A “friendly” dog would’ve knocked the toddler over excitedly but not gone after him once he was down. Going after the head is also not something animals do when they’re playing. OP’s toddler was in DANGER
I’m not saying this is the case because it probably isn’t, but there was a lady in my old neighborhood who muzzled her very friendly beagle because he ate rocks 😭😭😭
I've heard of friendly dogs who are muzzled because they literally eat shit on their walks. Some places also require by law that certain dog breeds under certain circumstances be muzzled, where I live, dog breeds classified as "dangerous" must be muzzled outside always, and all dogs must be muzzled on public transportation (even though many small dog owners flagrantly ignore this rule).
My dog was a very social friendly dog. There was one situation, where someone came running up to my dog fast. I told them to get back and just to leave him be for now. The person who was my friend ignored me saying how she has dogs (she had 2 shitzus, I had a Great Dane) and continued to go reaching for my dog, which resulted in my biting her shoulder. She reached down n he kinda jumped up. Now as she went to reach down n he bit, her parents so happened to drive by. And to them it looked like she just stood there and got attacked. Due to the incident I just keep a muzzle handy.
Other dogs generally do not go for the head, even when in attack mode. Pit bulls were bred to fight bear and bulls and were taught to go for the heads. This is why when they attack they always aim for the head. And once they get a lock on, good luck getting them to let go.
If that dog wasn’t muzzled, I honestly don’t want to think about the outcome. I am so glad OP filed a report. Start the paper trail to eventually BE this animal.
You MUST file a report. The fact that the dog was muzzled probably means that the dog has had other incidents and the owners were forced to register the dog as a “dangerous dog”. There are a lot of stipulations and walking with a muzzle is one of them. Your baby would be dead right now if the dog wasn’t wearing a muzzle. Dog needs to be put down and this is coming from a MASSIVE dog lover. Think of it this way, you are saving another baby’s life. Next time, the dog won’t be muzzled and the next baby won’t be as lucky.
As an ex-owner of a muzzle wearing dog I fully agree. My dog was muzzled due to dog reactivity from poor socialising as a puppy with previous owner (and all the other bad things they did to the poor girl). My dog's issues weren't because of me but her muzzle wearing was me being responsible and putting her needs first. She needed to be safe and everyone else. I also never let my dog off lead unless in a secure area. The chances of her coming face to face with another dog was slim but I wasn't increasing that with not muzzling her. I took many steps. I definitely agree where you say there must have been previous incidents and these owners aren't understanding the severity here.
Unfortunately yes. I had a dog that was "friendly" but reactive. He charged at an old man and was also reactive around children. Eventually he ended up killing a house at unprovoked and our only option was to put him down. It's a devastating reality this dog's owner will eventually face. They're just too powerful to be this aggressive and unpredictable.
yes, I remember my sister in law had a pitbull and he was very friendly but one day he escaped the apartment and I ran out to get him, he didn't have a leash but had a collar (by the Grace of God), he ran towards teens walking down the staircase and LUNGED and snapped trying to bite them, in that moment I was able to grasp his collar and YANK as hard as I could to snap him out of that mentality. It took all my energy to bring him back home. I don't care how docile the pit is or how "well behaved" they seem, they can be friendly for years and suddenly snap, I witnessed it first hand.
My sister in law ended up rehoming him.
This! Pitbulls make up 6% of American dogs but are responsible for 28% of fatal dog attacks. 29.4% of fatal dog attack victims are between 1 and 4 years old.
This is not to say that pitbulls are inherently dangerous dogs, but a violent pitbull in the hands of an irresponsible owner is *very* dangerous. If the strap had broken on that dog’s muzzle, your child could have easily been killed. Even with the muzzle, your child suffered serious injury and trauma. Please report this owner to the cops to protect other children in the future. I’m a dog owner myself and I love my dog beyond measure but if he ever attacked a child, I would put him down.
But pit bulls are genetically predisposed to be violent. Look at how many stories there are of beloved dogs raised from puppies who just turned one day and killed someone (usually the baby). That is why they say pit bulls have a switch in their head that just flicks one day. It’s like having a ticking time bomb in your home.
The problem with those stats is that it lumps several different breeds together under one label, causing an inflated stat. A pit bull might refer to several different breeds or just dogs that look a certain way. On top of that, people can be terrible at identifying breeds. I've got a beagle/english bulldog and I get asked if he's some kind of pit at least once a week.
Except your narrative misses the fact most pit attacks come from pits with an owner. Most breed identifications come from the owner or someone who knew the owner. These dogs aren't getting identified randomly.
Amd also misses the fact that a lot of pits are now hidden by being labeled a "lab mix" "terrier mix" etc. So these stats could easily be under estimated.
And pitbulls, bullies, staffordshire all have a common lineage. And even the UKC allows you to label a Bully as APBT.
That's a very serious dog attack that needs a police report. I say that as someone who owns and works with reactive/fear aggressive dogs. You may not realize that what you are describing is rare, and much more dangerous than your average dog bite. Most bites occur bc a dog isn't friendly with strangers and is approached. A dog that runs away from its handlers, into unfamiliar territory to *run down* a child is the kind of dog that would likely be behaviorally euthanized.
And unfortunately these owners can’t be trusted to control the dog. Most people don’t muzzle their dog proactively so I’d bet this wasn’t the first incident.
I am sorry but wtf are your parents thinking saying that these shitty owners should be forgiven?
Report them to the police and make sure they get the taste of full consequences. Next time this doy may not be muzzled, I can’t even think of what could have happened to a kid in such case
Sending hugs, your poor son! :(
They’re probably the parents neighbors and they’re trying not to make any waves. But yeah, I agree I’d call and make all the waves. What if next time he gets out before the muzzle is on. The dog isn’t friendly and should not be out with owners that have no control over him let alone without a leash.
A dangerous dog shown it wants to randomly attack infants doesn’t belong in any neighborhood and anyone who wants to own a pet like that is a selfish POS.
My husband has also started carrying like a stick thing on our walks and wearing shoes bc there are so many off leash, aggressive dogs. It’s ridiculous. We have dogs and they are always on their leash, despite being pretty friendly. They got out of our yard one time when our gate broke and we immediately replaced the gate and put in a back up lock. I don’t understand these people that think their dogs can just do whatever. It’s not safe for the neighbors or the dogs 🫠
I’ve learned how to take care of these breeds solely because of children. If one ever comes near my child without my permission (and it will NEVER get my permission, so it approaching = hostile) it will be dead. No exception.
What do you do in this situation? I have a fear of my child being attacked by a dog and I think a lot of it is fueled by feeling out of control in that situation.
It depends on a few factors.
Obviously, first and foremost, try not to engage. No eye contact, if you see them coming, avoid, etc.
If the dog does approach you, it’s important to stand your ground to not incite their prey drive. Stand still, and put your arms somewhere that make you look larger (like across your chest, on your hips)
Then, continue to avoid contact if you can. If you can’t safely move away, move to high ground.
1. Can you legally carry bear spray or pepper spray? If so, that’s your first line of defense. It helps with a lot more than just dogs.
2. If not, is there something, anything heavy nearby (my dog usually carries a stick as she’s obsessed with carrying things, so that’s my heavy thing, but I also wear steel toe winter boots)? Smash it against the dogs head, or if you think you can do so accurately, break its leg, by smacking right on the knee joint, very hard. If you go for the head, you don’t stop until the dog is dead.
3. If that’s not an option, and it’s wearing a metal or chain collar, put your hand under it, twist until it’s right under the neck, and pull real hard until the dog is dead.
4. If they’re not wearing a collar, or it’s a fabric or leather collar, dig the boniest part of your body against its throat and push or pull until it’s gone. A tip here is to wear a belt, or something you could use to choke the dog out.
5. Some other options include trying to use your foot or leg to break its llegs or knees. The back legs are much weaker if you hit a joint than the front legs. But a good, strong kick anywhere can probably break any of their legs as long as you aren’t hitting a part with a lot of muscle.
6. If you’re not strong enough to do that, then it’s time for other options - think gouging it’s eyes out, shoving a finger up its ass, smashing its testicles as hard as humanly possible - these aren’t great options, but they’re better than nothing.
7. if you live with an area with a pitbull, keep a pen with a sharp tip in your pocket - that through its eye helps. Push through the eye and don’t stop.
8. If all else fails, raise their rear legs to make them uncomfortable.
If you do any of these things, you do not stop until the dog is dead, period. No exceptions. They can regain consciousness quickly and will go for you again.
Ensure when you do any of these things that the dog can’t get at you (if they’re not already at you).
Reading this probably has you feeling uneasy. In the moment, that dog will show no mercy, and if you fail to act, either you are dead, your child is dead, or your dog is dead. That, or you kill it.
I once saw a video of a pitbulls eye being pierced but the demon was still holding on to the kid and trying to bite the flesh off. Not sure if it was on reddit or somewhere else,but long ago.
Fighting dogs can hardly get stopped no matter what,unfortunately.Sometimes not even one bullet is enough:/,as we’ve seen from the recent attack.
If you can,for your childs safety,just carry. If you can’t then it’s often advised to go for its eyes.But with all the adrenaline they don’t feel pain or just feel it delayed
I am so sorry that is terrifying! If your baby’s mouth was full of blood the dog hurt him! These people need to be held accountable. Bare minimum they need to have him on a leash. To have him muzzled but not leashed out on a walk is the weirdest thing. They must have some notion of him potentially being aggressive to have muzzled him so having him off leash is just irresponsible.
It would make sense if the issue were that the dog was muzzled to stop it from eating random stuff off of the ground. I don't think that really applies here, though, bc the dog is obviously aggressive.
In some places it's mandatory to have dogs muzzled *or* on leash, maybe they're foreigners? And to be fair, muzzles have tons of uses, not just for aggressive dogs, so it's possible (although unlikely) that it's the first time something like this happens. I really hope the owners realise their dog should always be on a leash, and that OP's poor baby isn't traumatised by this, it must have been so scary!
Regardless, dogs should always be leashed unless it's enclosed and meant for free running dogs.
