Owners need to know breeds' characteristics

Vicious dogs are a real problem in our community. My vet, Dr. Pierce, sees “way too many cases of dog attacks.” I experienced this first-hand on April 27 when my elderly dog was injured in an unprovoked attack by a mastiff twice my dog’s size.

We were walking back to my car from “Dog Beach” when I saw this dog rip its leash from its female owner’s hand — despite her frantic attempts to stop it — and race over to my dog, knocking her over and biting her throat, face and ears. My poor dog was screaming with terror and unable to get up.

By the time I and the owner kicked and pulled the mastiff away, my dog had suffered ear and face wounds and a nasty puncture bite wound in her neck. My vet said a couple of inches lower and it would probably have been fatal.

Dog owners please, please be aware that some dogs — such as mastiffs and pitbulls, among others — were bred to fight dogs and other animals for “entertainment.” If you must have such a dog, always muzzle it in public. You can’t “train” the desire to fight and attack other animals (and sadly, sometimes people) out of a dog like this.

I hope the mastiff’s owner will write a check to me for $100, put it in an envelope, and take it to North Idaho Veterinary Clinic, where I can pick it up. That’s the amount I spent on my poor dog today; it included the cost of treating the wound, pain medication and antibiotics.

KATHLEEN MULROY

Sagle