Originally Posted by
juggleaddict
Asana, . . . to put this bluntly without getting me banned from the forums. . . you're a ****. you're pond scum, and you have no idea how to handle any situation with regards to animals, if you ask me, the dogs deserve to rip you apart.
you simply don't treat animals like that. . . i don't know what makes you think you have the right to act like an naive adolescent, but you need to get a life.
I don't see what he did wrong, as far as the bike riding bits go. The greyhound/toy dog scenario might have been a bit rough.
In the situations outlined by Asana the dogs clearly presented a danger to himself, and a potentially lethal danger at that. This could quite conceivably be the case if the attacking dog caused the rider to fall under or otherwise collide with a passing motor vehicle.
More to the point, in one of the scenarios the dog was deliberately encouraged to attack him by its owner, which effectively made the dog a lethal weapon.
If it comes down to a choice between Rover's welfare, and the possibility that the cyclist may not make it home, then I'm on the cyclist's side.
Furthermore, though it may seem callous to harm the dog, you, or I, or one of our children, may be the next rider to benefit, or survive, that stretch of road consequent to Rover's mortal departure.
Ultimately the responsibility for the dog's actions and the dog's fate lies with its owner, not the rider.
The responsibilities of dog ownership are akin to ownership of any other animal. A farmer wouldn't let his cattle roam across the turnpike, thereby representing a danger to both the cattle and passing motorists. An owner of a Bengal tiger wouldn't let it off the leash to roam a shopping mall. An owner of a chimpanzee shouldn't let it be in a position where it can rip a visitor's face off.
And the owner of a dog shouldn't let it be unrestrained in a public place where it can present a danger to passing cyclists.