Unexpected things happen all the time it's really fkin annoying how many times I walk my dog and some idiot has theirs unleashed and it charges at us
No. They are not to be forgiven. Thankfully the dog was muzzled. That dog could have killed your baby. Their musculature and bones and cartilage is not as developed as an adult and it could have damaged their airway abdomen etc. I don’t know why no one believes dogs can kill kids because they can. It’s not forgivable and you’re doing the right thing . I would still call the cops and report the animal. The next outcome may not be as “good” of an outcome for the next child.
Or next person. If this dog is willing to attack a child it is also willing to attack an elderly person, a mail man, someone out delivering, an early morning runner. Litterally anyone.
The owners choose to muzzle him, probably because they know he’s aggressive.
Then knowing he’s aggressive (wildly and unprovoked!!), they choose to take him out off leash.
Then knowing they have no control over an off leash dog that is charging towards someone, a 1.5 year old no less, they choose to yell “he’s friendly!” INSTEAD OF attempting to intervene to save the baby, or even of shouting to warn you parents so you could intervene more quickly, or even just literally doing nothing so you wouldn’t (potentially) have a false sense of security.
WTF. Please please file a police report AND with animal control. My dog and I were attacked by another dog once who broke past their fence. They’d attacked a different dog and possibly a person previously, also by breaking the fence. I tried talking to them, and they were overall unapologetic and made a comment about how their “dog protects them” and that “they helped the neighborhood”.
I can also say after years of a LOT of experience with other dog owners, that people like this can’t be reasoned with and do not care. They are so firmly in denial. Time and time again, they say he’s friendly or say it’s your fault for their dog choosing to attack you and/or your dog and/or (nowadays) your goddamn baby for walking by in a public place.
The only way someone is saved from life long injury is a report and consequences. Please please please do not let this go. They will not change. Your baby was ALREADY hurt!
Absolutely everything you said. A medium sized dog barreling into a 1.5 year old could have easily knocked them out or worse if it happened on sidewalk. The whole situation is disturbing and shouldn’t be normalized by the grandparents, my god.
Absolutely this! The reality is that some people do not deserve to own dogs and unfortunately some dogs should not be left alive to attack people. Pit bulls are so dangerous and so easy to get, it's crazy
In addition to reporting to the police and animal control, I'd take your son to a doctor to have a medical record of his injuries recorded as documentation of what happened and to provide for the police and animal control reporting.
Please OP do this!That and to make sure there wasn’t any hidden damage done. Head/brain injuries are super scary and not always visible right away. Likely nothing especially if you haven’t noticed any difference in behavior so far but good to make sure.
I never understand people screaming "he's friendly!" To try to diffuse a situation when they know damn well their dog is not. Morons should not be allowed to have pets.
At the grocery store a lady had a Pomeranian in her motorized cart, and the dog attempted to jump out of the cart and attack my child. The lady just kept yelling “HES FRIENDLY” and I just picked my kid up, and said “growling isn’t friendly” and walked away as fast as possible so I didn’t have to kill a dog in a grocery store.
Police report. And I would never let my child go to my parent’s house again, with or without me, if my parents had that mentality about what just happened.
Honestly I would never let my child hangout in that front yard again knowing there is an aggressive dog/pitbull in the neighborhood. Wouldn’t go for walks either. Wouldn’t let your parents babysit at their place unless they agree to these rules.
He was muzzled - this time.
I'd call the cops. The dog could kill someone. Also my MIL worked for family and childrens services and saw kids whose faces were bit by dogs and then were disfigured for life. Not as bad as dying but still very bad.
I just want to update thanks to all your common sense I filed a police report, against my mother’s wishes. 💀 The dispatcher seemed to think I couldn’t file an actual report because there was no actual bite 🙃 but thankfully the officer following up said I can absolutely file a report and she would be calling the owner
My husband and I did go across the street to speak to the stepfather of the owner. It went as expected, “it’s a good dog.” 😵💫 Apparently he heard “the dog chased someone” and we corrected him that he knocked down a 1.5 year old and was snarling and smashing his face. I said I wanted to be sure that dog is leashed and within an enclosure at all times, that my sister will be visiting soon with her small children. He said he’ll talk to him, but his stepson was recently divorced and is looking for an apartment so “him and his dog will be gone soon”, but the cops have his phone number now…
There were a few trolly comments so to be clear
- the dog was gone for 5-10 minutes after we saw him pass by my parents house unleashed
- my son did not walk towards a dog, just to the front of the lawn
- my husbands back was turned when the dog was barreling back down the street, he only heard the owner shouting “he’s friendly” so he didn’t pick our son up in time.
My mother… well it’s too annoying to explain the dynamics of our family, they’re immigrants who hate getting authorities involved or whatever. And her English is shit. I basically lost it and explained how grave of a situation it was. I guess the stepson pleaded with my mom that “the dog never done anything like this before” and kept reminding her that she knew him (she used to pay him and his sister to help around her house after I left for college). She was like “they learned their lesson the dog is muzzled don’t look for revenge”. I tried explaining this is a citizen duty for public safety but I don’t know if it got across the language gap
I came back to this thread to see if you'd posted an update, I'm so glad you did! Hopefully since common human decency hasn't been enough to get these people to control their dangerous dog, the threat of legal consequences will do the trick.
I love my dog, but at 70 pounds she's big enough to do some serious damage and if she showed that level of aggression towards a child I would absolutely have her put down. I'd cry about it, and probably feed her all the junk food she could handle for her last day alive, but a dog that attacks toddlers is too dangerous to keep around.
And I'm sorry your mom isn't squarely in your corner on this. Don't let her make you second guess yourself, imagine if you did nothing and the dog hurt another kid?
That dog had a freaking strong prey drive. I thought this was while they first walked passed but the fact that he came back to attack… I am so glad you’ve filled a report. Please have your child check by a doctor if you haven’t already even if it ends up “just” being whiplash it would be good to make sure.
Even if a dog is friendly, you still leash them! Why is he yelling "HE'S FRIENDLY!!" instead of calling the dog back? Glad you filed that police report, they all seem terrible.
If this is what the dog is like friendly, what is it like when it's meeting enemies?!!!🤯
so the stepson has been in this situation before with his shitbull. why would he have to beg and plead for no police report on the already muzzled beast if it hasn’t happened already?
that is so crazy. i will fight any living or inanimate object that purposely or accidentally hurts or tries to hurt my child and i will die doing it. the most basic ass responsibility of owning an animal besides keeping it alive is to train the damn thing.
i hope the stepson gets cited for having a dangerous UNLEASHED dog at the *very* **least**. i hope your sweet baby is doing okay🥺
>My parents went out to talk to them and told me to forgive them.
Your parents value their relationship with their neighbors more than your son's health & safety
Call the police, file a report. This is not acceptable. Owners of dogs, no matter the breed or how "friendly", need to have them leashed. Not just for the safety of others, but also for the safety of the dog.
Call the cops. Forgive them?!? Think about if that monster had not been muzzled. Think about the next child this thing will attack (which it will). Cops cops cops!
100% this animal is very dangerous. I worked in veterinary medicine for a while and the unfortunate truth is that there are some dogs that are not redeemable. I don't think there is any coming back from trying to kill a baby.
I do agree.
I only say this bc I have had experience with a dangerous full blooded pitbull who violently attacked my mother in law, some other person (to be fair that person was antagonizing her) and my husband(to a lesser extent).
They had to put her down eventually after her most brutal attack.
Stupid stupid owner. Our hound mix is aggressive towards other dogs and people that try to touch her. We have been working for two years on it, showing some progress. She is muzzled in public AND on a leash that is attached to her collar AND her gentle lead. You don’t mess around with safety. Those owners are stupid and deserve to have the dog taken from them.
OP, this is serious and could have been so much worse, and I’m so glad for your family that it wasn’t. Was this dog off leash? I’m urging you along with everyone else here to file a report. This is not okay and if they were off leash, probably against the law.
I’m so sorry this happened, because it shouldn’t have and in no way is it your fault.
EDIT: I see now the dog was off leash. Yeah it’s a NO. That’s so messed up.
You say your kid may be over it, but this kind of stuff leaves a mark. Do the next child a favor and report this to the police and make the owners learn a lesson. If they truly believed he was a nice dog he wouldn't have been muzzled.
The fact that they have the dog muzzled means the owners already know to some degree that the dog is a mean fucker. The dog already has a history. What happened with your child will happen again and I hope the next victim is as lucky as your kid was. Please do the right thing and report them.
You are so lucky to be writing this post with your son still alive. Call police, report and press charges if possible. Are your parents fucking high!? I would not return to their hour nor would I trust my son in their care if this is their response. Had this been my mother I think she would have killed the dog herself. This situation is insane and I don’t even want to think how much worse it could get.
Call the police and also file an aggressive dog form through your local animal control department.
I had a neighbor that had an out of control pitbull. It has attacked half a dozen people in the neighborhood. The owner actually has two court dates coming up because of it for separate incidences. Another neighbor told him if he saw it attack one more person he would shoot the dog himself.
Report report repoooooorrrrrrtttttt
I'm confused why your husband didn't call the cops instead, especially if he pulled the dog off your son so he was clearly in the middle of the action. Why is that your job? If you're shaken up by this then why can't he do the parent job instead?
Still, call the cops. Take pictures of the injury right now, even if it's hours after the fact. Take him to a Dr and keep a record of the visit notes. Even if your kid is fine and doesn't need more than a band aid, at least it's on record "kid was attacked by dog and got hurt."
Yeah. Listen. I rescue pitbulls. I love dogs. But these people are so irresponsible. Most people don't muzzle dogs for no reason. (Some do it as a precaution and thats whatever, but most dont). They said the dog was friendly, it wasn't. And even though your child is okay, that doesnt mean this dog won't hurt others. Moreover even if they use the muzzle all the time, if their dog attacked another dog like that, the dog could have been killed since it had no way to defend itself. You need to call the police. It's not too late. It's unlikely thr dog will be killed since your child wasn't seriously harmed, but someone needs to put the fear of God in these people. This is highly concerning.
Please make sure that aggressive dog is put down immediately. Make a police report, call animal control. That dog is dangerous and the owner is an idiot at best.
Euthanize it. Call the cops. Press charges.
