Marri & Daphne

** The opinions expressed in this post are mine and not necessarily those of ARLP as an organization **

So it came to my attention that a radio personality from station KTLK in Southern Minnesota went on an anti pit bull rant this morning. The rant was the result of the recent acquittal of Zachary King Sr. of manslaughter for the death of King’s son Zachary Jr. who was fatally injured by the family’s pet, an unaltered male pit bull, who at the time of the incident was chained to a pole in the basement.

It is sad to me that the only talking point resulting from this story for some individuals is the breed of the dog. There are so many other conversations to be had, like proper dog management, training, socialization, exercise, sterilization, child-dog education, etc.

I am on the fence with this one. Like life, this incident cannot be reduced to a simple matter of right or wrong, good or evil. It is as complicated as it is tragic.

As an experienced and responsible dog owner, I believe most “dog people” will agree, looking at the environment in which the Zach King Jr. attack occurred the potential for disaster was grossly obvious. For starters, the dog, had a history of biting (multiple times). Second, he was not neutered. Third, he was in a home with an intact female who had just had puppies. And fourth, he was chained for prolonged periods of time on a very short chain.

When I heard the story I immediately rushed to judgment. As someone who has been actively fighting for the right to keep my dog in the state of Minnesota I was angry. How could you set your dog up to fail? Especially a pit bull – was my thought.

However, individuals I know and respect had the opportunity to discuss the event with the family. And unfortunately some of the things the family was attempting to remedy the situation actually ended up making it worse, like the chaining up in the basement. This family loves their children and loved their dog and they knew there was a problem. They paid a horrible price to arrive at the realization that they did not fully grasp the scope of their problem.

I grew up with Cocker Spaniels, and no offense Mamma, they were deranged little beasts. Unstable is putting it mildly. I was always getting bit. Sometimes for something as benign as walking past one of their food dishes. One of the Cockers we had, Jake, sent my brother to the emergency room. Rather than putting the dogs down (and several that we had probably should have been) we learned to live with it. Thankfully nothing more than miscellaneous punctures resulted.

In retrospect, I guess my parents unwittingly put us in danger. Does that mean they didn’t love us? No. It meant they felt they could handle the problem.

I am still on the fence though.

A dog that bites humans unprovoked is dangerous. A dog that bites family members (especially children) unprovoked is really dangerous. A dog that bites humans unprovoked more than once should be, in my personal opinion only, put down. That is just common sense – to me.

It should not be up to an independent agency like Animal Control to have to determine that. But that is where King’s defense attorney wanted to place the responsibility. Yes, perhaps AC should have been more aggressive with the process of deeming the dog dangerous. I am quite certain, given the constraints around owning a dog deemed dangerous, it would have left little alternative but euthanasia. Coulda, shoulda, woulda…

I worry that placing the onus of identifying the potential for disaster on animal control takes all culpability away from the dog owner. Shouldn’t people be held accountable for their dog owning behavior and to what their ownership practices yield?

Then there is the blight on pit bull breeds as a whole. The acquittal of King can certainly be seen by some as a validation of people’s feelings and fears that pit bulls just snap. I worry that the exoneration of King translates to many into the hysteria that there is something inherently wrong with the breed period. No one is safe from the seemingly friendly pit bull.

Beth, one of ARLP’s directors, sees the King tragedy as a perfect case for public education on responsible dog ownership in general. “Irresponsible and uneducated owners are at the root of our problem. If we can reach these owners we will be working at the front end of the problem rather than conducting damage control at the back end i.e. animal control, negative press, and breed specific legislation. For some owners, this is not an issue of irresponsibility but rather an issue of education.”

I agree, why be reactive when we can be proactive?

So who is responsible for the death of Zachary King Jr.? It seems the public always needs to put the blame somewhere. As Ani DiFranco says, “Blame is much too messy, some of its bound to get on you when you’re trying to put it on me.”

Sometimes maybe no one individual is entirely to blame rather life is showing us a gruesome and heartbreaking area in need of change and improvement. I understand that is very difficult accept when the mistake bears the face of a 7 year old boy who had his whole life before him.

Hindsight is 20/20

And everything is debatable – I don’t have any answers. I don’t really even have any solid opinion when the lines are not so very clear. I do know though, as I have mulled this about in my mind and discussed it at great lengths with friends and colleagues, I never blamed the dog. That is the one place I know blame does not belong. I am not on the fence on that one.

Filed under: In the News, Observations & Reflection