Dog Caught In Middle Of Vicious Dog Battle

[Swede]

Common sense just ain't common.


snip

He's only a few inches tall, but a miniature dachshund named Spork is at the middle of a debate over vicious dogs. It’s even earned him his own fan page on Facebook where as of Monday evening he had 677 friends.

"He's family," said Kelly Walker, who has had Spork since he was a puppy.

Kelly and her husband Tim are fighting a ticket they received charging them with owning a vicious dog

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/22640601/detail.html

[LiberalFighter]

1. Were the vet and tech aware the dog was a problem?

If so, then why didn't they take precautions?

[TwilightGardener]

3. In my experience, they should anticipate that all dogs (and cats!) in their care will bite.

They are trained to hold and subdue an animal when doing exams and procedures to safeguard against bites. I have warned my own vet many times that one of my cats will attempt to scratch and bite when given shots. I do think bites come with the business of caring for animals, especially stressed, frightened animals. Edit to add: Spork needs that exercise, that boy is FAT!!

[LiberalFighter]

8. Exactly. And I find the vet and tech involved in this case were crass

in filing the report. Maybe it was their fault for the dog biting them. Maybe not. And then again I don't know the extent of the attack and injury. But seriously, they are in the business of interacting with animals.

[beevul]

2. How ridiculous.

You said it, swede.

"Common sense just ain't common."


How many people, should this be allowed to stand, will keep thier dogs away from vet care when it really needs it?


Fucking morons.


Our pomeranians...a couple of them have bitten me, but never in a vicious way. It was because I startled them. When frightened, animals react.

These are the same precious little ones we share our home and even our bed with. I'd wager that sporks people would say the same thing.



I wonder, will they be issuing those same tickets when a police dog bites someone?

Vicious on command is still vicious, right?


What the fuck is the matter with people?

[LisaM]

4. Then what about cats?

I have friends with cats who dread taking them to vets because they might bite the vet. But the vets they go to (who are professionals) deal with it.

Of course, dogs and cats seem to have two sets of rules (if my dog went and pooped in my neighbor's yard, they'd have a fit, but their cats get to roam our yard with impunity), but it still seems to me that if this applies to dogs it must surely apply to other animals the vet treats.

[flvegan]

5. Easy enough to "launder" that dog.

1. Find a rescue run by a miscreant like myself (ie, 50% of rescues);

2. Tell the judge/animal control that the dog ran away;

3. Keep dog hidden for a month or so (not too hard with one that small);

4. Get adoption papers for "new" dog from rescue that just happens to look EXACTLY like the one that "ran away";

5. Dog saved.

Naturally, this should only be done when the dog is indeed not vicious and in stupid circumstances such as this.

Yes, this does work. Not that I've ever done this before, of course.

[beevul]

10. "Its a poodle, set it to delicate..."

I know this is a serious topic and all, but I can not be the only one that read your post and was brought back to the "washing the dog episode of "beavis and butthead"...



"its a poodle, set it to delicate..."

[Solly Mack]

6. :(

Spork looks like a bigger and much chubbier version of my own mini badger dog.

[Dappleganger]

7. We have two rescued mini-doxies..

They're spoiled rotten. We've never had an issue with nipping or biting but dogs can get very nervous at the vet with so many other animal smells and activity. Our vet uses a muzzle on those who are especially experiencing anxiety.

If that was my doxie I'd sell the house and leave town, never to return.

[Chulanowa]

9. Straight insanity

If you're a vet, you should expect that you are going to get bitten, clawed, pooped on, bruised, and whatever else an animal might do to you. It's part of the job description.

This shit is like a bullrider filing papers to have the bull euthanized.

[Shell Beau]

11. Absolutely. My vet said it comes with the job.

Animals get tense when they are out of their comfort zone. Especially at a vet's office. My mini-pinscher bit the vet once. They never even told me about it. I saw on her file that it said "may bite", but then they had scratched out the word "may" and added an s to "bite". So I asked, and he said she got nervous and bit him. Said it is part of his job.

[Mari333]

12. My dog has a facebook page

he will want to sign up on this poor doggies page

[Mari333]

13. Facebook Page is ' SAVE SPORK'

sign the petition on the page..

he has over 2300 friends already

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. Is this just a state law for Colorado?

If a dog bites a vet, the vet can file papers that might eventually put the dog down? Does anybody else know what other states have these laws?

[Blue Diadem]

16. Apparently Co. law says a dog owner isn't liable if the dog bites a vet, groomer or anyone who works

closely with animals. However, it's the city of Lafayette that is claiming some home rule exception, saying they don't have to follow Colorado state law.

I don't know about other states. It just would make sense that people who work closely with animals may get injured by them once in a while. It seems the state of Colorado understands that but something is clearly wrong with the city of Lafayette.

[Doremus]

15. Anybody who takes their pets to that vet should immediately stop

and find another vet in some other city.

[intheflow]

17. I'm sorry, but I have known some very vicious dachshunds.

And this is some very sloppy reporting. We have no idea how bad the bite was, or under what circumstances it occurred. From what I've been able to gather from a quick google search, the vet has been in business for at least seven years without a similar incident or another charge by the vet against a vicious dog. Just because the dog looks sweet enough running in the snow on leash with its owner does not mean the dog isn't vicious to other people. Without interviewing the vet, the vet tech, seeing the injury, or reading the actual report filed, this story assumes a bias against the vet with nothing to back it up.

Again: no vet can be in business for nearly a decade if they're filing frivolous vicious dog complaints left and right. My guess is there is more to this story than what the news clip above suggests.

[doodadem]

18. Ridiculous

I have been bitten at one time or another by both of our Miniature Dachshunds. The older one decided to take on a coyote across the fence several years ago, and got dragged across the fence and carried off before we could get to him. We found him in the field, covered in blood where the coyote had shaken him by the throat. He bit me when I picked him up because he was out of his mind with pain. The other doxie boy is a fear biter. If you scold him for something, and then try to pick him up, he gets afraid. Our other one that died a few years ago from a rattlesnake bite was also a fear biter, except it was in regards to strangers. He had been abused before we got him, and was deathly afraid of people he didn't know. All 3 of these little guys are/were ASPCA adoptees. They have the hearts of lions.

I have also been a vet tech in a former life, and getting bit, scratched, kicked, stomped on, etc. is part of the job description. If you aren't prepared for it, you need to find another job.