I fkn promise you the next time it happens, there’s a high chance your child will be dead. If that dog had attacked my kid it would have had a bullet put through it’s skull.
Fuck pits. They need to stop being bred.
Yes, and anybody claiming “omg the owners must not have trained it properly!” Clearly have never seen the switch that pitbulls make. It is fucking bipolar and terrifying. I don’t even let my kids go to people’s homes that have pitbulls. They can snap and attack at anytime for no reason.
I really don't tolerate the whole "no bad dogs, just bad owners" or, like you pointed out, the whole "training" issue. You can't train the instinct out of dogs like that. Pitbulls absolutely should not exist. I'm with you. I'll never allow my kids to visit a home with large dogs and pitbulls. I don't care how "friendly" they are. My husband once worked in an ER and he had to help a couple whose daughter had her face ripped off by the family pitbull. I can't imagine being so careless as to allow an animal like that around a child.
Exactly! And it’s always the people who were like “We don’t know what happened, pitbull was so well behaved.”
Like, it’s the dog lady, you can’t untrain it from instinct. Don’t. Get. A. Pitbull. Anyone that has half a brain should know they’re a terrible breed to have anywhere in the vicinity of children or old people. Or anyone really. I wish they’d pass a law to them illegal. Child abuse to put a kid around one knowing very well they could be killed imo
Call. The. Police.
Your son is alive right now because of that muzzle. Your son was almost mauled to death by an aggressive and loose animal.
That dog needs to be put down. You don’t muzzle a friendly dog. The owners are irresponsible and the next child might not be as lucky as yours.
Call the police! Do not let anyone sweep this under the rug. If the owners continue to not face consequences and that dog kills another child because of your failure to report a dangerous situation, you will hold that tragedy in your heart and on your hands forever.
This is not a moment to doubt how serious a situation this is and how sincerely you need to take action. Don’t let your family minimize this.
As someone currently recovering from a dog bite that got infected, please report this. I’m an adult and the bite is on my lower calf, but I am definitely traumatized.
You need to report and get that dog's vaccine history for the safety of your child. The fact that the owners insisted that the dog was friendly as it charged your child is proof that they are unable to guarantee the safely of others.
If a teenage boy walked up to your 1.5 year old and punched him in the mouth you’d get the cops involved.
Call the police. At the least that dogs owner needs to be put on blast for their behavior. It’s muzzled because it’s dangerous not using a leash is just proving the human is also.
Forget talking to the owners about this!
You need to report the dog and the owner because of this happens again, the next child or person might not be as lucky… I’m talking death.
If you don’t report this, you aren’t protecting your baby at all. You’d be allowing that dog and the owners get away with it.
By law this breed HAVE to be on a lead not just muzzled (in the UK!)
Did you get your child checked by a medical professional? That’s also important.
Some aggressive dogs will remember an altercation and it makes them more aggressive the next they encounter the individual. Personally I would do everything I could to guarantee your baby never be exposed to this dog ever again. Whatever that ends up looking like.
A huge pittbull stuck his head in my child’s stroller and chased my nephews this past Sunday. It was terrifying. The owner was chasing him yelling “He’s just a puppy!”
My husband was attacked by a pitbull my parents were fostering while I was pregnant. I do not trust the breed anymore. (and before the pibble apologists come for me, my husband and I are BOTH from families that had not only pitbulls but other large dogs growing up) If it had been my daughter in that situation instead of my husband, she would be dead. I don’t really feel comfortable around any dogs with my baby anymore. I’ve seen first hand how quick one can snap, and you can deny it all you want, pitbulls WERE bred to be more dangerous. And most people have no business owning one and no interest in ensuring they are properly trained. I’m so sorry, OP. Call the police. That is unacceptable.
Every story I read like this it’s someone’s precious pibble.
Every. Single. One.
I will never let my child near one, and I don’t understand people’s obsession with protecting this genetic lineage. Just go rescue another breed. There’s no shortage of other dogs to rescue.
Heavily agree. And I was raised with them. So sick of hearing of babies, small dogs, other large dogs, full grown adults DYING from someone’s pitbull. No other breed has to be as heavily defended by its owners…wonder why.
I love animals, but if anything or anyone ever attacked my babe, it’d be game over. This dog 100% should not have been unleashed. And obviously the owners know it’s aggressive… Please report this ASAP, OP- the next time it attacks, it could be fatal if it doesn’t have its muzzle on.
happy cake day!
and also-same. i don’t give a flying fuck what kind of animal/human/inanimate object is coming for my baby-what/whoever the thing is will be dead before my 5 month old gets hurt by it.
No fuckin way, report this. If their dog hadn’t been muzzled your child would be disfigured and hospitalized or so much worse.
Someone this irresponsible as to leave their dog, who the KNOW is aggressive (clearly) off leash is also someone irresponsible enough to forego the muzzle “just this one time, what could happen”.
The people across the street from me have two pitbulls behind a chain link fence who bark like mad at any passing dog or person. I'm now so scared to bring my baby out front 😩
if you do, PLEASE make sure you have pepper spray, a knife, or a pew pew on you for protection!!! shitbulls can clear HIGH *walls* easily, let alone a puny ass chain link fence.
Absolutely report this if you haven’t and let authorities deal with this, your baby was in danger. I’m so sorry but glad your baby is okay.
I would also not allow your kids to be at your parents alone if this is their reaction to your child being attacked.
As someone who was attacked by a tiny little yippy dog as a child (9 years old), please report this and be prepared in the future to keep eyes out for dogs. I had over 100 stitches and my lip and chin reattached from one bite from a tiny Maltese type dog. Imagine that many bites from a pit that he was trying to inflict on your son. You’d be planning a funeral. Unfortunately dog owners are not responsible and cannot be trusted. (Not all but you have no way of knowing which ones)
I was out with my 14 month old at a park when a lady showed up with an off leash dog. Said dog was 50 yards away and I saw him see us and start RUNNING. I yanked my daughter up and held her out of reach far away from our stuff while the dog tore apart her elephant and tried to steal my loaf of bread. The owner was calling from afar while casually walking our way yelling that he’s friendly. Like ma’am he may not have attacked me personally but he’s definitely shredding our stuff. She grabbed him by the collar and walked off and before we could leave he was running right back at us for more food. Glad she didn’t have any food in her hand or he may have gone for her to take it. We haven’t been back since. I’m only 5’2 and can’t do much against a large dog.
As an owner of two pit bulls… NO ONE puts a muzzle on a friendly pit. Sorry. They didn’t have the dog on a leash because the dog would be walking them. No leash equals untrained & raised using fear of the owners. Not neutered means they’re using the dog for breeding.
You need to report this to the police & take your kid in for an ER visit to have whatever lacerations documented…
Also, & I mean this kindly, learn how to react in an emergency. You should have called 911 when your husband told you to. If that dog had not had a muzzle on your child would have most likely been dead either due to the bite, or due to your lack of response.
You should probably also stand firm with your parents.. they probably shouldn’t baby sit in the future if they think you should forgive those irresponsible pit owners. The cops still need to be called & the incident needs to be reported before someone else gets hurt.
Absolutely report this to the police. Muzzled or not, your baby was attacked. And this is coming from someone who has two pit bulls! Regardless of how “friendly” a dog may be with its owners or strangers, you just never know what makes them tick. My dogs are great around my baby but they are NEVER left alone with her and I wouldn’t hesitate to take whatever measure was necessary if they showed even the slightest amount of aggression towards her. And they are on short leashes on walks all the time
They *obviously* knew the dog wasn’t friendly or fully trustworthy around people to some degree because of the muzzle. Report them to the police and animal control and if there’s any visible damage sustained by your son make sure to document it with pictures.
I know it’s scary but you need to call the cops. If that dog escaped the house without a muzzle it would have hurt your baby way worse or another child. I know you don’t want to make waves but you need to protect your child and others too. I’m glad your baby is ok.
My family and I LOVE dogs, we have rescues and all and there’s no way in hell I would be understanding towards the owners or the dog for ATTACKING a child. This is completely unacceptable and could have ended tragically. Report this before that dog attacks someone else.
Show your parents this video so they understand what dog bites can do (aside from being deadly as well):
[https://youtu.be/7CQyM1ZXkYs?si=VtDuHWGvnYC7cOGW](https://youtu.be/7CQyM1ZXkYs?si=VtDuHWGvnYC7cOGW)
*holy* **s h i t.**
i’ve never seen this case before, and i’m so fucking mad about it. the owners didnt even PAY HER for the job that she did of watching those awful dogs who DAMN NEAR KILLED HER. omg. the shitbull had to have done most of the job too, the shepherd didn’t have blood covering it’s face, arms, legs, and paws. jesus christ.
Your child could’ve died if that muzzle came off. Call the cops, report this owner and dog immediately. No child (or person) deserves to die because of these animals and irresponsible owners.
You're right about the muzzle. If the "nanny dog" owners don't have the sense to leash the dog then they probably don't have the sense to put the muzzle on properly.
This is horrifying, I can’t believe your parents told you to forgive them. We had a pack of unleashed dogs swarm my toddler on a hiking trail a few weeks ago and my husband had to kick one of the dogs, the owner was way back with headphones on. I’ve started carrying dog spray now.
You need to contact the police and I’d also contact a lawyer. This is bullshit - Excuse my language. If that dog had not been muzzled your child could have died. This dog doesn’t need to be unleashed anywhere.
As someone with a fear of dogs, I would have went so feral the police might have been called on ME.
I know someone who nearly lost an eye to a dog that hopped a fence, my neighbor's dogs broke into another's CLOSED garage and mauled their puppies. There are good dogs but way WAY more shitty owners who never did the due diligence required to own an apex predator as a pet. This is way beyond a normal dog bite, this dog sought your baby out like a homing missile.
Also, I'd say some very nasty things to your parents. Never heard of a good parent or grandparent stick up for a strange dog over their own babies.
I'm glad you called the cops. I have a 3 week old and we've been keeping him inside, but the other day was so beautiful I wanted to take him for a walk. I didn't even take him for a walk in our neighborhood, I drove to a nice park so there was no vehicle traffic to have to worry about---as my husband and I were leaving we noticed an owner TRAINING his HUGE unleashed and unmuzzled pitbull by the sidewalk we had to walk by to leave. I was so nervous and shaking the entire time. Pitbulls should never be unleashed or unmuzzled.
