Bloody Saturday at White Rock (Dog Park)
A bloody confrontation Saturday at the White Rock Dog Park in Dallas left a woman’s face slashed, a man charged with aggravated assault and carrying a switchblade, and pit bulls, as usual, bearing the blame.
Michael Armalavage, 44, was arrested after he accidentally slashed another dog owner while trying to protect himself and his Australian shepherd from an attack by another dog, described as a pit bull-Rhodesian ridgeback mix.
Krisha Pembroke, 30, whose dog, Bosh, was on a leash but apparently not under control, received a gash just above her right eye, according to the Dallas Morning News. The paper’s crime blog has Armalavage’s account of the incident, and is getting dozens of reader comments about the incident, mostly saying pit bulls, and pit bull mixes, should be banned from the park if not from the city.
Nobody, as you might guess, is calling for a Rhodesian ridgeback ban.
“I don’t have problems with him,” Pembroke said of her dog. “I’ve had him since he was a baby.” But witnesses say the dog dragged her owner across the park and latched on to the nose of Armalavage’s dog. The shepherd required a dozen stitches.
Pembroke says she doesn’t want to press charges agains Armalavage, and offered to pay his vet bill.
White Rock is a leash-free dog park.
Posted by jwoestendiek February 4th, 2009 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animals, assault, attack, australian shepherd, dallas, dog park, dog parks, dogs, fight, fighting, knife, pit bull, pit bull mix, rhodesian ridgeback, switchblade, texas, white rock dog park
Comments
Comment from Anne-n-Spencer
Time February 4, 2009 at 3:23 pm
K, you’re exactly right! Being on a leash while other dogs are unleashed puts a dog at a great psychological disadvantage. Their etiquette demands that the meeting-and-greeting formalities be taken care of, and they’ll also attempt to establish who’s more dominant. A dog on a leash can’t observe these rituals properly, and his reaction may be to become more aggressive.
Furthermore, if this woman was allowing herself to be dragged across the park by her dog on a leash, he wasn’t under her control anyway. If the poor dog survives this without being taken away and put to death, she needs to get obedience training, pronto!
Comment from Kaseyisagooddog
Time February 4, 2009 at 10:59 am
Isn’t it a bad idea to have a dog on a leash in an area where the rest of the dogs are unleashed? I’m thinking (and think I’ve read) that would create more stress.
When I take Kasey to the dog park I always take his leash off in the “neutral zone” between the two gates.