PLEASE READ, MY DOG WAS KILLED!!!!!! (BUFFALO NY) UPDATE from owen

[brandon]

Thanks, but I'd rather not argue with you.  I would just like to confirm with Winslow that I agree.

Thank you,
Brandon

[Winslow 151]

Hi,

Back hpme on my PC. Julie thanks I too feel we had a good and valuable discussion going on!! Brandon thanks for confirming my skepticism.

Owen I hope your story is fiction if not I truly feel your pain!!

I am concerned for the safety of big dogs, small dogs, good responsible owners and even the not so responsible owners!!

Really i don't want to see a "story" be counterproduct ive to the energy many of US expend to open dog parks for those who want to frequent them and make sure they are a safe haven for those human and canine that need them. I guess that is really why I want the story validated.

I hope that makes sense? I enjoy the discussions and opinions of everyone on this board ;-) that what makes this place fun!!

Rich

[lookingfornewf]

I just read this on a Buffalo chat site. The original listing was a craigslist post

I was at the park yesterday and saw this tragic event happen. I know that the woman who owned the big dog did NOT run off. It was awful and everyone was so upset. Someone called the police and the SPCA, who were on their way to the scene. I also saw the woman shaking and crying while waiting on the bench for the police and spca to come. She waited over 30 minutes for them to come and over that space of time, all the other witnesses left, including me. Apparently no official ever came to take a report. How do you know she is not looking for you? What happened to your little dog was very tragic, and the newfoundland’s owner seemed so traumatized by what happened too. I am so sorry for you and your loss. I really hate to add this part, it seems so cruel in light of the pain you are in, but with so many enormous dogs there – why would you let a tiny 4 month old puppy run off leash? I remember thinking that it seemed too dangerous to do that, and that was before any incident. There was a huge rottweiler there, a Doberman, the three big newfies, a huge Akita and even a pit bull. There were a lot of other big dogs there too. I know in hindsight everything seems clear, but in the future, the little dogs should not be in the dog park if there are mostly big dogs there.

[marinafb]

This was posted on craigslist under pets BUFFALO today.



As owners of a small dog, my fiance and my self were horrified to read this. We frequent this dog park with our Pomeranian and have never had an issue. Some one who has a dog they cannot control should not be there. It's one thing for a small dog to be injured after being trampled by or wrestling with a larger dog. Its another thing entirely for an dog to be attacked by another. There used to be "Abner Hours", time for small dog owners to bring there dogs. These hours where never honored by large breed dog owners. Small or large, all dogs are welcome there at all hours as long as they meet the posted rules. This Newfoundland obviously didn't. While this poor pug, as long as all shots where up to date did fall within the requirements. We were both bothered by the comments posted in response justifying what happened. To bring into breeds of the dogs that were there is playing right into stigmas some breeds have that are completely false. A vicious dog is a vicious dog small or large, pitbull or lab. We both are sorry for your loss and hope things work out for you and that something is done about this.

[marinafb]

I recieved this email from Owen an he ask me to post this Marina

From: O B [mailto:o_t_begner@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 11:09 PM
To: Marina F. Belknap
Subject: Re: PLEASE READ, MY DOG WAS KILLED!!!!!! (BUFFALO NY)

Hello Marina, thank you for your response. I checked out the site and I was amazed at some of the comments maid by somepeople. Some dont believe it happened at all, others think it was my poor dogs fault, and still other think it was my fault for having him there in the first place. Well when mach was attacked he was playing with his friend, a 4yr old great dane male. I hope people will realize its not the breed or size ot gender of the dog its how it was raized. If you can please post this message on that site for me.
Thank you
Owen

[marinafb]

RE: MY DOG WAS KILLED AT THE DOG PARK (BUFFALO NY)




I am the owner of the dog that was killed at the park, my name is Owen. My dogs name was Mack. First I would like to say thank you to everyone that has sent there pryers and thoughts via email to us. Second We have been in contact with every member of board that over see"s the park as well as the director of the buffalo animal control, as well as the media. All of which where so support off and helpful. There is a story on channel 2 as well as wgrz.com. Third. We where totally and completely in our rights as homeowners in the city of buffalo to have Mack there. I personally dont care how big a dog is or what breed the dog is, it comes down to being able to control your pets, and the lady who owned the dog that attacked mack was not able to do so. I have owned many dogs in my life from large to small, from "pitts to "labs". And I have seen small dogs as well as large dogs be untrained and unsocial. So to all that say why was my dog there in the first place. I responed, because he loved it there and it was his favorite place to go. And thats why he was there.

Thank you
Owen & Liz

[Tspanos]

First to Owen and Mack, Sorry.

Now to put my two cents in. I think there is a lot more to this story still yet. We have heard from the victim and a witness via cross posts from Marina and Clifford... among others.

I personally am glad to hear from a witness that the owner of the big paws did not take off as was originally posted and would hope that with Owen now able to get his information out there this woman will be able to contact him.

From my own experience and I think what has had many of the others on this board so skeptical(not the right word) of this story is what I refer to as the Napoleon Complex we see so regularly from little dogs and there owners. So often we come across little dogs starting trouble with our big paws, and their owners think its cute, if we didn't socialize our big paws as well and often as we have, we would be posting this from the other perspective!

I don't let Kali play with unknown little dogs for this reason. I guess I'm really careful with who she plays with period.

A warning for anyone on this board, if your dog can not be off leash in a enclosed dog park you should not be there. Other dogs in the park perceive a dog on leash as being different and the pack mentality makes it a target for them.
Tim

[brandon]

Really a sad situation   Something similar like that happened at a local park here. A rottweiler killed a pomeranian.  This prompted the city to add an additional section for small dogs.  I hope the city will do the same for this park so the little fellows can be safe.