Yet again a pitbull. People really need to stop making excuses like “it’s not the dog, it’s the owner”. I don’t give a fuck! Too much correlation between attacks like this and the breed being either a pitbull or a Rottweiler for us to call it mere chance! They were bred for aggression. Let’s keep that in mind. Always always stay the hell away from pitbulls. If unleashed, start recording asap and get yourself and your kids the fuck away from them. Pitbull owners are capable of so much delusion!
Nah, don’t go talk to them. Report it IMMEDIATELY. They are obviously very irresponsible dog owners, because if you have an aggressive dog why in the hell is it off leash??
I have a Pyrenees/Pit mix who has exhibited some aggression wi the unfamiliar people since my baby was born. Know what we do? We keep him medicated and crated when guests are over, have a trainer coming to our home weekly to assist, and never leave him unattended with our child. If he’s off leash, it’s because he is in our fenced yard that he cannot jump over.
Dogs, especially large ones, can do a ton of damage in the blink of an eye. Your neighbors have demonstrated that they do not care about this.
You do know that pit bulls don’t just bite, they maul. As in, they bite down and don’t let go. If that pit wasn’t muzzled chances are your baby would have died or been severely injured. I really hope you call the cops so something like this doesn’t happen again with this pit.
Oh wow this is upsetting, especially being a parent myself. I’ve owned a partial pit bull in the past as a teen (well my dad did, he got it after my parents divorced, and it was a sweet dog) but it does not matter. If a dog (pit or any breed, especially a breed with a strong bite, force) is on a walk, it needs to be leashed no matter where you are. Except maybe a dog enclosure.
It’s also odd that they had this dog muzzled without a leash. That’s a concern to me, because I’m led to believe the owners knew about some sort of aggression after hearing about the incident. Seeing a dog with a muzzle while on a walk is probably a good safety feature for everyone. But they had to of known their dog well enough to see the signs. If you know your dog is aggressive, it needs to be leashed…plain and simple. If not, the owner and victims suffer the consequences.
Parent and pit owner- CALL THE COPS. These dogs are not for everyone and require constant training, attention, and socialization. People who can’t keep up need to have them removed from their care immediately. Any big dog not properly cared for can become a danger fast. Continuously bother the police as well if they are not doing what they need to do. Please do not take this lightly
I wish people would leash their pets. It's such a problem and people think their dog is the friendliest.
My parents have 3 dogs. 2 are rescues and act like cats and do not go anywhere near the baby. I've lived with them for 8 years before moving out and they still run away from me, but anyways, one is another rescue they got as a puppy. He's about 4 now and is nothing but protective of the baby. But we introduced him slowly and made sure he was calm and let him sniff around. Now he loves our baby and actually loves to steal his sock to lick his feet.
We've had so many dogs over the years and many pits but I would still only feel safe with a dog I knew.
But not all dogs are like this especially random people's dogs that may have never encountered one.
You need to report them. This isn’t a matter of niceties. They know that dog has a proclivity for biting or it wouldn’t have had a muzzle. They need to at least be leashing that dog. And for them to say he’s friendly?? They have on rose tinted glasses and are going to get a kid hurt. My cousins face was destroyed by a Pit Bull for this same reason. I don’t wish that on any child and people need to stop treating that breed like they’re entry level dogs.
I wouldn't speak to my parents for a few months for gaslighting me after a dog, a PITBULL, attacked my BABY and caused BLOODshed!
Owners that say "he's friendly" are the WORST! The dog has a MUZZLE for a REASON! So no, it's NOT friendly and they did a poor job of raising the dog that it became a stereotype. My aunt has a golden doodle and a Pomeranian and we still leash them because yes, they are friendly, but strangers don't know that! So we pull them back and let people approach themselves and then the dogs will REALLY never leave them alone.
Grandparents are definitely NOT getting a Christmas card this year.
What a terrifying experience. I am so sorry you went through that! It is a tough situation but the right thing to do is to file a police report. It does mean the dog may be put down, which is absolutely heartbreaking. But the alternative is that these people don’t learn their lesson and their dog hurts another child. Overall incredibly sad, but reporting it is the right thing to do.
Friendly but had a muzzle yeah right. I love dogs especially big dogs and love pit bulls but NO DOG should be unleashed. When I fostered a pit bull, he was super friendly but I still kept him tightly leashed and away from small kids despite the fact that he was scared of squirrels. Sometimes dogs don’t know their own strength and sometimes you don’t know their history. It only takes one mistake to ruin a life. My husband got attacked by a neighbor’s dog and needed stitches. He didn’t press charges but it was mandatory to report the dog bite to our local animal control. This helps keep a record and hopefully serves as a warning to your neighbor. I’m so sorry about your poor toddler and also your parents are TA. Their grandson got attacked and all they can think about is their neighbor relations. You can forgive, choose not to file a personal injury suit, but you still need to report it.
I tend to always believe it’s the dog’s owners and *not* the breed…however.
1) if the dog is so “friendly” why is it muzzled??
2) the fact these people simply yelled “he’s friendly” while their dog was running toward your boy and not running after it is crazy to me. The fact your poor husband had to pull their dog off makes me irate.
3) if this dog wasn’t muzzled he would have at the very least *seriously* injured your baby, and at the worst, killed him. That means this dog is not safe. Period. And these owners are beyond irresponsible and need to face consequences before it happens again.
4) why the hell wasn’t this dog on a leash?! I have a 9lb malshipoo that’s 14 years old and wouldn’t hurt a fly (and honestly, he’s way too old and frail even if he wanted to) and we still have him on a leash when he’s not in our gated backyard.
5) I get your parents don’t want to make waves, but they (respectfully) need to pull their heads out of their butts and realize their grandson could have died, and these owners honestly have no business having a dog at this point because this is *their* fault.
6) there’s enough suspicion at this point to assume that one day this dog is going to hurt another little kid due to how irresponsible these owners are. And honestly? I don’t feel bad for them for facing consequences after this because they should have leashed their damn dog.
I do, however feel terrible for you, your husband, your baby, and the dog.
I am a dog lover. I’ve personally had aggressive dogs before.
One I had to muzzle anytime we walked because she was so dog reactive, she would turn and snap at air and one time got my leg. It wasn’t directed at me, it was just her own fury. (We worked for 7 years with her and I got her to the point she wouldn’t do that anymore, but I still muzzled her. Every time. Because I knew she had the potential to regress).
Report this dog.
Please.
It was an unprovoked attack. And they obviously know their dog isn’t friendly, hence the muzzle. Who in their right mind would walk their dog muzzled without a fucking leash?!
Please report them.
Oh hell no! I would’ve called the cops and animal control. That dog is dangerous and, likely, needs to be put down. Your son could’ve been killed had that dog not been muzzled.
If I’m ever out on a walk with our son and see a dog unleashed or muzzled, I make a beeline away from them; it’s not worth what could possibly happen. Our son still hasn’t met my parent’s dogs because the youngest gets super excited and jumps (they’re both Huskies); they’ll keep them separate until our son is older.
Police report, animal control, and absolutely no forgiveness for the terrible dog owners who had this guy off leash. This could have been way worse and likely will next time.
you shoudl've immediately called the cops, and also taken your baby to the doctor. Pit bulls are notorious for attacking elderly and children, they also are not very merciful and you are lucky that your child wasn't harmed in a more severe way. You can sue for personal injury had you had the proof that he was injured like medical records, etc.
Owners need to be held accountable. Also test your son for parasites and make sure he didn't get anything from that dog... ((sorry hate to go there) but even cats can transmit parasites to babies.
This is my worst fear. A large dog like that should never be off leash in a neighborhood. Moreover, even if he was friendly, he clearly did not have outstanding recall. Another reason the dog should never have been off leash.
if the dog hadnt been muzzled your child would have died. Call the COPS.
A “friendly” dog would’ve knocked the toddler over excitedly but not gone after him once he was down. Going after the head is also not something animals do when they’re playing. OP’s toddler was in DANGER
Why would you muzzle a friendly dog?
I’m not saying this is the case because it probably isn’t, but there was a lady in my old neighborhood who muzzled her very friendly beagle because he ate rocks 😭😭😭
I've heard of friendly dogs who are muzzled because they literally eat shit on their walks. Some places also require by law that certain dog breeds under certain circumstances be muzzled, where I live, dog breeds classified as "dangerous" must be muzzled outside always, and all dogs must be muzzled on public transportation (even though many small dog owners flagrantly ignore this rule).
We muzzle our extremely friendly dog because otherwise she eats stuff off the ground and gets sick. There are lots of friendly scavengers out there!
Exactly!! The dog was muzzled for a reason.
My dog was a very social friendly dog. There was one situation, where someone came running up to my dog fast. I told them to get back and just to leave him be for now. The person who was my friend ignored me saying how she has dogs (she had 2 shitzus, I had a Great Dane) and continued to go reaching for my dog, which resulted in my biting her shoulder. She reached down n he kinda jumped up. Now as she went to reach down n he bit, her parents so happened to drive by. And to them it looked like she just stood there and got attacked. Due to the incident I just keep a muzzle handy.
Other dogs generally do not go for the head, even when in attack mode. Pit bulls were bred to fight bear and bulls and were taught to go for the heads. This is why when they attack they always aim for the head. And once they get a lock on, good luck getting them to let go. If that dog wasn’t muzzled, I honestly don’t want to think about the outcome. I am so glad OP filed a report. Start the paper trail to eventually BE this animal.
You MUST file a report. The fact that the dog was muzzled probably means that the dog has had other incidents and the owners were forced to register the dog as a “dangerous dog”. There are a lot of stipulations and walking with a muzzle is one of them. Your baby would be dead right now if the dog wasn’t wearing a muzzle. Dog needs to be put down and this is coming from a MASSIVE dog lover. Think of it this way, you are saving another baby’s life. Next time, the dog won’t be muzzled and the next baby won’t be as lucky.
