Is it a pet, or a monster? I am referring to the Pit-bull Terrier that our neighbors keep on the balcony of their apartment. The dog barks and growls incessantly every time someone walks by on the sidewalk below, or when it hears someone open or close one of their doors. They walk this animal without a leash. We do have leash laws in this town. The dog’s owners obviously don’t care. We also have an aggressive breed restriction here at the complex. Again, the owners obviously don’t care.
Now I know you’re thinking, okay, the dog largely stays on the balcony, other than the noise what’s the problem? Well, the dog has to be brought downstairs to do its business from time to time. If it growls and barks while on the balcony, how is it going to react if it actually comes up close and personal to someone? Will that person lose a limb, or worse? Will the monster decide it is hungry and swallow a toddler? Pardon me for being graphic, but I have to wonder.
My wife has observed the so-called owner of the dog throwing it down the stairs when taking it for a walk or a potty break. He was yelling at the dog, pulling it by the collar, pushing it, etc. Now, any animal will react adversely when mistreated, but an aggressive bred like a Pit-bull can get ugly in a hurry. They are bred to be fighters. Killers. Other than dog fighting, which is illegal, what is the purpose of the breed? You never hear of Beagles, Shih-tzu’s, Labs, etc turning on their owners and mauling them. You don’t hear of poodles attacking innocent children without cause. With a Pit-bull though, all you have to do is be in the wrong place at the wrong time and you’re a Scooby snack.
This monster masquerading as a pet has growled at my wife before while she was out walking our Beagle with our two and a half month-old baby girl. Fortunately, the dog was on the balcony at the time. I called the manager of the apartment complex and told her that if that monster acts aggressive towards and/or threatens my family in anyway, I will kill it, I won’t think twice, and I will have no regrets. All I would need is an eight foot ladder and an aluminum baseball bat. Or maybe a throw away bowl and a jug of antifreeze.
Don’t get me wrong, I love animals, dogs in particular and would never even remotely entertain the notion of harming an innocent animal. Our ten year-old Beagle Jasper is a part of the family. That is precisely why I will kill any monster that threatens him, not to mention my wife and daughters. The thing is, this dog is not a pet. This dog is a disaster, a tragedy waiting for a time a place to happen. I just don’t intend let this happen to my family.
It all came to a head last night. The mutt barked and growled for two hours straight. It got to the point where even our noisy upstairs neighbors were annoyed by it, and that’s saying something. I called the police and they called animal control. This morning, I noticed there is no Pit-bull on the balcony and it is eerily quiet. In a good way of course. The so-called owners were not home and I went to bed shortly thereafter so I can only assume animal control tranquilized it and extricated it from balcony and took it to doggy jail. One can only hope.
Jim Chitty
Writer/Columnist/Blogger
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