[arkydo]

to start this I'm sorry to hear about your pug Owen
no-one here likes to see or hear this kinda thing happen

but I'm disappointed that you said the women ran off. when that doesn't seem to be the case , and knowing quite a few female dog owners i believe she didn't. All the women i know would also break crumble at this kind of experience especially if it was on their head.

Yes it is your right as a house owner to be there, and people should have control of their dogs at all time.but it is also your responsibility as a DOG OWNER to protect your dog which means if you own a little 6 pounder and theres three big 150 pounders coming your way, realize how fragile your dog is in comparison and pick him up for safes sake.
As a past owner of many dogs you should know that dogs communication can sometimes be almost invisible to us, and considering the fact that no matter how cute cuddly etc. your dog is he is still a domesticated wild animal whether he has been domesticated for centuries or not somewhere in their mind there will always be a button that can turn that killer instinct on. So do yourself a favor and remove your vulnerable creature from the ground for a few seconds. I know it is within your rights for him to be on the ground but dogs don't have rights, don't care about rights and have the capability of creating their own rules very fast.

This is just my opinion it may wrong it may be right , but my dogs don't get into fights because if i think for a second that someone else's dog isn't as dog friendly as I'd like i remove my dogs from that situation because that is my responsibility as their owner

[marinafb]

Owen, I am so sorry for your loss. I can definitely see both points of view. But according to your story, Mack liked to play with big dogs and was playing with a Dane when it happened so I don't see how the Napoleon complex would have anything to do with this Tspanos. Also the fact that Mack was 4 months old, I mean that is when pups can learn a lot from other dogs not so much asserting going on just yet. Pugs, puggles, a lot of small terrier breeds and more are bruiser kind of dogs and seem to like to play with the big guys. I know Gweck (my Dane) likes to play with big and small dogs. I actually like when he plays with small to medium, he is much more gentle and less likely to try and wrestle all tough than when he plays with big dogs. Instead he plays keep away and lets the smaller dogs jump all over him. Anyways enough of my rambling. Again I am so very sorry for your loss!

I wanted to also add, I understand this is a big dog forum but that doesn't mean we can't be sympathetic of small dogs. What the main issue here is, is that a dog was killed. It doesn't matter if it was big or small. It doesn't matter what breed the offending dog is. It is a horrible scenario and should just be looked at as such. I must say this thread has made some big dog owners look like big bullies and I think it's the BPO'ers doing it not Owen. Sorry if this sounds preachy but, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it. Thanks

Julie

I have to agree with Julie no matter what the circumstances are Owen lost his beloved pet Mack. Why is everyone so quick to judge? His dog is dead the lady did drive off I have heard the same story from 3 different people that were there when it happened. She knows who Owen is and has still not contacted him. Other people are coming forward and stating her dogs were viscous and had attacked other dogs in the past she did nothing to prevent it from happing. This dog park is really not supervised by anyone there are no boundaries for small dogs or large dogs. As a responsible dog owner I take my dogs to supervised play areas where the dogs must have all there shots and qualified people are keeping a eye on the pups it there is any sign of aggression the owner and the dog must leave. I posted this story to begin with so everyone was informed this could happen and did happen just ask Owen. Not so everyone could judge what mistakes Owen made shame on us. I felt so ashamed when Owen stated so people do not believe me and there judging me my heart sunk thinking how would I feel if that was me and I had just one of my beloved pups? This site is to inform and this is related to Large and small dogs as to the fact it was on craigslist just like any other posts on this site you choose what you read it is your responsibility to voice your opinion constructively! Marina

[Winslow 151]

Hi,

Owen I am sorry for the loss of your pup Max and do hope you and Liz can heal from this incident.

It seems this case should be very solvable so I hope the woman is found and held responsile for what her dog did.

Rich

[lookingfornewf]

The newfoundland dog in questioned has been euthanized

I also have been in contact with the owners, it took me some time to get the correct contact numbers. I have never felt so badly in my life. Mack has been in my thoughts and prayers constantly. Maybe he and my dog will be friends in doggy heaven, i hope so.

This was on a Buffalo chat site from the Newfoundland owner. I probably feel more sorry for her and her Newfoundland she had to PTS.

[Tspanos]

I don't see how the Napoleon complex would have anything to do with this Tspanos.

Julie and Owen, If I came across as directing my comments toward Mack, Owen, and Liz I am sorry. By no means do I want to Monday Morning Quarterback such an awful situation. My reference was an observation many of us have made and an explanation as to why so many of us are leary of little paws and their owners.

The rest of my post was nice way of saying some of the other posts in this thread where a little jaded.

[bigdogs@5501]

So sad- a double tragedy. I do NOT go to dog parks- it is too unpredictable. I also feel that there should be dog parks that are seperated for large dogs and little dogs.
I have also had incidents in public where my Tug was on a leash and well behaved and a small breed dog has come up and bit him in the face- the owner of the small dog- laughed and thought it was cute.

I am sorry for the loss for both families. Thier deaths were sad and preventable incidents.

Bless both families in cooping with thier losses and the harsh lesson learned.

[Guardian Angel's White lightning]

i am sorry for your loss. It definitly is a human error...but why is this an eye for an eye? this does not teach anyone anything and i personally think that this does not solve anything at all.  It is very sad that a beloved pet has passed, but now we have two owners who are devistated due to both owners. i am sorry if you don't like my opinion, although i don't think that killing another dog served any one any justice at all.  jm