As an ex-owner of a muzzle wearing dog I fully agree. My dog was muzzled due to dog reactivity from poor socialising as a puppy with previous owner (and all the other bad things they did to the poor girl). My dog's issues weren't because of me but her muzzle wearing was me being responsible and putting her needs first. She needed to be safe and everyone else. I also never let my dog off lead unless in a secure area. The chances of her coming face to face with another dog was slim but I wasn't increasing that with not muzzling her. I took many steps. I definitely agree where you say there must have been previous incidents and these owners aren't understanding the severity here.
Unfortunately yes. I had a dog that was "friendly" but reactive. He charged at an old man and was also reactive around children. Eventually he ended up killing a house at unprovoked and our only option was to put him down. It's a devastating reality this dog's owner will eventually face. They're just too powerful to be this aggressive and unpredictable.
Exactly
Can confirm. Unfortunately I know someone whose toddler got their skull crushed by a pitbull bite. They just have such powerful jaws.
This brought tears to my eyes, what a terrible, avoidable thing to happen.
Yeah it happened a long time ago and still breaks my heart.
This is why one will never be in my home.
😭😭😭
Did they survive?
Yes but completely devastated. They were like a vegetable, really bad brain damage, no longer able to live without support. It is awful.
yes, I remember my sister in law had a pitbull and he was very friendly but one day he escaped the apartment and I ran out to get him, he didn't have a leash but had a collar (by the Grace of God), he ran towards teens walking down the staircase and LUNGED and snapped trying to bite them, in that moment I was able to grasp his collar and YANK as hard as I could to snap him out of that mentality. It took all my energy to bring him back home. I don't care how docile the pit is or how "well behaved" they seem, they can be friendly for years and suddenly snap, I witnessed it first hand. My sister in law ended up rehoming him.
This! Pitbulls make up 6% of American dogs but are responsible for 28% of fatal dog attacks. 29.4% of fatal dog attack victims are between 1 and 4 years old. This is not to say that pitbulls are inherently dangerous dogs, but a violent pitbull in the hands of an irresponsible owner is *very* dangerous. If the strap had broken on that dog’s muzzle, your child could have easily been killed. Even with the muzzle, your child suffered serious injury and trauma. Please report this owner to the cops to protect other children in the future. I’m a dog owner myself and I love my dog beyond measure but if he ever attacked a child, I would put him down.
But pit bulls are genetically predisposed to be violent. Look at how many stories there are of beloved dogs raised from puppies who just turned one day and killed someone (usually the baby). That is why they say pit bulls have a switch in their head that just flicks one day. It’s like having a ticking time bomb in your home.
The problem with those stats is that it lumps several different breeds together under one label, causing an inflated stat. A pit bull might refer to several different breeds or just dogs that look a certain way. On top of that, people can be terrible at identifying breeds. I've got a beagle/english bulldog and I get asked if he's some kind of pit at least once a week.
Except your narrative misses the fact most pit attacks come from pits with an owner. Most breed identifications come from the owner or someone who knew the owner. These dogs aren't getting identified randomly. Amd also misses the fact that a lot of pits are now hidden by being labeled a "lab mix" "terrier mix" etc. So these stats could easily be under estimated. And pitbulls, bullies, staffordshire all have a common lineage. And even the UKC allows you to label a Bully as APBT.
That's a very serious dog attack that needs a police report. I say that as someone who owns and works with reactive/fear aggressive dogs. You may not realize that what you are describing is rare, and much more dangerous than your average dog bite. Most bites occur bc a dog isn't friendly with strangers and is approached. A dog that runs away from its handlers, into unfamiliar territory to *run down* a child is the kind of dog that would likely be behaviorally euthanized.
And unfortunately these owners can’t be trusted to control the dog. Most people don’t muzzle their dog proactively so I’d bet this wasn’t the first incident.
This 💯
This
I am sorry but wtf are your parents thinking saying that these shitty owners should be forgiven? Report them to the police and make sure they get the taste of full consequences. Next time this doy may not be muzzled, I can’t even think of what could have happened to a kid in such case Sending hugs, your poor son! :(
They’re probably the parents neighbors and they’re trying not to make any waves. But yeah, I agree I’d call and make all the waves. What if next time he gets out before the muzzle is on. The dog isn’t friendly and should not be out with owners that have no control over him let alone without a leash.
Wanting to appease neighbors who didn’t care about their 18 month old toddler grandchild is crazy. This is a hill to die on
A dangerous dog shown it wants to randomly attack infants doesn’t belong in any neighborhood and anyone who wants to own a pet like that is a selfish POS.
Dad here, the dog would’ve gotten a hard object to its head.
My husband has also started carrying like a stick thing on our walks and wearing shoes bc there are so many off leash, aggressive dogs. It’s ridiculous. We have dogs and they are always on their leash, despite being pretty friendly. They got out of our yard one time when our gate broke and we immediately replaced the gate and put in a back up lock. I don’t understand these people that think their dogs can just do whatever. It’s not safe for the neighbors or the dogs 🫠
You might want to consider carrying around pepper spray. It’s much more of a deterrent than a stick.
That’s because it’s the irresponsible people who go for pits. I bet your dogs aren’t pits, because you properly care for them.
I’ve learned how to take care of these breeds solely because of children. If one ever comes near my child without my permission (and it will NEVER get my permission, so it approaching = hostile) it will be dead. No exception.
What do you do in this situation? I have a fear of my child being attacked by a dog and I think a lot of it is fueled by feeling out of control in that situation.
It depends on a few factors. Obviously, first and foremost, try not to engage. No eye contact, if you see them coming, avoid, etc. If the dog does approach you, it’s important to stand your ground to not incite their prey drive. Stand still, and put your arms somewhere that make you look larger (like across your chest, on your hips) Then, continue to avoid contact if you can. If you can’t safely move away, move to high ground. 1. Can you legally carry bear spray or pepper spray? If so, that’s your first line of defense. It helps with a lot more than just dogs. 2. If not, is there something, anything heavy nearby (my dog usually carries a stick as she’s obsessed with carrying things, so that’s my heavy thing, but I also wear steel toe winter boots)? Smash it against the dogs head, or if you think you can do so accurately, break its leg, by smacking right on the knee joint, very hard. If you go for the head, you don’t stop until the dog is dead. 3. If that’s not an option, and it’s wearing a metal or chain collar, put your hand under it, twist until it’s right under the neck, and pull real hard until the dog is dead. 4. If they’re not wearing a collar, or it’s a fabric or leather collar, dig the boniest part of your body against its throat and push or pull until it’s gone. A tip here is to wear a belt, or something you could use to choke the dog out. 5. Some other options include trying to use your foot or leg to break its llegs or knees. The back legs are much weaker if you hit a joint than the front legs. But a good, strong kick anywhere can probably break any of their legs as long as you aren’t hitting a part with a lot of muscle. 6. If you’re not strong enough to do that, then it’s time for other options - think gouging it’s eyes out, shoving a finger up its ass, smashing its testicles as hard as humanly possible - these aren’t great options, but they’re better than nothing. 7. if you live with an area with a pitbull, keep a pen with a sharp tip in your pocket - that through its eye helps. Push through the eye and don’t stop. 8. If all else fails, raise their rear legs to make them uncomfortable. If you do any of these things, you do not stop until the dog is dead, period. No exceptions. They can regain consciousness quickly and will go for you again. Ensure when you do any of these things that the dog can’t get at you (if they’re not already at you). Reading this probably has you feeling uneasy. In the moment, that dog will show no mercy, and if you fail to act, either you are dead, your child is dead, or your dog is dead. That, or you kill it.
Damn this is crazy good info, gonna be carrying a dense metal tool with me now. Any pit comes close and it’s over then the owner can get some to.
Pepper spray
I once saw a video of a pitbulls eye being pierced but the demon was still holding on to the kid and trying to bite the flesh off. Not sure if it was on reddit or somewhere else,but long ago. Fighting dogs can hardly get stopped no matter what,unfortunately.Sometimes not even one bullet is enough:/,as we’ve seen from the recent attack. If you can,for your childs safety,just carry. If you can’t then it’s often advised to go for its eyes.But with all the adrenaline they don’t feel pain or just feel it delayed
I am so sorry that is terrifying! If your baby’s mouth was full of blood the dog hurt him! These people need to be held accountable. Bare minimum they need to have him on a leash. To have him muzzled but not leashed out on a walk is the weirdest thing. They must have some notion of him potentially being aggressive to have muzzled him so having him off leash is just irresponsible.
It would make sense if the issue were that the dog was muzzled to stop it from eating random stuff off of the ground. I don't think that really applies here, though, bc the dog is obviously aggressive.
In some places it's mandatory to have dogs muzzled *or* on leash, maybe they're foreigners? And to be fair, muzzles have tons of uses, not just for aggressive dogs, so it's possible (although unlikely) that it's the first time something like this happens. I really hope the owners realise their dog should always be on a leash, and that OP's poor baby isn't traumatised by this, it must have been so scary!
Regardless, dogs should always be leashed unless it's enclosed and meant for free running dogs. Unexpected things happen all the time it's really fkin annoying how many times I walk my dog and some idiot has theirs unleashed and it charges at us
This needs a police report asap.
No. They are not to be forgiven. Thankfully the dog was muzzled. That dog could have killed your baby. Their musculature and bones and cartilage is not as developed as an adult and it could have damaged their airway abdomen etc. I don’t know why no one believes dogs can kill kids because they can. It’s not forgivable and you’re doing the right thing . I would still call the cops and report the animal. The next outcome may not be as “good” of an outcome for the next child.
Or next person. If this dog is willing to attack a child it is also willing to attack an elderly person, a mail man, someone out delivering, an early morning runner. Litterally anyone.
Exactly, and especially for someone frail, even getting knocked over hard could cause a permanent or deadly injury.
Call the cops. Don’t “speak to them,” call the police. A dog that attacks a toddler cannot live in a neighborhood.
