take him to a shelter. i rescue animals from shelters. i do not subject them to possible euthanization.....

he was not a shelter resue (see above^^)...i found him wondering around in the woods......he was super skinny but very obedient ans sweet.

another thought i have had is that when i had him fixed, they could only find 1 testicle and said that he may have one hiding....from the research i have done tonight, it stated that 82% of dogs who bite are intact males......

these are just things that keep coming to mind...possible reasons as to why he did this....

 

[Rogue Robot]

if you suspect a testicle that wasn't removed, take him to the vet for an ultrasound. i can't believe they didn't do that in the first place.

 

[alicat72]

i was thinking about this also. he probably sees her as another dog/puppy.....she is a lot smaller than him and we are a lot bigger than him....so, maybe he sees her as a weak pack member??

i thought maybe she grabbed his tail and he just reacted fast....no thought, just reaction......but really, i was right there, i would have seen if she touched him....

 

[alicat72]

if you suspect a testicle that wasn't removed, take him to the vet for an ultrasound. i can't believe they didn't do that in the first place.

back then i was taking my animals to a farm vet.....never had any issues with the vet until then.....when he did the surgery tho, he opened harry's entire belly trying to find the 'missing' testicle....nope. wasn't there.....the doc said sometimes animals only have one testicle and that if it was there, it would drop down at some point......5 years later and i have not seen a hint of bulge down there....

i will make note of this tho and when he sees his new vet i will mention it....