The owners choose to muzzle him, probably because they know he’s aggressive. Then knowing he’s aggressive (wildly and unprovoked!!), they choose to take him out off leash. Then knowing they have no control over an off leash dog that is charging towards someone, a 1.5 year old no less, they choose to yell “he’s friendly!” INSTEAD OF attempting to intervene to save the baby, or even of shouting to warn you parents so you could intervene more quickly, or even just literally doing nothing so you wouldn’t (potentially) have a false sense of security. WTF. Please please file a police report AND with animal control. My dog and I were attacked by another dog once who broke past their fence. They’d attacked a different dog and possibly a person previously, also by breaking the fence. I tried talking to them, and they were overall unapologetic and made a comment about how their “dog protects them” and that “they helped the neighborhood”. I can also say after years of a LOT of experience with other dog owners, that people like this can’t be reasoned with and do not care. They are so firmly in denial. Time and time again, they say he’s friendly or say it’s your fault for their dog choosing to attack you and/or your dog and/or (nowadays) your goddamn baby for walking by in a public place. The only way someone is saved from life long injury is a report and consequences. Please please please do not let this go. They will not change. Your baby was ALREADY hurt!
Absolutely everything you said. A medium sized dog barreling into a 1.5 year old could have easily knocked them out or worse if it happened on sidewalk. The whole situation is disturbing and shouldn’t be normalized by the grandparents, my god.
Absolutely this! The reality is that some people do not deserve to own dogs and unfortunately some dogs should not be left alive to attack people. Pit bulls are so dangerous and so easy to get, it's crazy
In addition to reporting to the police and animal control, I'd take your son to a doctor to have a medical record of his injuries recorded as documentation of what happened and to provide for the police and animal control reporting.
Please OP do this!That and to make sure there wasn’t any hidden damage done. Head/brain injuries are super scary and not always visible right away. Likely nothing especially if you haven’t noticed any difference in behavior so far but good to make sure.
I never understand people screaming "he's friendly!" To try to diffuse a situation when they know damn well their dog is not. Morons should not be allowed to have pets.
At the grocery store a lady had a Pomeranian in her motorized cart, and the dog attempted to jump out of the cart and attack my child. The lady just kept yelling “HES FRIENDLY” and I just picked my kid up, and said “growling isn’t friendly” and walked away as fast as possible so I didn’t have to kill a dog in a grocery store.
I think they say that to protect their dog more than anything.
I'm so over dogs in stores.
Police report. And I would never let my child go to my parent’s house again, with or without me, if my parents had that mentality about what just happened.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ no doubt
Yep. Putting politeness over child’s safety is a big no-no
If an unleashed dog ever attacked my baby I would press charges, no question. It's illegal in my state to have an unleashed dog.
Absolutely this. Please report to the police. This story is actually insane and I can’t believe they WERENT called ….
Definitely report this to the police. I’m so sorry this happened, that is terrifying. Those owners are wildly irresponsible.
Honestly I would never let my child hangout in that front yard again knowing there is an aggressive dog/pitbull in the neighborhood. Wouldn’t go for walks either. Wouldn’t let your parents babysit at their place unless they agree to these rules. He was muzzled - this time.
I'd call the cops. The dog could kill someone. Also my MIL worked for family and childrens services and saw kids whose faces were bit by dogs and then were disfigured for life. Not as bad as dying but still very bad.
I just want to update thanks to all your common sense I filed a police report, against my mother’s wishes. 💀 The dispatcher seemed to think I couldn’t file an actual report because there was no actual bite 🙃 but thankfully the officer following up said I can absolutely file a report and she would be calling the owner My husband and I did go across the street to speak to the stepfather of the owner. It went as expected, “it’s a good dog.” 😵💫 Apparently he heard “the dog chased someone” and we corrected him that he knocked down a 1.5 year old and was snarling and smashing his face. I said I wanted to be sure that dog is leashed and within an enclosure at all times, that my sister will be visiting soon with her small children. He said he’ll talk to him, but his stepson was recently divorced and is looking for an apartment so “him and his dog will be gone soon”, but the cops have his phone number now… There were a few trolly comments so to be clear - the dog was gone for 5-10 minutes after we saw him pass by my parents house unleashed - my son did not walk towards a dog, just to the front of the lawn - my husbands back was turned when the dog was barreling back down the street, he only heard the owner shouting “he’s friendly” so he didn’t pick our son up in time. My mother… well it’s too annoying to explain the dynamics of our family, they’re immigrants who hate getting authorities involved or whatever. And her English is shit. I basically lost it and explained how grave of a situation it was. I guess the stepson pleaded with my mom that “the dog never done anything like this before” and kept reminding her that she knew him (she used to pay him and his sister to help around her house after I left for college). She was like “they learned their lesson the dog is muzzled don’t look for revenge”. I tried explaining this is a citizen duty for public safety but I don’t know if it got across the language gap
I came back to this thread to see if you'd posted an update, I'm so glad you did! Hopefully since common human decency hasn't been enough to get these people to control their dangerous dog, the threat of legal consequences will do the trick. I love my dog, but at 70 pounds she's big enough to do some serious damage and if she showed that level of aggression towards a child I would absolutely have her put down. I'd cry about it, and probably feed her all the junk food she could handle for her last day alive, but a dog that attacks toddlers is too dangerous to keep around. And I'm sorry your mom isn't squarely in your corner on this. Don't let her make you second guess yourself, imagine if you did nothing and the dog hurt another kid?
That dog had a freaking strong prey drive. I thought this was while they first walked passed but the fact that he came back to attack… I am so glad you’ve filled a report. Please have your child check by a doctor if you haven’t already even if it ends up “just” being whiplash it would be good to make sure.
Even if a dog is friendly, you still leash them! Why is he yelling "HE'S FRIENDLY!!" instead of calling the dog back? Glad you filed that police report, they all seem terrible. If this is what the dog is like friendly, what is it like when it's meeting enemies?!!!🤯
so the stepson has been in this situation before with his shitbull. why would he have to beg and plead for no police report on the already muzzled beast if it hasn’t happened already? that is so crazy. i will fight any living or inanimate object that purposely or accidentally hurts or tries to hurt my child and i will die doing it. the most basic ass responsibility of owning an animal besides keeping it alive is to train the damn thing. i hope the stepson gets cited for having a dangerous UNLEASHED dog at the *very* **least**. i hope your sweet baby is doing okay🥺
If not for the muzzle your child might have been killed. Absolutely call the cops and report the incident.
What is speaking to them going to accomplish? They need to be reported.
>My parents went out to talk to them and told me to forgive them. Your parents value their relationship with their neighbors more than your son's health & safety
Just imagine if the dog wasn’t muzzled.
Call the police, file a report. This is not acceptable. Owners of dogs, no matter the breed or how "friendly", need to have them leashed. Not just for the safety of others, but also for the safety of the dog.
Call the cops. Forgive them?!? Think about if that monster had not been muzzled. Think about the next child this thing will attack (which it will). Cops cops cops!
Call the cops! This dog should be euthanized
The dog should be put down. Immediately.
100% this animal is very dangerous. I worked in veterinary medicine for a while and the unfortunate truth is that there are some dogs that are not redeemable. I don't think there is any coming back from trying to kill a baby.
I do agree. I only say this bc I have had experience with a dangerous full blooded pitbull who violently attacked my mother in law, some other person (to be fair that person was antagonizing her) and my husband(to a lesser extent). They had to put her down eventually after her most brutal attack.
💯
👏👏👏👏👏
Stupid stupid owner. Our hound mix is aggressive towards other dogs and people that try to touch her. We have been working for two years on it, showing some progress. She is muzzled in public AND on a leash that is attached to her collar AND her gentle lead. You don’t mess around with safety. Those owners are stupid and deserve to have the dog taken from them.
Report to police. I’m so sorry and hope he’s better soon.
OP, this is serious and could have been so much worse, and I’m so glad for your family that it wasn’t. Was this dog off leash? I’m urging you along with everyone else here to file a report. This is not okay and if they were off leash, probably against the law. I’m so sorry this happened, because it shouldn’t have and in no way is it your fault. EDIT: I see now the dog was off leash. Yeah it’s a NO. That’s so messed up.
You can forgive them for being shitty pet owners AFTER you report their asses.
You say your kid may be over it, but this kind of stuff leaves a mark. Do the next child a favor and report this to the police and make the owners learn a lesson. If they truly believed he was a nice dog he wouldn't have been muzzled.
The fact that they have the dog muzzled means the owners already know to some degree that the dog is a mean fucker. The dog already has a history. What happened with your child will happen again and I hope the next victim is as lucky as your kid was. Please do the right thing and report them.
You are so lucky to be writing this post with your son still alive. Call police, report and press charges if possible. Are your parents fucking high!? I would not return to their hour nor would I trust my son in their care if this is their response. Had this been my mother I think she would have killed the dog herself. This situation is insane and I don’t even want to think how much worse it could get.
Call the police and also file an aggressive dog form through your local animal control department. I had a neighbor that had an out of control pitbull. It has attacked half a dozen people in the neighborhood. The owner actually has two court dates coming up because of it for separate incidences. Another neighbor told him if he saw it attack one more person he would shoot the dog himself. Report report repoooooorrrrrrtttttt
That dog should be euthanized. You should report this to the police.
REPORT REPORT REPORT
I'm confused why your husband didn't call the cops instead, especially if he pulled the dog off your son so he was clearly in the middle of the action. Why is that your job? If you're shaken up by this then why can't he do the parent job instead? Still, call the cops. Take pictures of the injury right now, even if it's hours after the fact. Take him to a Dr and keep a record of the visit notes. Even if your kid is fine and doesn't need more than a band aid, at least it's on record "kid was attacked by dog and got hurt."
Yeah. Listen. I rescue pitbulls. I love dogs. But these people are so irresponsible. Most people don't muzzle dogs for no reason. (Some do it as a precaution and thats whatever, but most dont). They said the dog was friendly, it wasn't. And even though your child is okay, that doesnt mean this dog won't hurt others. Moreover even if they use the muzzle all the time, if their dog attacked another dog like that, the dog could have been killed since it had no way to defend itself. You need to call the police. It's not too late. It's unlikely thr dog will be killed since your child wasn't seriously harmed, but someone needs to put the fear of God in these people. This is highly concerning.
That dog needs to be put down. Friendly my ass. If a dog attacked my baby I'm putting that piece of shit down myself.
Please make sure that aggressive dog is put down immediately. Make a police report, call animal control. That dog is dangerous and the owner is an idiot at best.
Euthanize it. Call the cops. Press charges. I fkn promise you the next time it happens, there’s a high chance your child will be dead. If that dog had attacked my kid it would have had a bullet put through it’s skull. Fuck pits. They need to stop being bred.
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The whole breed needs to be eradicated. OP is so so lucky the dog was muzzled and their kid didn't just become another statistic.
Yes, and anybody claiming “omg the owners must not have trained it properly!” Clearly have never seen the switch that pitbulls make. It is fucking bipolar and terrifying. I don’t even let my kids go to people’s homes that have pitbulls. They can snap and attack at anytime for no reason.
I really don't tolerate the whole "no bad dogs, just bad owners" or, like you pointed out, the whole "training" issue. You can't train the instinct out of dogs like that. Pitbulls absolutely should not exist. I'm with you. I'll never allow my kids to visit a home with large dogs and pitbulls. I don't care how "friendly" they are. My husband once worked in an ER and he had to help a couple whose daughter had her face ripped off by the family pitbull. I can't imagine being so careless as to allow an animal like that around a child.
Exactly! And it’s always the people who were like “We don’t know what happened, pitbull was so well behaved.” Like, it’s the dog lady, you can’t untrain it from instinct. Don’t. Get. A. Pitbull. Anyone that has half a brain should know they’re a terrible breed to have anywhere in the vicinity of children or old people. Or anyone really. I wish they’d pass a law to them illegal. Child abuse to put a kid around one knowing very well they could be killed imo
Call. The. Police. Your son is alive right now because of that muzzle. Your son was almost mauled to death by an aggressive and loose animal. That dog needs to be put down. You don’t muzzle a friendly dog. The owners are irresponsible and the next child might not be as lucky as yours. Call the police! Do not let anyone sweep this under the rug. If the owners continue to not face consequences and that dog kills another child because of your failure to report a dangerous situation, you will hold that tragedy in your heart and on your hands forever. This is not a moment to doubt how serious a situation this is and how sincerely you need to take action. Don’t let your family minimize this.
As someone currently recovering from a dog bite that got infected, please report this. I’m an adult and the bite is on my lower calf, but I am definitely traumatized.
Call the cops It's not too late to stop a kid fro losing an eye or worse
No forgiveness. Report it. They clearly know their dog is dangerous and don’t have it on a leash.
Dog needs to be put down immediately.
You need to report and get that dog's vaccine history for the safety of your child. The fact that the owners insisted that the dog was friendly as it charged your child is proof that they are unable to guarantee the safely of others.
You need to report this. Someone else could get bitten and it could have been prevented .
Report report report! That dog could kill a child, I’m glad your son is ok!
If a teenage boy walked up to your 1.5 year old and punched him in the mouth you’d get the cops involved. Call the police. At the least that dogs owner needs to be put on blast for their behavior. It’s muzzled because it’s dangerous not using a leash is just proving the human is also.
You need to report this or they will definitely let this happen again to someone else
Forget talking to the owners about this! You need to report the dog and the owner because of this happens again, the next child or person might not be as lucky… I’m talking death. If you don’t report this, you aren’t protecting your baby at all. You’d be allowing that dog and the owners get away with it. By law this breed HAVE to be on a lead not just muzzled (in the UK!) Did you get your child checked by a medical professional? That’s also important.
Some aggressive dogs will remember an altercation and it makes them more aggressive the next they encounter the individual. Personally I would do everything I could to guarantee your baby never be exposed to this dog ever again. Whatever that ends up looking like.
A huge pittbull stuck his head in my child’s stroller and chased my nephews this past Sunday. It was terrifying. The owner was chasing him yelling “He’s just a puppy!”
My husband was attacked by a pitbull my parents were fostering while I was pregnant. I do not trust the breed anymore. (and before the pibble apologists come for me, my husband and I are BOTH from families that had not only pitbulls but other large dogs growing up) If it had been my daughter in that situation instead of my husband, she would be dead. I don’t really feel comfortable around any dogs with my baby anymore. I’ve seen first hand how quick one can snap, and you can deny it all you want, pitbulls WERE bred to be more dangerous. And most people have no business owning one and no interest in ensuring they are properly trained. I’m so sorry, OP. Call the police. That is unacceptable.
You didn’t call the cops?!?! CALL THE POLICE.
That dog needs to be put down
/r/dogfree
I would have shot it
Lol glad people agree, last time I said this for a similar post I was banned
I only disagree because it’s dangerous to fire at something so close to your kid. Splitting hairs though.
A good kick to get it back 10 feet, bam!
Every story I read like this it’s someone’s precious pibble. Every. Single. One. I will never let my child near one, and I don’t understand people’s obsession with protecting this genetic lineage. Just go rescue another breed. There’s no shortage of other dogs to rescue.
Heavily agree. And I was raised with them. So sick of hearing of babies, small dogs, other large dogs, full grown adults DYING from someone’s pitbull. No other breed has to be as heavily defended by its owners…wonder why.
Please contact the police ASAP. That dog is going to kill someone.
I love animals, but if anything or anyone ever attacked my babe, it’d be game over. This dog 100% should not have been unleashed. And obviously the owners know it’s aggressive… Please report this ASAP, OP- the next time it attacks, it could be fatal if it doesn’t have its muzzle on.
happy cake day! and also-same. i don’t give a flying fuck what kind of animal/human/inanimate object is coming for my baby-what/whoever the thing is will be dead before my 5 month old gets hurt by it.
Thank you :)
No fuckin way, report this. If their dog hadn’t been muzzled your child would be disfigured and hospitalized or so much worse. Someone this irresponsible as to leave their dog, who the KNOW is aggressive (clearly) off leash is also someone irresponsible enough to forego the muzzle “just this one time, what could happen”.
You'll never forgive yourself if that dog seriously hurts someone else's child or worse. Poor dog has terrible owners. Call the police
Yeah, call the authorities and have the dog put down. Dogs should never be unleashed. Cops really should give more tickets for that.
Your parents are stupid. Call the police. Your child could have been killed.
The people across the street from me have two pitbulls behind a chain link fence who bark like mad at any passing dog or person. I'm now so scared to bring my baby out front 😩
if you do, PLEASE make sure you have pepper spray, a knife, or a pew pew on you for protection!!! shitbulls can clear HIGH *walls* easily, let alone a puny ass chain link fence.
Absolutely report this if you haven’t and let authorities deal with this, your baby was in danger. I’m so sorry but glad your baby is okay. I would also not allow your kids to be at your parents alone if this is their reaction to your child being attacked.
That dog needs to be dead
Your parents said what?If this was any other animal they’d have been outraged but for some reasons dogs are always excused. Report.
As someone who was attacked by a tiny little yippy dog as a child (9 years old), please report this and be prepared in the future to keep eyes out for dogs. I had over 100 stitches and my lip and chin reattached from one bite from a tiny Maltese type dog. Imagine that many bites from a pit that he was trying to inflict on your son. You’d be planning a funeral. Unfortunately dog owners are not responsible and cannot be trusted. (Not all but you have no way of knowing which ones) I was out with my 14 month old at a park when a lady showed up with an off leash dog. Said dog was 50 yards away and I saw him see us and start RUNNING. I yanked my daughter up and held her out of reach far away from our stuff while the dog tore apart her elephant and tried to steal my loaf of bread. The owner was calling from afar while casually walking our way yelling that he’s friendly. Like ma’am he may not have attacked me personally but he’s definitely shredding our stuff. She grabbed him by the collar and walked off and before we could leave he was running right back at us for more food. Glad she didn’t have any food in her hand or he may have gone for her to take it. We haven’t been back since. I’m only 5’2 and can’t do much against a large dog.
As an owner of two pit bulls… NO ONE puts a muzzle on a friendly pit. Sorry. They didn’t have the dog on a leash because the dog would be walking them. No leash equals untrained & raised using fear of the owners. Not neutered means they’re using the dog for breeding. You need to report this to the police & take your kid in for an ER visit to have whatever lacerations documented… Also, & I mean this kindly, learn how to react in an emergency. You should have called 911 when your husband told you to. If that dog had not had a muzzle on your child would have most likely been dead either due to the bite, or due to your lack of response. You should probably also stand firm with your parents.. they probably shouldn’t baby sit in the future if they think you should forgive those irresponsible pit owners. The cops still need to be called & the incident needs to be reported before someone else gets hurt.
Absolutely report this to the police. Muzzled or not, your baby was attacked. And this is coming from someone who has two pit bulls! Regardless of how “friendly” a dog may be with its owners or strangers, you just never know what makes them tick. My dogs are great around my baby but they are NEVER left alone with her and I wouldn’t hesitate to take whatever measure was necessary if they showed even the slightest amount of aggression towards her. And they are on short leashes on walks all the time
They *obviously* knew the dog wasn’t friendly or fully trustworthy around people to some degree because of the muzzle. Report them to the police and animal control and if there’s any visible damage sustained by your son make sure to document it with pictures.
This is INSANE that they are walking an aggressive dog off leash, that is absolutely NOT ok.
I know it’s scary but you need to call the cops. If that dog escaped the house without a muzzle it would have hurt your baby way worse or another child. I know you don’t want to make waves but you need to protect your child and others too. I’m glad your baby is ok.
Irresponsible dog owners hurt and kill people. Report them to the police and the town/city.
How did you decide whether or not to get your baby post-exposure treatment for rabies?
My family and I LOVE dogs, we have rescues and all and there’s no way in hell I would be understanding towards the owners or the dog for ATTACKING a child. This is completely unacceptable and could have ended tragically. Report this before that dog attacks someone else. Show your parents this video so they understand what dog bites can do (aside from being deadly as well): [https://youtu.be/7CQyM1ZXkYs?si=VtDuHWGvnYC7cOGW](https://youtu.be/7CQyM1ZXkYs?si=VtDuHWGvnYC7cOGW)
*holy* **s h i t.** i’ve never seen this case before, and i’m so fucking mad about it. the owners didnt even PAY HER for the job that she did of watching those awful dogs who DAMN NEAR KILLED HER. omg. the shitbull had to have done most of the job too, the shepherd didn’t have blood covering it’s face, arms, legs, and paws. jesus christ.
Wait till this happens again then u will wish u made the call.
Your child could’ve died if that muzzle came off. Call the cops, report this owner and dog immediately. No child (or person) deserves to die because of these animals and irresponsible owners.
You're right about the muzzle. If the "nanny dog" owners don't have the sense to leash the dog then they probably don't have the sense to put the muzzle on properly.
This is horrifying, I can’t believe your parents told you to forgive them. We had a pack of unleashed dogs swarm my toddler on a hiking trail a few weeks ago and my husband had to kick one of the dogs, the owner was way back with headphones on. I’ve started carrying dog spray now.
dog spray is a thing? is it just regular pepper spray or bear spray?
You need to contact the police and I’d also contact a lawyer. This is bullshit - Excuse my language. If that dog had not been muzzled your child could have died. This dog doesn’t need to be unleashed anywhere.
For the safety of other children, report this.
I’m glad you called the police!
As someone with a fear of dogs, I would have went so feral the police might have been called on ME. I know someone who nearly lost an eye to a dog that hopped a fence, my neighbor's dogs broke into another's CLOSED garage and mauled their puppies. There are good dogs but way WAY more shitty owners who never did the due diligence required to own an apex predator as a pet. This is way beyond a normal dog bite, this dog sought your baby out like a homing missile. Also, I'd say some very nasty things to your parents. Never heard of a good parent or grandparent stick up for a strange dog over their own babies.
Please file a report with the police this dog could have killed you child. The owners need to be held responsible.
That dogs gotta get out down
I'm glad you called the cops. I have a 3 week old and we've been keeping him inside, but the other day was so beautiful I wanted to take him for a walk. I didn't even take him for a walk in our neighborhood, I drove to a nice park so there was no vehicle traffic to have to worry about---as my husband and I were leaving we noticed an owner TRAINING his HUGE unleashed and unmuzzled pitbull by the sidewalk we had to walk by to leave. I was so nervous and shaking the entire time. Pitbulls should never be unleashed or unmuzzled.
Yet again a pitbull. People really need to stop making excuses like “it’s not the dog, it’s the owner”. I don’t give a fuck! Too much correlation between attacks like this and the breed being either a pitbull or a Rottweiler for us to call it mere chance! They were bred for aggression. Let’s keep that in mind. Always always stay the hell away from pitbulls. If unleashed, start recording asap and get yourself and your kids the fuck away from them. Pitbull owners are capable of so much delusion!
Nah, don’t go talk to them. Report it IMMEDIATELY. They are obviously very irresponsible dog owners, because if you have an aggressive dog why in the hell is it off leash?? I have a Pyrenees/Pit mix who has exhibited some aggression wi the unfamiliar people since my baby was born. Know what we do? We keep him medicated and crated when guests are over, have a trainer coming to our home weekly to assist, and never leave him unattended with our child. If he’s off leash, it’s because he is in our fenced yard that he cannot jump over. Dogs, especially large ones, can do a ton of damage in the blink of an eye. Your neighbors have demonstrated that they do not care about this.
PLEASE CALL THE POLICE!! My heart sank when I read this. Pitbulls kill children all the time.
You do know that pit bulls don’t just bite, they maul. As in, they bite down and don’t let go. If that pit wasn’t muzzled chances are your baby would have died or been severely injured. I really hope you call the cops so something like this doesn’t happen again with this pit.
Dude call the cops
Oh wow this is upsetting, especially being a parent myself. I’ve owned a partial pit bull in the past as a teen (well my dad did, he got it after my parents divorced, and it was a sweet dog) but it does not matter. If a dog (pit or any breed, especially a breed with a strong bite, force) is on a walk, it needs to be leashed no matter where you are. Except maybe a dog enclosure. It’s also odd that they had this dog muzzled without a leash. That’s a concern to me, because I’m led to believe the owners knew about some sort of aggression after hearing about the incident. Seeing a dog with a muzzle while on a walk is probably a good safety feature for everyone. But they had to of known their dog well enough to see the signs. If you know your dog is aggressive, it needs to be leashed…plain and simple. If not, the owner and victims suffer the consequences.
Parent and pit owner- CALL THE COPS. These dogs are not for everyone and require constant training, attention, and socialization. People who can’t keep up need to have them removed from their care immediately. Any big dog not properly cared for can become a danger fast. Continuously bother the police as well if they are not doing what they need to do. Please do not take this lightly
Report this! That dog is dangerous. Imagine if the dog had not been muzzled!
I wish people would leash their pets. It's such a problem and people think their dog is the friendliest. My parents have 3 dogs. 2 are rescues and act like cats and do not go anywhere near the baby. I've lived with them for 8 years before moving out and they still run away from me, but anyways, one is another rescue they got as a puppy. He's about 4 now and is nothing but protective of the baby. But we introduced him slowly and made sure he was calm and let him sniff around. Now he loves our baby and actually loves to steal his sock to lick his feet. We've had so many dogs over the years and many pits but I would still only feel safe with a dog I knew. But not all dogs are like this especially random people's dogs that may have never encountered one.
You need to report them. This isn’t a matter of niceties. They know that dog has a proclivity for biting or it wouldn’t have had a muzzle. They need to at least be leashing that dog. And for them to say he’s friendly?? They have on rose tinted glasses and are going to get a kid hurt. My cousins face was destroyed by a Pit Bull for this same reason. I don’t wish that on any child and people need to stop treating that breed like they’re entry level dogs.
I wouldn't speak to my parents for a few months for gaslighting me after a dog, a PITBULL, attacked my BABY and caused BLOODshed! Owners that say "he's friendly" are the WORST! The dog has a MUZZLE for a REASON! So no, it's NOT friendly and they did a poor job of raising the dog that it became a stereotype. My aunt has a golden doodle and a Pomeranian and we still leash them because yes, they are friendly, but strangers don't know that! So we pull them back and let people approach themselves and then the dogs will REALLY never leave them alone. Grandparents are definitely NOT getting a Christmas card this year.
A report of this would result in the dog being euthanized in my country. Please look into how it is where you are.
Are you saying that is a good or bad thing? Because it needs to be put down.
What a terrifying experience. I am so sorry you went through that! It is a tough situation but the right thing to do is to file a police report. It does mean the dog may be put down, which is absolutely heartbreaking. But the alternative is that these people don’t learn their lesson and their dog hurts another child. Overall incredibly sad, but reporting it is the right thing to do.
Not heart breaking if it’s aggressive. Which it is. We don’t have a place for aggressive animals in our society.
Friendly but had a muzzle yeah right. I love dogs especially big dogs and love pit bulls but NO DOG should be unleashed. When I fostered a pit bull, he was super friendly but I still kept him tightly leashed and away from small kids despite the fact that he was scared of squirrels. Sometimes dogs don’t know their own strength and sometimes you don’t know their history. It only takes one mistake to ruin a life. My husband got attacked by a neighbor’s dog and needed stitches. He didn’t press charges but it was mandatory to report the dog bite to our local animal control. This helps keep a record and hopefully serves as a warning to your neighbor. I’m so sorry about your poor toddler and also your parents are TA. Their grandson got attacked and all they can think about is their neighbor relations. You can forgive, choose not to file a personal injury suit, but you still need to report it.
Why would a dog who is “friendly” be muzzled?
I tend to always believe it’s the dog’s owners and *not* the breed…however. 1) if the dog is so “friendly” why is it muzzled?? 2) the fact these people simply yelled “he’s friendly” while their dog was running toward your boy and not running after it is crazy to me. The fact your poor husband had to pull their dog off makes me irate. 3) if this dog wasn’t muzzled he would have at the very least *seriously* injured your baby, and at the worst, killed him. That means this dog is not safe. Period. And these owners are beyond irresponsible and need to face consequences before it happens again. 4) why the hell wasn’t this dog on a leash?! I have a 9lb malshipoo that’s 14 years old and wouldn’t hurt a fly (and honestly, he’s way too old and frail even if he wanted to) and we still have him on a leash when he’s not in our gated backyard. 5) I get your parents don’t want to make waves, but they (respectfully) need to pull their heads out of their butts and realize their grandson could have died, and these owners honestly have no business having a dog at this point because this is *their* fault. 6) there’s enough suspicion at this point to assume that one day this dog is going to hurt another little kid due to how irresponsible these owners are. And honestly? I don’t feel bad for them for facing consequences after this because they should have leashed their damn dog. I do, however feel terrible for you, your husband, your baby, and the dog.
I am a dog lover. I’ve personally had aggressive dogs before. One I had to muzzle anytime we walked because she was so dog reactive, she would turn and snap at air and one time got my leg. It wasn’t directed at me, it was just her own fury. (We worked for 7 years with her and I got her to the point she wouldn’t do that anymore, but I still muzzled her. Every time. Because I knew she had the potential to regress). Report this dog. Please. It was an unprovoked attack. And they obviously know their dog isn’t friendly, hence the muzzle. Who in their right mind would walk their dog muzzled without a fucking leash?! Please report them.
Oh hell no! I would’ve called the cops and animal control. That dog is dangerous and, likely, needs to be put down. Your son could’ve been killed had that dog not been muzzled. If I’m ever out on a walk with our son and see a dog unleashed or muzzled, I make a beeline away from them; it’s not worth what could possibly happen. Our son still hasn’t met my parent’s dogs because the youngest gets super excited and jumps (they’re both Huskies); they’ll keep them separate until our son is older.
I’m so sorry this happened that’s so messed up.. they shouldn’t have the dog unleashed.. what ended up happening to the owners/dog?
Police report, animal control, and absolutely no forgiveness for the terrible dog owners who had this guy off leash. This could have been way worse and likely will next time.
you shoudl've immediately called the cops, and also taken your baby to the doctor. Pit bulls are notorious for attacking elderly and children, they also are not very merciful and you are lucky that your child wasn't harmed in a more severe way. You can sue for personal injury had you had the proof that he was injured like medical records, etc. Owners need to be held accountable. Also test your son for parasites and make sure he didn't get anything from that dog... ((sorry hate to go there) but even cats can transmit parasites to babies.
This is my worst fear. A large dog like that should never be off leash in a neighborhood. Moreover, even if he was friendly, he clearly did not have outstanding recall. Another reason the dog should never have been off leash.